Woolpack Country Inn: 'Wonderful' Yorkshire country pub announces its closure 'with a heavy heart'

The Woolpack Country Inn on Whitley Road in Dewsbury said it has had to close due to rising bills and a lack of support from the local community. The pub had recently reduced its opening hours in a bid to bring down the costs of its bills, but has now had to admit defeat and close its doors.

In an announcement on its Facebook page on December 6, its owners said: “It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to close the Woolpack. We have recently been running on reduced hours to limit how much we are spending on bills, however this is still an astronomical cost.

“This however seems to have led to speculation in the village, which coupled with the companies decision to explore other options, has led to rather nasty and spiteful comments. Both Katie and myself have been removed and blocked from the village group, which may seem insignificant but in a small village, it feels like a personal attack on ourselves.

“We therefore do not feel comfortable continuing to remain open and serving a community that clearly does not want us.

“We have worked incredibly hard over the last three and half years, as has the company for the last seven, through some incredibly hard times, 18 hour days, seven days a week, to try and make the woolpack work. But the complete lack of local support, with exceptions from a certain few, means the pub cannot succeed.

“We are always the go to for a place to park your car, an easy toilet to call at when in the park, or a late night last minute drink five minutes before closing on your way home from elsewhere and we have always been obliging.

“But the comments we have seen in the last few days shows that it's clearly not a two way street, we are just expected to be here and give, but not expect anything in return. To those who do come in regularly, we are sorry. We will be sad to see you go and hope this doesn’t cause too much inconvenience. The car park will now be closed to the public and will be gated in due course.”