Landlords at some of Yorkshire's most popular pubs on their struggles amid rising costs

Chris Gill, who has managed The Railway Inn at the side of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in Calverley for two years, was forced to close the pub’s kitchen and lay off his chef in August when he was presented with his new energy bill.

“It had already more than doubled the previous year and it was going to double again,” he said. “The kitchen barely ticks over and pays for itself during the winter months.

“The cost of food is going up as well, so if I kept the kitchen open I would have to charge restaurant prices and we’re not a restaurant.”

Mr Gill said he is currently paying more than £2,000 a month to heat and light his pub, after the discount from the Government’s Energy Bill Relief Scheme is applied, but if he kept the kitchen open the bill would be around £5,000.

It comes as the landlord is seeing other costs increase, as the price of the beer he buys is due to rise by an average of 25p, and the minimum wage will increase in April.

“We just hope we can ride this storm and see if inflation and the cost of living comes down over the next 12 months,” he added.

Andrew Gascoigne and his wife Helen, who own the Farmers Arms in Muker, North Yorkshire, were forced to go one step closer and close their pub in November, to the dismay of their regulars.

He said the monthly bill has been hiked three times since August 2021 and he was charged more than £1,500 for December’s usage, even though the pub was closed and the power was switched off.

The couple are trying to resolve a dispute with their energy provider about the amount they own and reopen the remote pub in the Yorkshire Dales before tourists begin arriving in the summer.

“I actually got quite a lot of grief about shutting the pub,” he said. “But I’m 61 this year and my wife is nearly 60. Why would we kill ourselves working to just build up debt with our energy supplier? It doesn’t make any sense.”

They are also seeing the cost of almost everything else, from the food they serve to the propane gas they use to cook it, increase significantly, and the well documented-shortage of hospitality staff makes recruitment difficult.

Mr Gascoigne said he has already decided to stop buying beer from Black Sheep, as the brewery will increase prices by more than 19 per cent at the end of the month, and “shop around” with local brewers.

“The pressure is on when business is slow at times like January and the cost of living crisis is making it difficult for families to go out and spend money in pubs,” he said.

“When Wetherspoons start to increase prices, cut jobs and close and load of pubs down, it tells you where we are heading.”

Gemma Williams and Anthony Gillham have run The New Malton since 2011, but they shut the Grade II listed pub on the market square in Malton, North Yorkshire, in November and are now looking to put it on the market.

“It’s an older building, to heat it through the winter would just not have been viable,” she said.

“The cost of everything else is going up too. Even buying limes to go in people’s drinks – they’re going up every week – it’s the little things that people don’t even consider but you have to buy on a day-to-day basis.

“If you don’t react and pass it on, you can get into trouble. But at the minute, how much can you pass on?”

Ms Williams said closing the critically-acclaimed 18th century pub was a “tough decision” and she realises that people are missing it.

“We have people coming in who live on their own, so it’s their only opportunity for conversation that day,” she said.

However, the couple have not given up and turned their back on hospitality, as they have opened up another bar nearby called Ømni Malton, in a building which is more energy efficient.

“We’re very fortunate that we’ve got Ømni and we’ve been busy,” she said. “Malton’s got a few new places opening up and the town is always busy with locals and visitors.”