Yorkshire special report: 'It was always a dream to run a pub by the seaside, but my energy bills doubled'
But his energy bills have doubled. It's £1,500 a month just to cool the beer. And that's the same if there are two people lining up for a pint, or 30.
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Hide Ad"We didn't realise how difficult things were going to be," he says now. "Just keeping the lights on is at the top of the list for publicans - nationally - at the moment.
"Cooling beer. Brewers need hot water, then it costs more to buy the beer.
"We need the Government to think carefully. To ensure nothing is done to harm the tradition of pubs. Or we will see thousands more close."
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Hide AdCheryl and Mark, fulfilling a lifetime's ambition, opened the Three B's in April 2020. The 'B's stand for 'beer, banter and bar snacks'.
It hasn't always been a pub, this building. It used to be a sweet shop. And it's tiny inside. But on a windswept, wintry day at the seaside, it promises shelter from the rain.
This is a social space, said Mr Bates. Pubs are the original social network, where people share stories or talk about their week. Commiserate, and celebrate.
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Hide Ad"Bridlington is a retirement town," he said. "We have a lot of people who live alone, of retirement age. They find it a social outlet.
"We have games, cribs and dominoes. A really nice band of regulars. There's no loud music, no TV. People are forced to speak to each other. It really does work."
But custom can also be seasonal. Winter can be quiet. He worries about reform on the high street. And the value of the pound in people's pocket, in a cost-of-living crisis.
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Hide AdAny potential increase in beer duty in the upcoming budget would be "disastrous" for pubs, he said. A nail in the coffin for thousands.
"The future is really uncertain," he said. "It depends on what happens next. We want the Government to give us support, rather than penalise beer drinkers with more taxes."
Somewhere in Yorkshire a pub closes its doors for good every three days. The bell for last orders rings one final time. And a thick layer of dust settles on polished glasses under the bar.
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Hide AdIn West Yorkshire, Jonathan* is giving up; after 20 years in industry he is walking away. His bills are too high. Then there's the 'tie'.
Most people won't know what this means, he admits. It's when a pub is leased from a pub company. In his case, it means he has to buy his beer through them.
He was handed the wrong bill recently, with a receipt meant for his independent neighbour, two doors down. It showed he was paying £139 for a keg of beer. His neighbour pays £71.
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Hide Ad"It's nearly double," he said. "I can't charge double the price to sell it.
"I don't think people realise these ties still exist. People tell us we're too expensive. But I'm not making any money. Something has to change."
Jonathan is not his real name. He is speaking today on the condition of anonymity, as he lines up the logistics to walk away from a lifetime's experience.
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Hide AdHe might survive, he said, were it not for this "greed". His tie has become a strangle-hold to choke the potential out of even the most meagre of profits.
A 60-hour working week. Six or seven days a week. He knew what he was signing up for, he insists. He knew the tied prices before he opted in.
His biggest issue is VAT. Last year he took £23,000 out of the pub. His VAT bill was close to £9,000. The sums don't add up, Jonathan argues, for a small business.
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Hide AdFor small pubs, the VAT rates should be closer to five per cent than the present 20 per cent for hospitality. It should be on a sliding scale, or reduced as it was in Covid.
"The cost of living has made a difference," he said. "People are going for value."
At a local Wetherspoons recently, he paid £1.99 for a pint. In his own pub, he charges £5. And he doesn't make any money on it.
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Hide Ad"I can't compete," he said. "This is all I've ever done. I'm not sure I'll stay in the business.
"I can only think it's going to get worse. Most of my friends are publicans, that's all I know. I can think of very few that are doing well.
"We see it, at 10pm on a Friday night, and we're cleaning the glasses on shelves. We can close early because we've got nobody in."
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Hide AdThe Last Drop Inn, in York, is what Paul Kemp calls a "proper boozer". Flagstones in the bar, cask ales on tap. A building that has stood since the 1600s.
But weeknights now, are quieter here. City centre trade isn't what it was. A once roaring demand for the 5 o'clock pint has disappeared with people working from home.
The availability of alcohol from supermarkets, with no moderation, hasn't helped, he said. You can fill a trolley, almost, for the price of a round.
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Hide AdInstead, pubs are caught in a storm. There was Covid, and lockdowns, and the burden still of bounce-back loans that hang like a cloud over thousands of struggling publicans.
Mr Kemp took on The Last Drop with the collapse of Black Sheep Breweries. He reopened the pub last December, returning home to Yorkshire after 30 years in industry.
It has been a difficult year for trade.
"Without a doubt, people are hit in the pocket themselves," he said. "Energy costs have impacted massively.
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Hide Ad"I've never encountered anything like it in all the years I've done this."
With energy bills, Mr Kemp faced a near-six fold increase. He was able to switch, but many weren't. Then energy insurance - with little competition - quadrupled overnight.
"We haven't even talked about inflation," he said. "We used to use 60kg of mozzarella a week, making pizza. The price of a box of cheese went from £45 to £90 almost overnight."
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Hide AdAhead of the upcoming Budget, he's compiled a simple wish list to help pubs thrive. Greater energy and insurance regulation, to build a competitive market. Relief for small businesses absorbing the costs of employers' national insurance. Outright business rates reform. And a reduction in hospitality VAT, so that smaller companies can keep more of what they make.
At the core of it all should be the premise that a healthy high street thrives for all.
"We have had a tradition of public houses in this country for a long time," said Mr Kemp. "In communities, in high streets, they are the hub of their areas.
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Hide Ad"I just can't see that getting any better, the more these social places close down. That cohesion it provides to communities - it needs keeping."
But with the Government also now considering a ban on smoking in pub gardens, his voice turns stern.
"No more regulation is required," insisted Mr Kemp. "There's no need for any more interference. We've had enough."
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