Owner of 600-year-old pub fears 'end of the line' following price hikes

Steve Gardner is the landlord of The Gardners in Tostock, near Bury St Edmunds.

He is aiming to keep The Gardners running for as long as he can, but said he's not optimistic for the future due to the rising cost of business.

Steve Gardner, owner of The Gardners in Tostock, says his costs have rocketed. (Image: Archant)

He added: "Rural pubs have been absolutely slaughtered over the last seven months. The Gardners is 642 years old - it outlasted the plague and two world wars, but I think this is the end of the line. I've honestly seen nothing like it."

Steve has come to dread opening his post and emails as he says it's "nothing but bad news again and again".

At nearly 67 years old, he had hoped to save money for his pension, but now finds that his pub is haemorrhaging nearly £1,000 every month.

Steve is considering following suit from other Suffolk pubs that have closed their doors in recent months.

Steve Gardner says it may be worth opening all hours (Image: Archant)

The final nail in the coffin has been an increase in his music licence fee, which Steve says has gone from £124 before the pandemic to £743.

His gas bill has rocketed from £120 to £1054 per month and he fears his next electricity bill due in March will see at least a 300% increase.

Steve said it's "simply not doable", describing the price hikes as a "mad" situation which will force smaller pubs to go under.

Steve believes that all rural pubs are in the same boat and will have to rethink their whole business strategy going forward.

He said: "I'm wondering whether it's actually worth putting my heating on during the day for the limited customers we get.

Steve Gardner, owner of The Gardners, fears the traditional English village pub will soon be a thing of the past (Image: Archant)

"I'm seriously considering only opening in the evenings and eventually I think people will be going from door-to-door, finding that no pubs are open at all."

Going forward, Steve believes the government need to cut the VAT rate for pubs to 5%, citing the loss of nearly a fifth of Suffolk's pubs in the last 10 years.

He added: "The British pub can't be recreated anywhere else in the world. It's what makes us British. We need to act now before the life and soul of the village disappears."