THE owners of a Whitchurch town centre pub say they are considering the future of the pub after deciding not to reopen on Monday.

On Monday, April 12 many of the town centre's pubs reopened following the relaxing of lockdown restrictions.

The small number of these that did not reopen cited logistical reasons, with many having a pub garden too small or absent altogether.

But the Wheatsheaf, in Green End, also made the decision not to reopen on Monday, despite having a fairly large outdoor area.

Pub owner David Wiles says the unpredictable nature of operating an outdoor-only pub is 'unsustainable' for the Wheatsheaf.

"Many of you are asking why we aren't opening our wonderful beer garden," said David via the Wheatsheaf's Facebook page.

"The main answer is business sustainability.

"To open the garden we would need to bring in more staff and with the unpredictable weather we simply can't afford to do that because they might have no one to serve.

"We would also need to have a full safety review, monitoring system for social distancing, etc.

"So a lot of work for what might be rainy, windy and cold times ahead."

David adds that the pub may not reopen at all because of the impact of Covid-19.

"We are continually monitoring the situation and will be making more decisions soon but we are not keeping it secret that we are considering all options including not reopening at all.

"A sad situation but after five years of hard work to get our business from a derelict pub to a thriving pub and to then be ravaged by covid is heart wrenching and with the general downturn in the town we are reassessing the future of The Sheaf.

"Our other pubs will reopen as covid restrictions ease."