Ash Holman, who operates the Boat & Horses in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, said the sinkhole outside his pub is affecting trade because roadworks to repair the road is preventing deliveries being able to be made and is costing him money.
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Holman told the BBC he would typically receive a delivery from an articulated lorry once a week, carrying two tons of beer but did not know when regular services would resume and communication has been lacking from the local council.
Staffordshire County Council said it tried to repair the road but the concrete used to fix the road has gone into the sewer network and now Severn Trent Water has taken over the repair effort.
Holman said the issue had become a “logistical nightmare” and has tried to switch delivery services but cannot get all the supplies he needs.
Have to find more suppliers
“If you run out of Bass in here, people will scream at you a lot,” he said. “Some of our suppliers have got smaller vans but, in some cases, they don’t have those vehicles available which means I have to find more suppliers, which sometimes means it’s more expensive.”
The roadworks appeared outside the pub a fortnight ago without warning and having to swap suppliers meant Holman could not get all the products he needed.
“It just turns into a pain trying to figure out what’s coming from where and when it’s going to get here.
“(The downturn in trade has) been noticeable with the lack of some of the regulars and faces you see every week and they’ve not been in because the roads been shut.”
He only found out the road was being shut via a friend who showed him a letter they had received about it. “There’s been no communication with me, I’ve not even had a knock on the door, or anybody come in and ask questions about it, it’s frustrating,” Holman added.
Significant void
Staffordshire County Councillor Patrick Allen said: “What was initially believed to be a small, localised defect is actually a significant void under the road surface.”
A repair was attempted after being “assured” by Severn Trent Water but “as a result concrete had entered the sewers”, he added.
The road will remain closed until investigations and repairs are completed but there is no timescale for that.
A spokesperson for Severn Trent Water said it officially took over the issue on Friday (21 August) and was trying to complete work “as quickly as possible” but added works were going to be “more complicated than usual” due to set concrete.
