The landlord says the water crisis is worse than the Covid pandemic
The Abergavenny Arms in Tunbridge Wells (pictured left) dates back to 1450, when Henry VI was on the throne(Image: © SWNS)
A Kent landlord fears his 576-year-old pub could “go bust” if water supply issues continue – as he’s losing hundreds of pounds a day. The Abergavenny Arms in Tunbridge Wells dates back to 1450, when Henry VI was on the throne.
But landlord James Murphy, 28, says the boozer’s future could be in jeopardy because of the ongoing South East Water supply problems in Kent and East Sussex. Trouble began on Saturday (January 10) following Storm Goretti, and about 17,000 properties across the counties are still being affected.
Mr Murphy says the Abergavenny Arms lost its water supply at around 6.30am on Sunday (January 11) and, as of Tuesday evening (January 13), had already binned £500 worth of food. The water came back on this morning (January 14), and he said there are plans to reopen this afternoon.
But South East Water has warned around people in Tunbridge Wells who have had their supplies restored this morning may lose it again, reports the BBC. Mr Murphy believes he can only keep the pub closed for two weeks before risking “financial trouble”.
He said: “I could probably do maybe 12 days. Twelve to 14 days, and then that’s me.
“I’ve got nothing left in a pot to be able to go further. It’s not safe if [the water is] on for like two hours and then suddenly no water again.”
Mr Murphy has been landlord of the pub since 2020 – and says the water crisis is worse than the Covid pandemic. He said: “Obviously having the government kind of step in and having their backing in terms of finance was a massive help.
“The whole industry in itself is already on its knees, with everything else going on. But for the small amount of pubs in this area, [this] is absolutely devastating.”
Posting on Facebook, the pub said: “Well it’s Tuesday night and we still don’t have water latest update now is hopefully back on by Friday (end of the week). No water since Sunday 6.30am.
“£500 worth of food we have had to bin now. We will go bust if this counties [sic] it’s killing us small businesses.”
A follow-up message, posted on Wednesday, said: “We have water back for now but have been advised it will likely go off again but while we have water we will be back open. If anything changes we will let you all know.
“Let’s pray it stays on.” A major incident has been declared as a result of the water issues, with some areas without a supply for as long as five days.
Bottled water stations have been set up to help residents – although some ran out of supplies with people reporting hour-long queues, according to the BBC.
