UK’s Best Pub Battling To Survive As BBC Moves Out Of Neighbourhood
JUST OVER a month after being named the best pub in Britain the Lass O’Gowrie is finding making ends meet difficult after the BBC’s recent move to Salford’s Media City reports the Manchester Evening News.
Just a stone’s throw from the BBC’s old headquarters on Oxford Road managers Lisa Connor and Gareth Kavanagh say they have lost a third of their trade since the switch taking with it a staff of about 2,000.
The news comes just a month after the Lass O’Gowrie was named Great British Pub of the Year in the brewing industry’s ‘Oscars’.
Lisa and Gareth turned down by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) when they requested a cut in their £2,100 monthly business rates to compensate for the loss of trade.
Gareth said: “I haven’t spoken to anyone about it who hasn’t said: ‘That’s mad.’ It’s been awful since the BBC closed and we’ve lost a good portion of our trade. We have been clinging on and have had to use our imagination by putting on special festivals and events.”
The couple were accepted the gong for the best pub in Britain from comic Jason Manford at a an awards ceremony in London. The pub, a cosy grade-II listed building named after a 19th century poem, has become a favourite among students, artists, city centre workers and real ale fans.
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