A long-standing Wetherspoon pub in Bury has closed its doors for good without notice.
Bosses at The Robert Peel pub on Market Place have announced that the popular drinking hole ceased trading as of yesterday (March 27). A reason for the sudden closure has not yet been given.
The pub, which is named after the local mill owner and MP, first opened in 1997. It is situated directly behind the statue of Robert Peel in Bury’s Market Place plaza.
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The pub’s listing on the Wetherspoon website has already been deleted, instead coming back with a 404 error page. A Wetherspoon spokesperson said there would be no staff redundancies following the pub’s closure.
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “The Robert Peel has now closed. Its final day of trading as a Wetherspoon pub was on Sunday (March 27). On occasion, Wetherspoon does close some of its pubs and this is the case here.
"We fully understand that customers and staff will be disappointed with the decision and we thank them for their loyalty over the years. There will be no staff redundancies as a result of the closure with all staff offered jobs at other Wetherspoon pubs. Wetherspoon will continue to operate The Art Picture House pub in Haymarket Street, Bury.”
The closure was first announced by @satinapub, who tweeted on Sunday: “Last day of Spoons Robert Peel in Bury today before it closes its doors. Love it or loathe it; it has been a part of Bury's pub scene for 30 years.”
It’s estimated that around 444 pubs in England and Wales closed for good in 2021. Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin today said he believes supermarkets are using Government tax rules to put further pressure on the pub industry.
Derbyshire Live reports Martin as saying: "I think that the pub is definitely threatened. Pubs pay 20 percent VAT on food sales, but supermarkets pay nothing. That [tax system] has widened the gap in prices between pubs and supermarkets, so I think that is quite a threat.
“Supermarkets have used that tax advantage to reduce their beer prices compared to 20 or 30 years ago, and that is a real threat. If pubs don't sell beer in decent quantities and people don't feel they can go out to a pub for a beer, that's quite difficult to overcome."
Earlier this month, we looked at the best and worst Wetherspoons across Greater Manchester based on where they were ranked on Tripadvisor. There are 35 branches across our region - nine in Manchester, six in Trafford, two in Salford, three in Rochdale, two in Stockport, two in Tameside, two in Oldham, two in Bury, two in Bolton and five in Wigan.
