Landlady forced to close village pub after energy bills double to £112,000

Updated
Miranda Richardson, 48, at her Live and Let Live pub in Northamptonshire. (SWNS)
Miranda Richardson, 48, at her Live and Let Live pub in Northamptonshire. (SWNS) (SWNS)

A devastated landlady has been forced to close her village pub after her energy bills more than doubled.

Miranda Richardson, 48, announced she would shut The Live and Let Live, in Harpole, Northamptonshire, after four years in charge.

The popular landlady blamed sky-rocketing energy bills which have shot up from around £48,000 to £112,000 a year.

Miranda tweeted a snap of her latest quarterly gas bill which was £7,724.57.

She wrote: "Have to laugh when people ask why I'm giving up my pub, you know, 'The Village Goldmine'.

“Well, hun, this quarterly gas bill should answer that question."

Read more: Revealed: The everyday food items increasing fastest in price

Live and Let Live pub in Harpole. (SWNS)
The outside of the Live and Let Live pub in Harpole. (SWNS) (SWNS)
The pub is closing on 21 July. (SWNS)
The pub is closing on 21 July. (SWNS) (SWNS)

Miranda revealed she would be paying around £30,000 on gas this year alone.

She added: “To even break even I’d have to sell roughly 1,400 pints of lager a week. On average we sell 400 to 500 pints a week and that's when we're busy.

“If I’m honest at the moment I’m just about functioning. I love doing what I do but I can’t sustain it.

“I have worked as hard as I can possibly can. I will keep going until I shut the door. I do get upset about it and I do get sad but I didn't do it, this is not on me and that's the only way I can cope."

Miranda, who employs six bar and waiting staff along with a full-time chef, said it cost her £5,000 a week “just to open the doors”.

She said: “In January the cost of opening was around £2,700 a week and by March that had gone up to £3,800.

“It’s not sustainable and certainly won’t be when another hike in energy bills comes in in October."

Read more: Cost of living crisis: 7 in 10 UK adults concerned about rising bills

Richardson blamed sky-rocketing energy bills which have shot up to £112,000 a year. (SWNS)
Richardson blamed sky-rocketing energy bills which have shot up to £112,000 a year. (SWNS) (SWNS)

Miranda’s gas bill between February and April last year was £1,500 - £6,200 less than the same period this year.

Miranda, who is married to husband Guy, 51, who have two grown-up children and one granddaughter, will close the pub on 21 July.

Since announcing the closure of the pub, which is owned by Stonegate Group, on Twitter on Monday she has been inundated with support.

She added: "There are hundreds of people in the same position as me up and down the country, they're all slowly sinking.

“People who run very successful businesses are going to be bankrupt by the end of the year. That's really sad.

"The pub industry has been nothing but hammered in the last three years, evercost of livingy step we take we are hammered.

“The bigger chains will survive but the smaller community ones, they are not going to be able to cut it.”

Energy bills soared by 54% for the average household on a standard variable energy tariff at the beginning of April when the price cap on bills was changed.

The worrying figures come after Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation increased to 9% in April and is expected to rise further this year.

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