IT’S last orders for the landlords of a popular Westbury-on-Trym hostelry following a battle with the pub operators.
As reported in the Voice in February, Lee and Gemma Whitelock were dismayed to see The White Horse, which they had run for more than a year, being marketed for sale.
They had signed a temporary six-month lease with Stonegate for the High Street pub and were on a rolling month-by-month lease after that. Lease negotiations continued, with the couple having already spent over £30k of their own money, and facing the responsibility for ongoing renovations and repairs.
At the time, Lee and Gemma were determined to resolve the issues and continue to build the pub into a real focus for the community. Sadly, however, for the couple had to admit defeat, posting the news on social media in June, with the doors finally closing on June 26.
Now having to “relocate and restructure our entire lives”, they stated that they were “heartbroken” to be forced into this position. They told customers: “We want you all to know we fought as hard as we could and tried our best to avoid this, but with no support, repair work or communication from Stonegate and them deciding to sign a lease with a new tenant without so much as a conversation with us, on top of the building literally crumbling around us and costs spiralling it’s just not sustainable and we can’t continue to keep fighting to stay.”
A spokesperson for Stonegate Pub Partners said: “We have accepted an offer from a new publican for a long-term lease at The White Horse. The pub will reopen under new management shortly, and we look forward to seeing it continue to serve the local community as a valued local pub.”