Monmouth landlord plans action against Welsh Government

Carl Willett, joint landlord of the Castle Inn with partner Paul Cinderey, has set up a GoFundMe page to fund a judicial review similar to one being planned by Punch Taverns founder Hugh Osmond against the UK Government.

Although indoor non-essential retail outlets are currently due to be allowed to reopen on April 12, pubs, bars and restaurants are yet to receive a date when they will be able to welcome customers back.

Mr Willett, who had planned to open the Monnow Street pub and restaurant in February last year, was unable to open until December 5 due to the pandemic.

Carl Willett, joint landlord at the Castle Inn in Monmouth

When he did open, he had to pour hundreds of pounds of beer down the drain due to an alcohol ban in the build up to Christmas.

Due to being a new business they’ve had just £10,000 of funding since the pandemic began, and are now unable to afford their bills.

From December 16 the pair have operated a makeshift café from the pub, but are now “on a knife edge” with no end to their lockdown in sight.

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news on Friday [of hairdressers being able to reopen for appointments but no news for hospitality],” Mr Willett said. “How can it be safe to go for a haircut but you can’t sit in a beer garden socially distanced with a friend?

“We no longer believe these decisions are being based on scientific evidence.

“We have been painted as the bad guys when we have done so much already to be Covid secure.

“The first wave showed transmission rates in pubs were significantly lower than in other settings like supermarkets.

“We had an alcohol ban imposed on us when supermarkets didn’t. We then were told, despite only having £10,000 since the beginning of the pandemic due to being a new business, that there would be no leniency. We can’t continue to just sit back and accept this.

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“We have invested our lives into this, we live here and our life savings are in this place. Why are we being told we have an uncertain future while others are getting set dates?”

Mr Willett, who previously worked as the National Trust’s commercial manager for retail and catering, said he believes there has never been a more desperate time for the industry in Wales.

“It’s not easy to start up a business again and if a date isn’t going to be set it is going to hit trade massively,” he said.

“We’ll need to employ staff, restock, and the brewers will need to start brewing weeks in advance.”

Mr Willett thanked the community in Monmouth for supporting their café, which he says has kept them afloat.

“I can’t thank them enough,” he said. “People are coming and having a coffee when I don’t think they even want one. We’re very lucky to be where we are.

“Pubs aren’t just for drinkers – they are at the heart of our communities and here in Monmouth I have many elderly people coming to me every week saying they can’t wait to come back and not feel lonely anymore. Why are we being kept in the dark as to when that will be?”

The Welsh Government was contacted for comment, and pointed to the following statement made by Mark Drakeford on Friday.

Monnow Street in Monmouth

“Unfortunately, there are very few guarantees in this pandemic," the first minister said. "We know from our own experience – and experience in Europe – just how quickly events can take a turn for the worse.

“The highly-infectious Kent variant is now the most dominant form of the virus in Wales. This makes it even harder to predict what will happen as we begin to relax restrictions.

“If we all continue to work together and remember to follow the basic rules to protect ourselves and each other, I hope we will be able to keep on taking steps to unlock Wales at each three-week review through the spring.”

The government also pointed to the following comment from Chief Medical Officer Dr Frank Atherton.

“Our modelling scenarios suggest that overly-rapid relaxation combined with increased transmissibility of the now dominant variant and low public adherence to restrictions could lead to a third wave of virus circulation in late spring (May/June)," he said.

“If we are unable to avoid this scenario then it is likely that, despite the success of our vaccination programme, we would see a return in Wales to a period of high viral transmission with increased hospitalisations and deaths.”

You can see Mr Willett's petition at https://www.gofundme.com/f/judical-review-of-welsh-government-covid-responce.