Landlord to leave his flooded pub (From Witney Gazette)

Landlord to leave his flooded pub

9:00am Wednesday 25th October 2006 in Witney By Jo Duckles

A LANDLORD has quit because he says his brewery did not do enough to stop sewage water running through the pub where he lived with his wife and two-year-old daughter.

Stephen Rix is leaving the Harrow Inn, at Enstone, and fears his marriage may not recover from the strain put on his family.

He said the cellar was left under 4ft of water, and the bar and restaurant under seven inches of water, which included sewage, during the flood in July.

Since then, his wife Clare, 30, and daughter Freja, have moved out.

Mr Rix, 49, said seed pods from lime trees had blocked up storm drains, which had been installed because the pub had flooded many times in the past.

He said: "We had incredibly high rainfall in July, and rain couldn't go down the drains, so it came through the pub."

The brewery is owned by Greene King, and Mr Rix said he is set to move out on October 30, and new management is due to move in during the second week in November.

He said: "I only ran the pub for about six to eight months before it flooded, and I have been doing nothing for 13 weeks.

"The flood happened on the Saturday, and I heard nothing from the brewery until the Thursday after that.

"A little bit of support might have been handy. The loss adjuster was here on the Monday morning, and by the Monday afternoon the insurance company had got people to start clearing the pub out.

"I've got insurance for loss of profits, but that is not ideal. It has put a great deal of strain on the family. I have a two-year-old daughter, and it's been an absolute nightmare.

"All of the carpets, every piece of cooking equipment, and all the tables and chairs had to go, because there was sewage coming up through the pub. Everything was contaminated with waste water."

He said the pub would have flooded again a few weeks ago, but a trench on the other side of the road, recently installed by Oxfordshire County Council, had prevented water reaching the building.

Mr Rix, who has been in the pub trade for about four years, said: "I'm moving out, and I have been offered a couple of sales jobs. I am just deciding which one to take.

"I'm not saying I wouldn't run a pub again, but I wouldn't do it for a major brewery.

"I'm not sure if my marriage will survive this. It has put an awful lot of strain on Clare."

Greene King spokesman, Elaine Beckett, said that when the pub flooded in 2004, the brewery raised the issue with Oxfordshire County Council, and larger drains were installed, and kerbs around the pub were raised.

She said: "The pub flooded again in July 2006, and Greene King raised further concerns with the local authority."

She confirmed Mr Rix was leaving the pub, and said new licensees, who were aware of the flooding history, were set to move in.

She added: "Greene King are confident that the improvements recently undertaken by the local authority will reduce the likelihood of flooding in the future."