Burnley Express Letters | The Queen Vic pub has been let down by owners

I read an article in the Burnley Express in which you published information about the impending closure of the Queen Victoria Pub/Restaurant which is part of the Whitbread-owned Brewer’s Fayre. Some of your readers might know the business as a Premier Inn.

I have recently spent a very enjoyable month at the Inn during which some renovation work was carried out on my house. The bedroom was very comfortable, the manager and staff very helpful. It made me very proud to be from our town: everyone was so professional.

It appears that Whitbread plans to replace 112 of their lower-returning branded restaurants, one of which is the facility on Queen Victoria Road. The manager of the site, who informed me that he was responsible for both the hotel and the pub/restaurant, was excellent at his job.

If the Queen Victoria was one of Whitbread’s “lower-earning branded restaurants” they only have themselves to blame. It has nothing to do with the staff who are exemplary at what they do. The site, however, is not well-maintained. The railings, on Queen Victoria Road, are broken, badly rusted and, in my opinion, dangerous. Features of the site (lamps and what might be described as other “site furniture”), within the grounds, are mostly rusted and broken. Even the sign of old and in poor condition. The car park was, until recently, so full of potholes that I thought the contactor might have been Lancashire County Council’s Highways Department! Around the site there was a huge amount of rubbish, not only on what is the Bank Hall Colliery elevation but also that near Heasandford and part of the site itself. The former ginny track railway site was inundated with litter.

More importantly, though I would say that food served, at breakfast, lunch and evening meal is good, that cannot be said of the service at the bar, and indeed the products served there. In this case beers, though advertised, were often not “on” and many beers were not kept properly.

For years I used to go to the Queen Victoria, to meet family and friends, before we attended matches at Turf Moor. However, this became very difficult because one of my friends, a member of CAMRA, could not find a beer, at the Queen Vic that he could drink. He insisted on going elsewhere, the result being that Whitbread’s lost valuable customers. And I suspect that we were not the only ones!

If Whitbread’s intend to “integrate” services at their hotels and restaurants, they will have to do more than merely work on the buildings. They will have to improve the whole offer of the food, and especially the drink, side of the business and invest in the site making it more pleasant, greener for their customers. The site is in a wonderful, historic location and, if they would like help from me, to realise its potential, all they have to do is contact me.

Lastly, two further pieces of advice; they could employ more people (and train them better) for work in the bar, especially at times when Burnley FC are at home. Whitbread’s should retain the facilities enjoyed by children at the Vic. A similar local facility has recently closed to make way for a supermarket.