Five locals confirmed SAFE from Greene King closure plans

Five local gastropubs are confirmed as being safe from plans by a national brewery to close down some of their sites and slash 800 jobs.

Greene King bosses have confirmed that they plan to make a series of drastic cost cutting measures in light of the impact of COVID-19, as 79 pubs under their brand will now close for good.

However a spokesperson for the brewery has all but confirmed that the five Greene King pubs in the area, 3 in Southport and 2 in Formby, will stay open.

The Bold, Churchtown, Waterfront on the promenade and The Park, Birkdale in Southport, along with the Cross House Inn and Freshfield pubs in Formby, will remain open and thriving.

A spokeswoman for Greene King said: “The continued tightening of the trading restrictions for pubs, which may last another six months, along with the changes to government support was always going to make it a challenge to reopen some of our pubs.

“Therefore, we have made the difficult decision not to reopen 79 sites.

“Around one-third will be closed permanently and we hope to be able to reopen the others in the future.

“We are working hard with our teams to try and find them a role in another of our pubs wherever possible.

“We urgently need the Government to step in and provide tailored support to help the sector get through to the spring and prevent further pub closures and job losses.”