'A disaster' - Marsden Grotto boss slams council over £300,000 loss due to beachside steps closure
“It’s taken over a year, the impact on the business has been devastating.”
A landmark South Tyneside hotel and bar faced falling off a financial cliff edge due to alleged council dithering over repairing beachside steps, its boss has claimed.
Phil Steel said the Marsden Grotto had taken a £300,000 hit to business after cliffside steps next to the outlet closed over safety fears last December.
He revealed the renowned watering hole was on the point of closure before a new £600,000 plan to repair the structure was announced last week.
While greeting that as positive progress, he claims council chiefs only got their act together when he warned the Grotto was on its last legs.
The steps, down cliffs to Marsden Bay, remain off limits – leaving a lift in and out of the Grotto as the main access point.
The restriction caused fire chiefs to force the bar, hotel and restaurant to shut during daily high tides on safety grounds.
The restriction meant it sometimes suffered lengthy full closures, on the basis there was only a single fire exit.
South Tyneside Council denied his claims of a delay and said it was doing all it could to get new steps installed.
But Mr Steel raged: “It’s taken over a year, the impact on the business has been devastating - it’s been a disaster for the Grotto.
“We’ve lost £300,00 in revenue and footfall has been a write off. Every time the tide is over 5m, we have to close the business including the hotel.
“I haven’t actually sat and done the maths because it’s so depressing. I need the Grotto back to full capacity. It’s a nightmare.
“We recently had to close five days out seven due to restrictions imposed by the fire brigade.
“We informed the council that we may have to close and that sparked it into life and they then seemed to jump hurdles.
“We are still having to absorb the costs. I think if somebody ran this and wasn’t fortunate enough to be in the position I am with other parts of the business, the Grotto would close.”
Mr Steel operates nine pubs, restaurants or hotels as area manager of north east based Hotels International.
He added: “The biggest problem was a lack of maintenance on the stairs. The council at no point thought it had to do maintenance or put a plan in place.
“This could all have been avoided, and we would only have had to be closed for about two months if that had been done and new stairs installed.
“They’ve been desperate for me not to drag their name through the mud.
“We have a great team here and overall, we remain a profitable business, it’s just the Grotto.”
Work to replace the steps will start in November and is expected to be completed by the spring.
Cllr Karen Pittuck, Lead Member for Highways, Neighbourhoods and Community Safety at the council, said: “The Marsden steps follow the cliff face in an extremely challenging coastal environment and are continually exposed to storm tides, saltwater and erosion.
“When safety concerns were identified as part of our routine inspections, the Council took the responsible decision to close the steps while their condition was fully assessed.
“Delivering a safe, long-term solution has required specialist surveys and analysis, detailed design work, funding to be secured and the appointment of a suitably qualified contractor.
“These are essential stages for a major engineering project in such a difficult location and could not simply be bypassed or compressed into a matter of weeks.
“Rather than undertake a short-term repair, the Council is investing significant sums in the full replacement of the steps, providing a more robust long-term solution and helping to reduce future maintenance requirements.
“We fully recognise the impact the closure of the steps has had on the Marsden Grotto and have kept the business updated throughout, while working to progress a safe and viable solution as quickly as possible.
“For clarity, the Council's decision was to close the steps on public safety grounds.
“Decisions regarding the Grotto's fire safety and means of escape are matters for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service as the enforcing authority.”