Lancashire pub manager fears trade drop after log fire ban

Jamie Dewhurst, of the Black Horse in Preston, said he has been lighting the pub’s Victorian fires for customers since he started managing the pub two years ago, but was ordered to stop by Preston City Council this week, after a passer-by complained about smoke in the street.

The order comes less than two months after the pub was voted Pub of the Year by Preston’s Business Improvement District.

The council told him the Grade-II listed pub is in a smokeless zone, but Dewhurst has argued that burning wood, as opposed to coal, is allowed.

'Essential part of pub'​

“We’ve still got them lit – the fires are an essential part of the pub,” he told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser.

“We have a lot of people who come in to the pub purely for the fires and when they’re lit they stay.

“If we take the fires out then we’re going to lose custom. It’s not helping local businesses in any way, is it?”

Smoke control​

A Preston City Council spokesperson said: “Like most towns and cities, Preston is covered by a smoke control order under the Clean Air Act 1993.

“There are alternatives available for landlords including burning smokeless fuel, or having a special wood burning appliance to take out soot and smoke.

“The council cannot make exceptions to the law for anyone but we are happy to work with businesses to help them comply with the legislation.”