A RURAL pub on the Herefordshire / Gloucestershire border faces unsustainable 108 per cent increase in rateable value from April next year.

The Farmers Boy Inn, a landmark rural pub, restaurant and bed and breakfast in Longhope, has issued a formal warning that it may be forced to close following an unprecedented rise in business rates.

The pub, which has recently featured on Alex Polizzi’s Hotel Inspector, after facing a crisis earlier this year when the occupancy rate for the bed and breakfast facility had plummeted to just 42 per cent.

Pub owner Phil Kiernan contacted the programme to help him turn the accommodation side into a viable business. He was later praised by the television presenter for implementing the changes she had suggested in making it an inviting space.

But now the Valuation Office Agency has increased the pub’s Rateable Value from £16,500 to £34,250, representing a rise of more than 100 per cent, a level the business states is ‘impossible to absorb’ given current financial pressures facing the hospitality sector.

Mr Kiernan, who has owned The Farmers Boy Inn for over 20 years, said: “This increase is unmanageable. We support more than 20 local jobs, work with numerous local suppliers, and attract visitors all year round.

“If this rise goes ahead without relief, we will not survive. The business will be forced to close.”

The Farmers Boy Inn plays a vital role in the community and supporting tourism, and acting as an important social hub for the village.

The business has asked the Valuation Office Agency to reassess the valuation and submitted urgent requests for rate relief

Mr Kiernan added: “We have weathered recessions, Covid, inflation and energy crises, but this level of increase is beyond anything we have faced.

“We are fighting to protect our team, our community, and our future—but we need immediate support.”