Ainsty Farm Shop is to close next month after its owners were told their annual energy bill was set to jump from £20,000 to £90,000 a year.
Farmers Lily and Stuart Beaton have run the popular store for 22 years and have been in their current premises off the A59 near Kirk Hammerton since 2005. The shop sells meat from their farm as well as other produce grown locally.
The couple’s annual energy bill is due to renew next month and they received a new quote last week that was so shocking they didn’t think it was real.
Ms Beaton said:
“I said they’ve sent the wrong quote, this can’t be right. Are you sure they sent the right quote?”
Massive price hike
They contacted an energy broker, who managed to get the quote down to £76,000, but it was still far more than they are able to afford.
It led to the heartbreaking decision to close the farm shop, which has turned their lives “upside down”.
Ms Beaton added:
“We just don’t have that extra £50,000, it’s not the type of money that sits spare.
“If we were to try and put an increase on prices and charge customers more, that wouldn’t be fair, it would exclude a lot of customers. We’d just price ourselves out of the market.”
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The cost of living crisis is now being felt by just about everyone, with wholesale energy prices soaring due to the war in Ukraine as well as high demand post-covid.
But for owners of small businesses like Ainsty Farm Shop, it can sting seeing oil companies like Shell and BP post record profits whilst they are forced to close their doors.
Ms Beaton said:
“It’s just phenomenal the record profits they are announcing for these businesses, yet everybody else underneath them is going out of business because they can’t sustain the rises. That’s where the problem lies, that’s what needs sorting out.”
‘Tip of the iceberg’
She believes the closure of their business is the “tip of the iceberg” and fears for how the food and retail landscape could eventually look.
The couple hope their plight acts as a warning to show that small businesses need more help if they are going to weather the current crisis and come out the other side. Ms Beaton said:
“It will be a very sad day when there are only supermarkets and no independents. It’s what will happen unless something is done now, but it’s been too late for our shop”.
Since announcing their closure over the weekend they have been heartened by the messages of support and goodwill from customers.
After September, they will continue to sell meat and produce from their farm via their online shop.
“Some of the customers came through the doors when we opened our first shop. They are very loyal, lovely customers. It’s heartbreaking to think these people you see weekly you won’t see them again.
“Its been a long time, our kids have been born since we’ve had the shop, they’ve worked here too during school holidays. It’s just all going to end which feels very strange.”
To sign up to the Ainsty Farm Shop mailing list for updates on how to still buy meat from them after they close, email sales@ainstyfarmshop.co.uk or call 01423 331897
Harrogate district taxi fares to rise by 5% to help drivers with ‘crippling’ costsTaxi fares are set to rise in the Harrogate district after the council-backed drivers’ calls for an increase to help cover soaring fuel costs which this month hit another record high.
The 5% fare rise will come into force from May 1 if no objections are raised.
It will make the Harrogate district the 14th most expensive council area for fares in the UK, according to a council report.
The rise was approved by Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing and safer communities, councillor Mike Chambers, on Tuesday after requests from several drivers.
This included Richard Fieldman, owner of A1 Cars Ripon, who said fuel prices have been “crippling” for the trade and that while he welcomed the decision, it should have been made sooner.
He said:
“I’m very pleased to see this passed because it is exactly what we asked for, even though the fare formula showed we needed a 11% rise to cover our costs.
“One thing that has really disgruntled me though is the length of time it is taking to implement this.
“I made the request in November and by the time it is introduced, it will be nearly a year and a half since our last increase in December 2020.
“In this current time when drivers are shouldering rising expenses and some are leaving the trade because they can’t make it pay, it is appalling for the council to show no urgency.”
Kevin O’Boyle, owner of Central Taxis and the longest holder of a taxi license in the Harrogate district, also welcomed the 5% increase which he said struck a balance between the needs of customers and drivers.
He said:
“We realise the fare formula said we needed a 11.4% rise, but times are not normal and everyone is having to bite the bullet.
“We as drivers felt 11.4% would be too great for the public – and while we would have gained more money in fares, we would have had people stopping using taxis because they would be too dear.”
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Fuel is the biggest expense for taxi drivers and petrol prices at the pumps reached 148.02p a litre at the weekend, while diesel hit a new record high of 151.57p a litre last Thursday.
This comes after a big drop in taxi earnings during the Covid lockdowns when some drivers abandoned the trade for other work.
Last November it was estimated that as many as 60 drivers in the Harrogate district quit with many now in new jobs and little desire to return.
Mr Fieldman said the 5% rise would go “some way” to keep drivers in their jobs as he also expressed hopes that trade will pick up after winter.
He said:
“We are still struggling and I just hope as we get into spring things improve for the trade and that drivers will be able to carry on and make it profitable.”
The 5% rise will be on the running mile and waiting times of journeys, and there will also be an increase in starting prices from £3.40 to £3.60.
It means customers will pay a maximum of £5.37 for a one mile journey, or £24.27 for 10 miles.
A council spokesperson said:
“We are required to strike a balance between setting a fare that is acceptable to the customer and the taxi driver.
“These proposed fares are currently out for public comment, and should there be no objections, the changes will be implemented on 1 May.”