'Disappointment' as historic hotel in Wellingborough town centre 'shut until further notice'
The Hind Hotel in Sheep Street, Wellingborough has closed its doors, with the current owners leaving the premises after eight and a half years.
Marcus Holden, former director of the company that owned the Hind, said staff have been ‘amazing’ during his tenure in the hotel.
The closure has been despite an estimated £2.2m spent on refurbishments – the Covid-19 pandemic, changing habits and dropping town centre footfall taking a toll on the business.
Praising his staff he said: "Their resilience has always been inspirational and I wish to thank them all for their unerring support even at this bitter end.
"It is true that business conditions in the past few years have been challenging. Covid, the early cancellation of the government's furlough scheme whilst they continued to require rolling lock-downs, annually increasing costs of employing staff, and a general feeling that is widely felt amongst the hospitality community that government policy has indirectly disadvantaged us disproportionately.
"Throw in a general down-turn in the food and beverage industry in our historic market towns - exacerbated by the dropping footfall in town centres - and you can see the problems we faced."
During his time in charge at the Sheep Street hotel, significant funds were spent refurbishing the space, including £1.3m spent on external refurbishment in partnership with Wellingborough Borough Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and £900,000 spent on the interior.
The Hind Hotel was taken to court by Northants Fire and Rescue, and in November last year the company was handed a fine for £75,000 for failing to meet fire safety requirements in what the prosecutor called ‘a flagrant disregard for safety’.
However, owners don’t believe this was a factor in its closure, announced on January 10.
Mr Holden said: "I would also note that the recent fine the company received for breaches of fire regulations was not material to the decisions and actions that have occurred in the last few days.”
The grade-II listed building was originally built in the 17th century, and is said to have been used by Oliver Cromwell in the days before the decisive civil war Battle of Naseby. It has long been a prominent part of of Wellingborough’s town centre, and bosses are confident the hotel will reopen under new management ‘in the not too distant future’.
Mr Holden added: “Ultimately, the damage was caused by historic debt incurred in the refurbishment of the hotel and during Covid, things that would not be such an issue to a potential new owner as they would have had the advantage of our efforts and the money put into supporting the company aside from debt.
"So whilst as the outgoing director I feel disappointed with the way things have turned out, I am optimistic for the future of the impressive Hind Hotel and I have no doubt that Doris the Hind (the golden statue of a deer) will be serving Wellingborough for many years to come.”