RURAL pubs and shops in North Lincolnshire are being urged to look at unconventional ways of generating more business and helping their communities.

In a bid to halt the closure of shops, post offices and pubs, two workshops will be held next month to help local businesses thrive and survive.

Emma Skipworth, who works at the Bayhorse Pub, in Garthorpe explained how difficult it was to keep rural businesses alive.

She said: "We have faced a battle with trying to keep our pub going for the last four years.

"Obviously most rural pubs only have a certain catchment area for which they can gain custom from and also some pubs, including ours, get very limited passing trade."

The pub has started doing tea time meals, has two pool teams, runs quizzes and has live entertainment at least once a month to entice customers.

She added: "We just have to appreciate that the people within the pubs area only have so much disposable income so it's pointless putting too many events on, as they can only attend so many and it can end up costing us instead of making us money."

Although she said business rates are not too high, they pay a similar rent to what pubs in big villages and towns pay - without taking into account the population or catchment area.

She added: "Further to this we find our energy bills are high and can sometimes be hard to pay."

The workshops, which are being hosted by North Lincolnshire Council and run by not-for-profit organisation Pub is the Hub and Rural Shops Alliance, encourages rural pub owners, licensees, and their local communities to work together to bring vital local services - such as post offices, convenience stores and making school dinners - into country pubs to improve their business prospects.

North Lincolnshire Council is supporting the two events in March.

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