Woolpack Country Inn closure: ‘Wonderful’ Dewsbury country pub closes its doors

The Woolpack Country Inn on Whitley Road announced last night (Tuesday) that it will be closing its doors due to rising costs and lack of support from the local community.

The announcement was made via a post on their official Facebook page, which stated: “It is with a heavy heart that we have made the decision to close the woolpack.

“We have recently been running on reduced hours to limit how much we are spending on bills, however this is still an astronomical cost.

“This however seems to have led to speculation in the village, which coupled with the companies decision to explore other options, has led to rather nasty and spiteful comments.

“Both Katie and myself have been removed and blocked from the village group, which may seem insignificant but in a small village, it feels like a personal attack on ourselves.

“We therefore do not feel comfortable continuing to remain open and serving a community that clearly does not want us.

“We have worked incredibly hard over the last three and half years, as has the company for the last seven, through some incredibly hard times, 18 hour days, seven days a week, to try and make the woolpack work.

“But the complete lack of local support, with exceptions from a certain few, means the pub cannot succeed.

“We are always the go to for a place to park your car, an easy toilet to call at when in the park, or a late night last minute drink five minutes before closing on your way home from elsewhere and we have always been obliging.

“But the comments we have seen in the last few days shows that it's clearly not a two way street, we are just expected to be here and give, but not expect anything in return.

“To those who do come in regularly, we are sorry. We will be sad to see you go and hope this doesn’t cause too much inconvenience.

“The car park will now be closed to the public and will be gated in due course.”

However, news of the popular pub’s closure was greeted with great sadness on social media.

Sue Howley, who lived in Whitley for 26 and regularly visited the pub, said: “Sad to hear that the Woolpack is closing their doors. I’m sending you lots of love and happiness for your next venture.”

“We were lucky enough to have our wedding reception here, I'm so sorry to read that you are closing the doors”, said Laura Riley.

Julie England said: “What a sad day for you all. What a wonderful pub and eatery.”

Kristy Simpson said: “We loved coming in when passing on the horses, and for Sunday lunch. You will be missed.”

Another poster commented: “Our family has had some good quality meals there. We have never had to complain about anything, bar staff are always so friendly, such a shame."