The New Philly Family Bar in Blackpool remains closed after Storm Ciara ripped the roof off

A Blackpool bar remains closed after its roof was ripped off during Storm Ciara.
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The New Philly Family Bar has been shut to customers since Sunday, February 9 after the storm hit the resort with winds of around 50mph.

The bar’s owner, Nick Pritchard, was forced to close the building due to safety concerns as well as rainwater making its way down through the bar.

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He said: “Understandably, we haven’t been able to trade since the damage happened at around 10am on the Sunday.

The New Philly Family Bar in BlackpoolThe New Philly Family Bar in Blackpool
The New Philly Family Bar in Blackpool

“The storm took out all of the roof on two of the rooms at the top of the building, which are now resting in our back yard.

“But due to the weather this week and Storm Dennis, we haven’t been able to get any scaffolding up so the damage can be assessed.”

The bar opened nine months ago after a £250,000 refurbishment of the former Philharmonic Working Men’s Club which closed to 2017.

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Storm Ciara, which hit the UK last weekend, left 800 properties flooded in England alone, according to the Environment Agency.

Owner Nick PritchardOwner Nick Pritchard
Owner Nick Pritchard

Nick is hoping the damage can be repaired quickly so further damage to the building can be avoided.

He said: “There is no ceiling, just four brick walls so it’s completely open to the elements.

“Rain has penetrated into the first floor, which is the sports bar, and has now started to come through into the family bar on the ground floor.

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“The insurance company are planning on sending a structural engineer to make sure everything is safe, but because of the bad weather it has been a nightmare to sort everything out.”

The roof was torn off during Storm CiaraThe roof was torn off during Storm Ciara
The roof was torn off during Storm Ciara

Nick says the closure has hit trade but also had an impact on staff.

“Of course closing the doors has damaged our trade. but my staff have not been able to work either, which is frustrating for them and me.

“It has been half-term this week for school and every day we are shut is a big loss to the business.

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“We are worried about losing our customers so we are desperate to open the doors as soon as possible.

The bar is yet to reopenThe bar is yet to reopen
The bar is yet to reopen

Nick employs eight full and part time staff at the bar. Fortunately no one was in the building at the time when the roof was ripped off.

He said: “It was really lucky that no one was here. If someone had been upstairs when the roof came off it could have been really bad.”