Portaferry Hotel has suddenly closed up and the 22 staff have been “locked out”. The sudden development has left the Portferry community in shock.
The hotel which has been at the heart of the community since the eighteenth century when Portaferry in its heyday was a shipbuilding and maritime centre on Strangford Lough. Now Portaferry is a community facing multiple threats to its future with a rapidly declining physical infrastructure, and the major tourist attraction, Exploris aquarium, closed for improvements until Easter next year.
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Martha Tumelty, Portaferry Hotel manger, right, is helping Leoni Kelly and staff find another wedding venue for her wedding this Friday following the sudden closure of the hotel on Monday morning.[/caption]
The hotel owner Bill Wolsey who runs the Beannchor group explained that the group was not involved in the decision to close the hotel as it was the responsibility of the lessee.
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The Portaferry Hotel, a long-established, extensive property on the sea front, has closed down.[/caption]
Trade Union Unite was representing the case for the workers and Greg Sachno who lives in Portaferry, a Unite spokesman, said: “I am a keen union activist and in my 35 years of involvement with the union I have never seen such a case of workers being shut out from their place of employment.
“The staff have received their wages but there is a question of holiday pay, severance pay and redundancy payments in some cases. We will be looking into this very closely on behalf of the 22 workers involved. Staff are entitled to 90 days notice in these circumstances. Our main aim is to get the staff back to work and we will do everything we can to get the hotel open again and up and running for the staff and the wider community.”
Hotel manager Martha Tumelty said she was still stunned but the suddenness of the closure. “We have organised a protest on Thursday at noon where everyone including the staff can come along and join in a express their disapproval at the way the closure has been conducted. The safe was emptied, the computer was removed and the bar was emptied. I contacted the landlords agent right away to explain what had happened.
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Set for breakfast – but the doors are closed in the Portaferry Hotel.[/caption]
“One young lady, Leoni Kelly, had her wedding booked for this coming Friday and and staff and I are working flat out to help her find another venue and support her given she has been let down without any notice. We hope to find a venue for her that is suitable. We had other events booked too and these people too will be disappointed.
“We really need to get this business open as soon as possible. Granted in the winter it is quieter but it is a seasonal business and make sits money in the summer season mostly. It did trade all year round. We would like to see the hotel open again before Christmas where it would add some life to our town.
“It is so difficult for the staff. Jobs are scarce in Portaferry as it is and they valued their work there in the hotel. Now they may be forced to got to the Jobcentre and seek work elsewhere. William and Tamara McAleese who had the lease from the Beannchor group are not available and we do not know where they are.”
Kitchen porter Erin Murray was one of the staff faced with the bad news on Monday and said: “We all loved working at Portaferry Hotel. I had worked there for 18 months and won’t be entitled to redundancy payments unfortunately. It is so hard to find a job in Portaferry.
“Many of the staff have families and I really feel for them coming up to Christmas. It is just devastating. So hard to believe that this has happened… and so quickly. It is a huge blow to the people of Portaferry.”
Cora Bright from Crafty Cakes cafe, immediately behind the hotel in the courtyard, said: “The ones who had the lease just disappeared. It was a real shock for the staff, There is no doubt that it will be a very negative blow to Portaferry as there were spin offs from the hotel. Now Portaferry is looking even less attractive.
“I really hope it opens up again. All the staff loved their jobs there.”
 SDLP’s Joe Boyle Says No Stone Should Be Left Unturned To Get Portaferry Hotel Opened Again
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Ards and North Down Borough Councillor Joe Boyle has called for the reopening of the Portaferry Hotel in the near future.[/caption]
Ards and North Down Councillor Joe Boyle has described the recent closing of the Portaferry Hotel as yet “another hammer blow to the Portaferry community, the Ards Peninsula and wider Ards and North Down Borough Council area” and has stressed that every possible avenue should be explored and no stone left unturned in making sure that the Portaferry Hotel can be re-opened within the very near future.
He said: “22 employees have lost their jobs, having been informed by the lessors of the business towards the end of last week that the premises would be closing on Sunday. Furthermore on Monday I understand that the remaining management of the premises were informed by the current landlords of the premises Beannchor, North Down Leisure Ltd, to secure and close the premises.
“Whilst some businesses come and go, and that can be the cruel world of business, I never ever thought that I would see the day that the Portaferry Hotel would close. I am therefore really gutted for the members of staff who have basically been sidelined with the flick of a switch – good loyal hard working staff with some having given 25 years of service, many from the area and all living within the locality.
“With the Portaferry Hotel closing and sited no more than 100 metres from the Exploris aquarium, the major tourism facility in the town that is already closed for a number of months for a refurbishment programme, that is yet to commence it is a very serious situation for the local economy and remaining businesses. With these two facilities now closed within months of each other, this has meant a combined loss of over 50 jobs, the closures will also have a detrimental ripple effect on local suppliers in the town who had been servicing both of these organisations.”
Councillor Boyle added: “Portaferry needs both of these facilities functioning as a matter of urgency. We seriously depend on the tourism product within this area for the survival of the local economy. Portaferry as a town is a beautiful destination, it is however, a somewhat geographically isolated area situated at the most southern tip of the Ards Peninsula and depends on visitors and tourists to the area for its development and most importantly its business survival.”
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Councillor Kellie Armstrong is concerned about the Portaferry Hotel closure and will be looking for solutions to get the staff back to work and Portaferry on the map again.[/caption]
The knock-on effect to businesses in Portaferry will likely be felt within a few months unless the hotel opens or jobs are replaced.
Alliance Councillor Kellie Armstrong Looks For Solutions For 2016Â
On hearing the news of the closure of Portaferry Hotel, Ards and North Down Borough Council Councillor Kellie Armstrong said: “This has left many including a wedding party booked for this Friday, in devastation.
“I sincerely hope that the landlord is able to either take over operation of the hotel themselves or find a new tenant as soon as possible.
“2016 is expected to bring an influx of tourists back to Portaferry. We are expecting: the new ferry to be put into service, to celebrate the International Year of Food, and to see our beloved Exploris Aquarium re-open. The need for overnight accommodation will be the highest in years. It is crucial the Portaferry Hotel is back in business to help meet tourist and visitor demand. Also the Skiffies World Championship is coming to Strangford Lough and this will possibly create up to 300 beds for a few days next August.
“I really believe given the number of opportunities coming up that an investor will be found and the hotel will open again soon.
“The job losses are particularly difficult at this time of the year. With only twelve weeks to Christmas, it is all the more poignant.
“Interestingly, William McAleese contacted me to state he had given staff notice six weeks ago. Staff don’t agree that this notice was given. I have asked for a copy of the written notice provided, but so far I haven’t had a response.
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Closed: a notice in the window of Portaferry Hotel.[/caption]
“The Hotel is a focal point along Portaferry’s lough shore. The closure means the number of tourist beds are greatly reduced.
“It may be the case that a new leaseholder will not come on board until next year’s tourist season is almost upon us.
“I am an optimist and see great potential in 2016. I will speak to potential investors and Portaferry Regeneration Ltd. to see if I can encourage new management to come aboard.
“There could even be potential for a pop-up hotel, although I would prefer a long term commitment that will provide much needed employment.”Â
Balie Calls For A Fresh Approach To Revitalise Portaferry And Re-open The Portaferry Hotel
Sinn Fein Newry Mourne and Down District Councillor Naomi Bailie, who is from the Portaferry area, said: The immediate closure of Portaferry Hotel is a further blow for the once busy industrial town.
“In recent years Portaferry has been subjected to closure after closure, the result of which has left large parts of the town derelict and ghost like.
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Newry Mourne and Down District Councillor Naomi Baillie has called on all parties and stakeholders to work together to support Portaferry and work towards reopening the Portaferry Hotel.[/caption]
“It is very difficult for locals to accept and ultimately I lay the responsibility for this at the hands of the Council. This latest closure is a direct result of the fall in trade and footfall in the town since the closure of Exploris many months ago. I feel Ards and North Down Council have failed the people of this area once again in allowing the continued closure of Exploris to now impact so severely on other businesses.
“The community and local traders knew and warned the council at the time that this would be an inevitable consequence of Exploris closure. yet there does not appear to have been any will in the council to press ahead towards reopening nor act in any way to address the conditions that traders have been experiencing since the closure. Instead it very disappointingly appears they have adopted the same attitude that the legacy Ards Council had towards the facility and are presiding over its closure, with no sign of things moving even beyond the tendering stage of procuring works. That is unacceptable and had it happened in the way it has under any other statutory authority, heads would roll.
“My heart goes out to the 22 workers who are now without work and any form of explanation from the leaders. It is very unfortunate that the gentleman presiding over the lease chose to go down this route of closure, but did do so in the manner in which he has has made the situation all the more difficult for staff, customers and local people.
“I would urge local people, traders, tourism providers and the wider community to unite with the workers and attend the demonstration organised for Thursday at 12noon.
“Portaferry needs to unite around this campaign and send a clear message to the owner of the Portaferry Hotel and particularly to Ards and North Down Borough Council. I would urge the Beannchor Group to engage with all stakeholders early in this process and explore other options outside of private initiatives, to plan and deliver a sustainable future for the Portaferry Hotel. I think organisations such as Portaferry Regeneration can play a key role in that future.
“I am appealing to Ards and North Down Borough Council to act immediately to see the urgent reopening of Exploris Aquarium before this community has to suffer any additional closures or let-downs due to the authorities prolonged and unnecessary inaction.”
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There will be a meeting outside the Portaferry Hotel on Thursday at 12 noon organised by Unite to support the staff in their call for the hotel to re-open. Give them your support!Â
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