Wrekin's Halfway House to close next month
A cafe based at one of the county's most well-loved beauty spots has announced its closure.
The Halfway House on the Wrekin will shut its kiosk from November 5.
Jenny Joy, director of the Halfway House, who takes care of its day-to-day running, said that the impact of coronavirus regulations meant the only "sensible" option is to close.
She said that they would look at whether the business can reopen maybe some time into next year.
The Halfway House, owned by Sean Saward, has supplied refreshments to hungry and thirsty walkers since it was renovated in 2017.
Jenny explained that the current regulations had made it harder to run the business.
She said: "It is quite difficult to operate up there with all the Covid restrictions.
"Sometimes lots of people come in and want to sit in the garden, and sometimes there is nobody."
There have been greater restrictions on parking around the Wrekin – due to an increase in visitors during the lockdown earlier this year – and Jenny said that the closure would give time for clarity over plans to address the situation.
She said: "There is a lot of talk about parking and other activities going on around the bottom in the future and until we know a bit more about that keeping it going over the winter, when it may not have a future, is quite a difficult thing to do.
"We had five staff but now it is me and volunteers manning it at the moment. It has been difficult keeping it going.
"I still love the place and would like to take it forward but the thing is to close for now and maybe get going in the Spring when we know more about what happens with the parking, because people are getting ticketed at the bottom now. There are not as many parking places as before and that is being looked at."
She added: "It is a great shame after everything we have done up there to be in this position but in the end we have to let our head rule our hearts.
"Unfortunately for now it is the sensible decision."
Jenny offered her thanks to the customers and people who have supported the Halfway House.
She said: "We have had a lot of very lovely customers up there. We did not want to make this announcement but that is the sensible thing to do rather than try to keep going through the winter when the footfall gets quite quiet anyway."
Jenny said that the difficulties of Covid had closed the tables inside the premises, the garden, the toilets and ultimately the business.
She said: "It is Covid that has put us in this position because had we been able to use the tables inside then we would have been able to keep going."
