Whitby's The Star Inn the Harbour set to close - with chef blaming Scarborough Council for lack of support in pandemic

Restaurateur and Director of Star Inn the Harbour, Andrew Pern, has put the blame for its closure firmly at the door of Scarborough Borough Council for its lack of support through Covid.

“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we have decided to close The Star Inn the Harbour,” said Mr Pern, who grew up on a farm near Whitby and studied catering at Scarborough TEC.

“We have let our hearts rule our heads for many months now; this decision is totally and absolutely a business one that has come from a number of factors.

“We could hide behind the effects of the Covid pandemic, which have affected the hospitality industry as a whole across the UK over the past few years.

"But the sad truth is that the single main reason we are closing is the almost utter lack of support we have received from Scarborough Borough Council during Covid - just two months’ Covid business support.

“The most damaging and miserable fact is that they took rent from us and most other businesses in the town during lockdown when we didn’t have a penny coming in.”

Mr Pern praised his “brilliant” staff who have all been offered employment at the Michelin starred The Star Inn at Harome, The Star Inn the City in York and

The Winter Hütte, also in York.

A spokesperson for Scarborough Borough Council said: “We are sad to hear about the decision to close the Star Inn the Harbour in Whitby but to blame it on us is unfair.

“We have been working closely with the restaurant for several months to ensure it can continue to trade during difficult times.

“At the restaurant’s request we renegotiated the terms of its tenancy. Those terms were agreed in good faith but the restaurant recently walked away.

“Our local support for the restaurant has been in addition to the national help it was eligible for, such as Covid grants and the government furlough scheme.

“As the custodian of public money, there will always be a limit to the help we can provide to individual businesses.”