Legh Arms days numbered?

Picture borrowed from pub website.

Simon Finch of the local CAMRA branch has told me that he believes the Legh Arms in Mere Brow may be closed soon. He chatted to the licensee during a recent visit and was told that the pub hadn't made a profit in a single month over six years of trading. The licensee will be leaving soon and he expects the pub to be boarded up within six months.

The pub is just yards from the busy A565, the main road between Southport and Preston, but when he put a sign advertising his pub next to the road, West Lancs District Council removed it, even though a local coffee bar is allowed to put signs all over the A565 without hindrance. The local council needs to understand that a pub is a local business and provider of jobs; I can only assume that some kind of moralistic attitudes are at work here, which is not the job of the local council. 

For some reason, although the pub is in a small village, his customers have tended to come from further afield, insufficient in the long term to sustain the pub. Looking at the website, I notice that the opening hours on Sunday and Monday are marked as variable depending on demand . While some people may be disinclined to visit on those two days if they cannot be sure that the pub will be open, this doesn't explain why this attractive pub hasn't been sufficiently supported over the whole week.

The Legh Arms is currently still open, usually serving real ales such as Thwaites Wainwright and Lancaster Blonde, and a good food too. Use it or lose it.