Hastings town centre pub faces ruin after being flooded for a second time

Long established Hastings Bar and Brasserie Pissarro’s, in South Terrace, suffered flood damage back in January and was hit by a torrent of water in the latest flooding on Saturday, leaving the business having to find thousands of pounds to continue operating.

Pissarro owners Derek and Kerry Miller stated that the recent flood could possibly finish the business resulting in the loss of 15 jobs.Heavy rain on the evening of Friday the 27th led to a manhole cover failing on South Street. The resulting deluge of water flooded flats, businesses and places of worship along the road with water passing over recently installed flood barriers. Several people and pets needed to be rescued from flats by emergency services.On Saturday morning Pissarro’s was underwater with it’s cellar completely flooded and electricity cut off. It was a repeat of flooding in January which cost the business £20,000 in loss of business and damage to the property. But although residential properties received help from Southern Water after the January’s flood, commercial properties have received no help.

Pissarro’s say attempts to contact Southern Water to discuss January’s damage have been fruitless. Saturday's flooding required to UK Power Networks to shut down power to South Street. Pissarro’s have had to bring in two generators to run refrigeration and provide power for the clean up operation.At a meeting on Monday October 30, residents and businesses met Southern Water representatives to discuss the problem. At the highly charged meeting in St Andrew’s Square, Southern Water representatives were asked to make immediate payments to property owners and businesses to help them navigate the difficult weeks ahead.

Derek Miller, speaking to the BBC, said he could no longer get insurance after the repeated floods. "I've spent 12 years here. We've gone through Covid, we've gone through cost of living, energy and at the moment we are just about keeping our head above water. This, if nothing is done, could cause us to close."

Have you read? Town centre flooding in pictures

Pissarro’s is a popular and long established venue for live music every Wednesday and Friday night. It also hosts everything from quiz nights to drag nights, with steak nights, vegan nights and a Sunday Carvery. There’s also rooms above for visitors to Hastings.A gofundme page has been started to save Pissarros from closing. The appeal states: “This local pub which has many memories for a lot of people, is at risk and needs help. Both the business owners and staff are pulling together to unite as much as possible but that just won’t cut it. If you could donate even a little bit to try and help save a local business loved by so many then please please do.”

At the time of writing the appeal had reached £820 of a £5,000 target. You can support the appeal here

Photos and video by Philip Oakley.