H
ELPING The Local
C
OMMUNITY With The Great House B&B...
When village-wide power cuts hit their village, this rural B&B in Exmoor opened its doors to the local community, free of charge. Read on to find out all about the wonderful support they received. By
Juliet Horner
T
he storms we experienced in February resulted in some terrible accidents. Lorries were being blown over, bins were flying around, trees crushed cars and homes… But it’s not all doom and gloom. After village-wide power cuts, one hospitality business in Exmoor went above and beyond to help it’s local community. The Great House B&B opened its doors to people in their local community after the storms caused lengthy, village-wide power cuts. “We had a 36 hour power cut starting Friday morning,” said Bruce. “Luckily we didn’t have any guests in because everyone had decided to stay home, which was probably a good decision considering the weather.” Sheila Harvey-Larmar and her husband Bruce own and run the Grade II listed B&B, and were one of the first properties to have their power restored in the village. “I think the businesses took priority because the amount of compensation [the power company] would have to give us is a lot higher than domestic properties,” said Sheila. “So we had our power restored and the rest of the village didn’t have any power.” Sheila explained that due to their very rural location, there is no gas in the village. “There’s literally nothing to fall back on unless you have a generator,” said Sheila. “We tried to get hold of one, but they’d all sold out.” As soon as power was restored to their B&B, Sheila and Bruce opened their doors to the local community. They decided to put up posters and social media posts, offering use of the B&B’s amenities to local residents. Their notices explained that they were offering the following to all village residents, for free:
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28/03/2022 09:35
