6:13pm Wednesday 9th December 2009
By Chris Walker
AN UNDER-THREAT Royal British Legion club has been told it will be allowed to trade over the crucial Christmas and New Year period.
The Marston RBL Club, in Oxford, which has more than 500 members, was almost shut down three months ago over an unpaid £52,800 tax bill.
The club was granted a two month stay of execution but was told it could be liquidated in December unless it could provide guarantees that all the money would be paid.
Members pulled together to help raise a further £5,000 and HM Revenue and Customs have allowed the venue to stay open for a further month until Tuesday, January 12.
Club chairman Derrick Lancaster, 65, said: “I’m chuffed to hell we have got another month’s trading because at one stage the club had less than a fortnight left. The members are happy we’re still going because they realise how close we were to closing.
“The support from members has been really good, we have done tremendously well – there’s no two ways about it.
“However, the bar is trading pretty much as it was and we had a poor week last week. I’m over the moon we have got this and now we need to push on again and put more behind the bar.”
The club, in Hadow Road, has so far paid off £15,000 of its debt.
It is thought that if the club can raise £5,000 over the Christmas period it could be allowed to continue trading next year.
Club bosses have now asked for support from the public, who are all welcome to drink in the bar and to hire out the venue, so that its tills can keep ringing over the festive period.
They have also had 1,000 flyers printed to advertise the club to local residents.
Mr Lancaster said: “People think it’s a club for pensioners but it isn’t – we’d like to see more families and young people in here.
“We could do with more bums on seats – Christmas is a crucial trading period for us and normally gives us a boost behind the bar.
“We need a big Christmas and New Year now so we can give the taxman another chunk of money in January.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/trade_directory/