The Heat is On!

Award winning chippy, Fish ‘n’ Fritz in Weymouth, will be opening their restaurant doors in a bid to help those in fuel poverty keep warm this winter. They will be turning the heating on early and serving free tea and toast every Thursday between 9am to 11am, for those struggling with the cost of heating their homes.

Fish ‘n’ Fritz is believed to be the first commercial premises (at time of print) to join local councils, charities, libraries, museums and NHS services providing free Warm Welcome Spaces in the Dorset Council area.

Warm Spaces or Warm banks are safe places with the heating turned on, where people can go to get warm in the winter, when they cannot afford to heat their homes.

Owner of Fish ‘n’ Fritz, Paul Hay, explains, “we will be turning our heating on early every Thursday before we officially open, to provide a welcoming warm space for those who are struggling with the very stark choice between heating and eating this winter.”

Anyone struggling to keep the heating on can find their nearest free warm space on an interactive map, provided by the Warm Welcome Space Campaign.

Paul says, “we may be the first commercial premises in the Dorset Council area to provide a warm space under the Warm Welcome Initiative, but with 68% of people in the Southwest fighting to make ends meet, we hope many more individuals and businesses will open their doors and bring communities together this winter. Just like Real Impression Renovations who will be joining forces with us to provide this Warm Welcome Space.”

Local business, Real Impression Renovations, has stepped up to provide support towards the cost of running this Fish ‘n’ Fritz initiative.

Real Impression Renovations owner, Max Rayworth, says, ”it is hard to hear the stories from the local people I meet every day, who are facing difficulties this winter. So, when I heard Fish ‘n’ Fritz were starting their Warm Space initiative, I was pleased to get involved with sponsorship.”

The National Energy Action (NEA) announced that 11,400 winter deaths are already caused by cold weather each year and with the cost of heating rising to an all-time high, this figure is set to rise this year. It is being hailed as a public health emergency.

Simone Phillips, Fish ‘n’ Fritz Manager, says, “when we heard 19,000 households in Dorset are struggling with fuel bills, we couldn’t just do nothing. Especially when we are seeing more and more hardworking locals struggling to make ends meet. We regularly give to the Food Banks, so we thought, why not run a Warm Space. We hope opening our doors for Tea and Toast on Thursdays will go some way to help our neighbours.”