Drinkers could be ferried across the River Severn to a Shrewsbury pub that is facing the prospect of losing thousands of pounds a week when a historic footbridge closes for five months for repairs.

The owners of the Boathouse pub are in the early stages of talks with Sabrina Boats about the prospect of transporting people to and from the venue when the nearby Porthill footbridge closes next year.

The bridge is being closed by Shropshire Council between March and the end of July for a £450,000 refurbishment project – leaving pub bosses concerned about taking a massive hit in revenue during the busy summer season.

Tim Bennett, one of the partners that has owned the Boathouse for the past 10 years, said talks were currently taking place to help combat the likely financial effects of the closure.

“With the bridge going to be closed for the whole summer period, it is going to have a very adverse effect on the business we have built up over all of those years,” he said.

“Families and tourists come into Shrewsbury, go for a walk in the Quarry and see our pub on a nice day. It is an impulse decision to walk over.

“If the bridge is closed, they are not going to do that.”

He said the pub was now looking at the possibility of teaming up with Sabrina Boats to offer a River Severn shuttle service. “We have come up with a suggestion between ourselves and Sabrina and the council have said they are happy to consider it as an option,” he said.

He said the idea would be to have a boat shuttling people across the river from a pontoon on the Quarry side of the river over one at the bottom of the Boathouse’s garden.

Mr Bennett said the boat would be available to members of the public who were wanting to cross the river in either direction.

“The idea is very much in the early days but it is an option to look at,” he said.

Dilwyn Jones, co-owner of the Sabrina, said talks were at a very early stage and further discussions would be needed to make sure the idea was viable.

The closure of the bridge is taking place in order to allow for essential maintenance work, such as carrying out repairs to structural steelwork, grit blasting and repainting the whole bridge and replacing the timber deck.