Investment aims to raise the bar at pubs across the region

Pubs in Yorkshire & Humber are set to benefit from £2.3m worth of improvements earmarked for 10 projects, five of which also involve recruiting new operators.

This is part of a programme by Heineken UK, which is pumping £42m into upgrading locals around the country in its Star Pubs & Bars’ estate.

Among the Yorkshire & Humber pubs to receive investment will be the Buccaneer, in Brough, the Grandale, in Hull, the Green Tree, in Messingham, the Mist, in Scarborough and the Blacksmith Arms, in Rothwell.

A further five pubs will also see new operators recruited. These are the Woodlands, in Harrogate, Gibsons, in York, the Wharfedale, in Arthington, the White Stone Cliff, near Thirsk and the Duke of York, in Gate Helmsley.

A £387,000 investment in the Wharfedale, a former coaching inn, will see the interior and exterior sympathetically upgraded and the pub repositioned as an upmarket dining destination with 150 covers, letting rooms, a large beer garden and carpark.

Gibsons, which is at the top of Micklegate in York, will receive a £280,000 refurbishment. The pub will be modernised and given a stylish makeover with exposed brickwork, comfortable seating and a brighter improved back bar.

Outside, a hidden courtyard space will be enhanced to ensure maximum use by tourists, locals, and students.

Lawson Mountstevens, managing director at Star Pubs & Bars, said: “People have stayed closer to home over the last two years due to the pandemic and turned to their local for the kind of experience they’d previously have travelled to a city centre, restaurant or bar to find.

“They don’t want to turn back time: they expect better quality including food and specialty drinks – such as cocktails – that are harder to recreate at home.

“It’s the same with gardens. Sitting outside at the pub has become a new occasion and, if the outside space is good enough, customers will wrap up to enjoy it even in the winter.

“Outdoor facilities also remain important for those who are still cautious about going out as the UK learns to live with Covid.

“These are challenging times. However, we are confident that well invested pubs that adapt to market changes will have a bright, long-term future.”