Village pub in shock shutdown '˜to re-open soon'

The Wisborough in Wisborough Green shut down on August 3.

But owners Hall & Woodhouse say they plan to open up the pub again as soon as new business partners are appointed.

And the brewery chain says the pub will be re-named The Bat and Ball - its previous name before becoming The Wisborough last year.

Hall & Woodhouse spokesman Peter Broomfield said that the pub would revert to being a traditional village pub and would once again stock the brewery’s own beers.

He said that the pub’s previous business partner Paul Gidley had been on a six-year lease but had decided he wanted to leave The Wisborough which underwent a £250,000 Hall & Woodhouse revamp when he took over.

Mr Broomfield said: “Pub- goers liked the redecoration but not all were fans of the operation.” He said some people had complained that the drinks were too expensive.

“We’re a mid market pub and that is what we’ll go back to.”

He said a date had not yet been set for the re-opening but that a caretaker was currently overseeing the building.

The pub would re-open, he said, as soon as new business partners were appointed.

“We have two strong candidates and we have had strong enquiries from people who live in Wisborough Green.”

He added that Hall & Woodhouse had received positive feedback from local people who were pleased that the pub was going to revert to its traditional image and be re-named once more as The Bat and Ball.

Hall & Woodhouse are an independent regional brewer with an established string of pubs in locations across the south.

The company states: “We’ve built our managed pub-restaurant estate to be places that delight our guests and that our teams are proud of.

“Alongside this, we aim to be the tenanted pub company of choice for entrepreneurs looking to run their own pub businesses.”