THE Bowling Green pub in Otley has reopened its doors after a £1.5 million expansion project.
The refurbishment includes an extension to the kitchen area, the bar has been moved to the back of the pub and new facilities have been added in. However, the large beer garden remains the same.
Otley Town Mayor, Councillor Sylvia Thomson, officially opened the establishment on Tuesday, 15 March with a ribbon-cutting ceremony after its five-month closure.
The pub, in Bondgate, which originally opened as a Wetherspoon pub in July 2010, has been managed by Rebekah Black since May 2015.
She said: “Wetherspoon has spent £1.5 million on the pub, providing further investment into the town, as well as new jobs for local people. The new-look extended pub will also prove a great asset to the business.
“Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers back into The Bowling Green and we are confident that they will be impressed by the new extension to the building.”
The renovation comes as Wetherspoons purchased the former Harry Travis agricultural store building, at the back of the pub, as well as utilising a small existing outdoor courtyard area, at the side of the building, to extend the indoor customer area to almost double its original size.
It has created 40 new full- and part-time jobs, and the existing staff who were deployed to other local Wetherspoon pubs during the closure for the work, have now been able to return to complete the full team of 65 staff members.
To celebrate the launch, the pub held various charity events throughout the day to raise money for Young Lives vs Cancer. The events included a family quiz, raffles and markets stalls in the beer garden.
The Bowling Green, on Bondgate, has a long history in the town, with the Grade 2 listed building dating back to 1757. In 1821, the upper story was used by the Society of Independents, now the United Reformed Church. In 1825, the whole building became the Bowling Green Inn.
It was feared the building would never be a pub again when it was closed in 2006 and was left lying empty. But it was taken over by JD Wetherspoon and was re-opened in 2010 after a £1.2 million refurbishment.
For more info visit: www.jdwetherspoon.com
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