A POPULAR Bradford district pub is preparing to close for good. 

JD Wetherspoon has confirmed it will shut The Sir Norman Rae, on Market Square in Shipley, on March 24.

The pub chain announced it was getting rid of 11 boozers around the UK - including The Sir Norman Rae - in September last year.

The news came a year after the business put 32 pubs up for sale, many of which have now closed.

Wetherspoon spokesperson Eddie Gershon told the Telegraph & Argus today: "The final trading day (for The Sir Norman Rae) is March 24.

"It is a pub that Wetherspoon put on the market a while back and it has now exchanged to sell it.

"We won't disclose who it has been sold to.

"Wetherspoon does, on occasion, sell some pubs and this is the case here."

Mr Gershon previously said: "We appreciate that customers and staff will be disappointed with the news."

The pub has made several appearances in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. 

The 2023 entry highlighted how it was a "typical conversion" by Wetherspoon and a "popular feature of the town centre". 

It also highlighted its close proximity to the town's rail station and bus interchange. 

Confirmation of when The Sir Norman Rae will shut comes after the closure of several businesses in Shipley in recent months.

Wharf Street's The Waterside Restaurant and Bar, and The Shuttle Fabric Shop, on Otley Road, are two independent examples.

Meanwhile, Wilko closed at the back end of 2022 - before the company collapsed last summer.

Wetherspoon issued a statement last autumn when it announced it was axing 11 pubs.

The full statement said: "Wetherspoon confirms that it has decided to sell 11 of its 822 pubs which it has put on the market through property agents, Savills and CBRE.

"The pubs are mainly freehold properties with one leasehold property.

"The pubs will remain open pending their sale.

"Wetherspoon is continuing to invest in its business and has recently reopened The Square Peg in Birmingham and The Lord Palmerston in Southsea, after a major refurbishment, costing approximately £1.5million.

"The company is also currently redeveloping and extending pubs in Wakefield, central Cardiff and central Glasgow at a total cost of approximately £8m.

"The company is also proceeding with plans for a number of new pubs and hotels as well as major upgrades to existing pubs involving a total investment of around £100m."