Wetherspoon's pub plan to create up to 35 new jobs in Ilkley

The Lister’s Arms will open in Ilkley in June after JD Wetherspoon agreed a deal to take over the former JJ’s pub and cafe bar in the Moors Centre, on the corner of South Hawksworth Street and Cunliffe Road.

It will be the pub giant’s first foray into the town and comes after several years of trying to establish themselves in Ilkley.

And it follows the success of the Bowling Green pub, in nearby Otley, which only opened last summer and has proved to be a hit with drinkers in the town.

JD Wetherspoon say the Lister’s Arms, named after an old inn in Ilkley dating back to the 19th century, will also create up to 35 jobs and will therefore become one of the town’s biggest employers.

Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said: “The company has enjoyed great success in the region.

“Only in the last year we opened our first pub in Otley and are delighted we will soon be opening our first pub in Ilkley and believe it will not only be an asset to the town but will be welcomed by people living there and be a great success itself.”

Steve Butler, of the Ilkley Business Forum, backed the move into Ilkley by the pub giant.

“It’s good there are jobs coming to the town,” he said.

“Hopefully, local people will be doing the work which will bring it up to JD Wetherspoon’s standards. It’s a good use of the premises and will bring business to that corner of the town.”

The original Lister’s Arms was named after the first tenant, John Lister. It was sold in 1989 and extended and converted into apartments.

The Lister’s Arms will be in competition with another new pub due to open this summer at the site of the landmark former Crescent Hotel.

In 2009, JD Wetherspoon had shown an interest in taking over the site, but this summer, restaurant chain Le Bistrot Pierre will open a new branch as well as its first pub venture there.

JD Wetherspoon had previously been interested in a site in the Station Plaza, which became a Marks & Spencer food store.