Ye Olde Original Withy Trees: Historic Bamber Bridge pub to reopen after major refurb

Ye Olde Original Withy Trees in Station Road was put up for sale last year and was bought by Craig Ashcroft, who is set to reopen it at the end of May following a major refurbishment.

Craig, who has also developed the The Woodsman Inn and The Lancs & York’s, said: “The site has appealed to me for a while.

"I have experience in buying older sites, and I being a local lad, I hate to see things getting run down.

"It’s a historic pub that everyone loves, and it’s on a great plot. I really want to bring it back to life.”

What’s being refurbished?

Craig and his team are carrying out extensive refurbishments to the interior, including new flooring throughout, new decor, new seating, and reopening the kitchen after many years.

The children’s play area at the rear of the pub will also be brought back.

The pub – which is now free of brewery ties – will be open from 9am offering coffees, breakfast and light bites as well as classic pub grub.

Craig said: “It’s not just going to be a boozer, we want it used during the daytime as a community hub – as somewhere families want to go and where you can use the free wifi to do some emails for work while the kids play in the garden.

"There are other family pubs in Bamber Bridge, but none really in a central location."

Investment

Craig is keen to bring success to the local area with the investment.

He said: "Hopefully this will be a boost to the whole area. With the Lancs & Yorks we saw that investing in that has brought the surrounding area back to life. There’s numerous shops and bars that have sprung up around it.”

He is also keen for the pub to support local community teams, charities and to host charity events.

Jobs

Craig hopes to create around 15 jobs – both full and part-time. A number of job opportunities have gone live today. For more information on what’s available, enquire here.

The landlady will be Amanda Malliband, who currently runs the Lancs & Yorks.

Opening will be run in stages, with the kitchen set to open in July.