The Prince Of Wales, in the town centre is currently being refurbished after being acquired by the Craft Union Pub Company. The company which is part of the Ei (Enterprise Inns) Group, have their roots in Preston, Lancashire. Since opening their first pub in May 2015 they have expanded rapidly and by next year they hope to have as many as 500 licensed premises.

The philosophy behind the company is an aim to put great quality pubs back at the heart of the local community. They also strongly believe pubs play a vital role in the lives of their customers. They want their pubs to be the pub of choice for locals to meet up and watch their favourite sporting events.

They tend to operate smaller pubs with a simple small food menu to accompany the sporting entertainment that is offered. At the Prince Of Wales, new signage has been erected and extensive work has been carried out internally. A peek through the window shows the small back bar has been knocked through and we believe the bar will move to a side wall.

Looking at the company’s promotional video we believe cask ales will be available, but what these may be and whether they will be actually there we cannot confirm. I’m sure we will find out sooner or later.

with thanks to Richard Potter