One of Manchester's oldest pubs will survive despite social media rumours - but needs a 'massive refurb'
11.09.2022 - 09:47
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
One of Manchester’s oldest pubs has closed its doors ‘for the foreseeable future’, but will re-open once it’s undergone a massive refurbishment. Rumours that The City pub on Oldham Street was under threat of closure began to circulate last weekend.
But after a meeting with licensing officers yesterday, it’s been confirmed that The City won’t be closing down, but will instead need the issues affecting the building rectifying before it can reopen. However, the extent of the work means that it could remain closed for several months.
Workmen at the pub have begun tearing out the toilets, as well as dealing with issues surrounding leaking from the building’s roof, and other problems in the basement. Originally two buildings, one on Oldham Street and one on Tib Street, it was stitched together many years ago.
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Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, landlord Phil Entwistle said: “I had a good meeting with the licensing officer, and they’re being very sympathetic and understanding with us, but they have said that there are several improvements that have to be made, some obvious, some not so obvious.
“We are going to reopen. There’s nothing structurally wrong with the building, the plan is to improve and update. Toilets are a priority and the outside will need a good tidy up. Initially, the building team that’s gone in thought it could take a month, but having now dug into it, it’s going to take longer than that.
“We don’t quite know the extent of what needs doing until we start ripping things out. We need gutters, roof, windows, rejigging of the interior, and such tradesmen can pick and choose at the moment, and there aren’t enough good tradesmen