A pub which is believed to date back to the 18th century could be saved after going up for sale for almost £300,000.
The Greyhound Inn in Ormskirk went on the market for offers over £295,500 last May. According to Lancs Live, a 'private individual' who wants to keep the pub is said to have now stepped in with an offer.
Licensee Kevin Kirtland has been at the helm of The Greyhound with partner Kelvin Tomlinson for almost eight years. He said Admiral Taverns acquired the Aughton Street family pub, which also has rooms to let, earlier this year and took the decision to place it on the market straight away, prompting lots of viewings.
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Kevin told Lancs Live: "It’s the only traditional pub left in Ormskirk - some of our regulars have been coming here for 40 years.
"They were all devastated. They are hoping that whoever buys it will keep it as a pub, as there’s nowhere else quite like it in Ormskirk.
"My predecessors put in five rooms where the big function room was, and they are always very busy. It would be a great shame if it were to go - I hope it stays as a pub and that they keep me on. I live in, though I’m from Ashton under Lyne, and have lived in the pub for about four years."
Kevin added that it would be a "great shame" for The Greyhound to go and that there are "too many" pubs and wine bars in Ormskirk, he said: "If you pick this place up and put it in the town centre, it would make a killing but it’s a little bit off the beaten track, though it’s still near the town centre."
A spokesperson for Admiral Taverns told Lancs Live: "We are strong believers in the importance of community pubs and our focus is always on helping our licensees to run sustainable pub businesses. After careful consideration however, we felt in this instance that the Greyhound Inn did not have a long-term sustainable future and therefore we’ve taken the decision to put the pub up for sale."
However, a spokesperson for Leeds-based estate agents Everard Cole said the building was currently under offer and that a sale was hoped to go through in the next four weeks to a private individual, who was a local person. They said the individual was hoping to keep the pub running and convert the letting rooms into student accommodation.
The detached, two storey building has pitched slate roofs, a front door, inner entrance porch, a number of small trading rooms and a central bar servery.
Everard Cole describe it as a 'community pub just a short distance from the train and bus route'. They add that the main bar and vault have 'changed little over the years, that visiting the atmosphere and appearance of the multi-roomed, 'classic pub' with 'lovely traditional features' is 'like stepping back to bygone times'.
The venue's five en-suite letting bedrooms are at the back, while the pub’s living accommodation upstairs includes two bedrooms, a lounge, kitchen and bathroom. Outside, a cobbled drinking area is among the highlights, as well as a small car park for residents of the bedrooms.
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