Newbury pub to re-open

The Purple Lounge is set to re-open under its previous name, the Bricklayers Arms, on Monday (August 1)

A NEWBURY town centre pub that had its licence suspended earlier this year is set to re-open on Monday (August 1).

The Purple Lounge in Bartholomew Street had its licence suspended for one month in March after failing test purchases and serving persons under the age of 18 on two separate occasions in November and January, without asking for photo identification.

At the hearing, Sarah Lefevre, representing the pub owners Punch Taverns, said the company took the failure of test purchases extremely seriously, describing the failure on two separate occasions as “totally unacceptable.”

As a result, she said, action was taken with the existing tenants and the pub ceased trading prior to the hearing.

The pub has remained closed ever since, despite the period of suspension lapsing, although a spokesman for the Spirit Pub Company, a subsidiary of the Punch Taverns plc group, said the pub would re-open next week under its previous name, the Bricklayers Arms.

Scott Frankham said: “We are pleased to confirm the Bricklayers will re-open Monday 1 August under the management of a temporary operator.

“We are currently in the process of training a new partner who will take over the pub in the near future.

“We look forward to working with the partner in repositioning the pub's offer, making it a hub for the local community.”