(Image: Newsquest)
THE owner of an underground complex in Bradford city centre has said what will happen to a pub that suddenly shut.
Last month, a notice was served on the tenant occupying Wallers Brewery in Sunbridgewells.
Following the tenant's departure, owner Harry Hall said the venue would temporarily close while work is carried out to improve the space.
Mr Hall has now confirmed the venue itself will operate the pub.
He said the decision had been made to preserve its character and create the "family feel" visitors have come to expect, rather than handing the space over to another tenant.
Keeping bar under direct management
Mr Hall said Sunbridge Wells had decided the flagship space was too important to lease out again.
He said: "We thought we'd look at doing that rather than going to find different tenants who were going to change things and turn it into something that it's not…the main areas, we want to run ourselves."
He added: "We're going to run it ourselves rather than getting a tenant in.”
Mr Hall said he hopes the main bar will reopen within the coming weeks.
Bringing back the original atmosphere
According to Mr Hall, the aim is to return the venue to the atmosphere that first made Sunbridge Wells a popular destination.
He said people continue to visit the tunnels from across the region.
He said: "What I've noticed over the last few weeks when we've been doing a deep clean of the site is people are still turning up from different towns to have a look around and do tours.
"Even whilst I've been cleaning, I've been showing people around and going through the history of the tunnels."
He believes reconnecting visitors with the history of Sunbridge Wells will play a major role in its future success.
New tenants wanted for remaining units
While the former Wallers Brewery premises will remain under Sunbridge Wells management, Mr Hall said attention is now turning to attracting traders into the complex's other units.
The underground venue contains around 20 units and the owner is keen to see a mixture of independent businesses operating throughout the site.
Mr Hall said: "We want to get it back to having a space where people can come and run businesses through the daytime as well as the night-time trade."
He added: "We're open to suggestions from people to come in and run with ideas themselves,"
As part of the relaunch plans, Sunbridge Wells is currently recruiting a bar manager to help oversee operations at the former Wallers Brewery site.