Derelict Newcastle tavern set for £500,000 conversion into brewpub

THE NEW owner of Heaton’s derelict Northumberland Hussar pub is set to invest £500,000 to turn it into a craft beer brewpub.

Built in the 1950s the pub – a substantial, two-storey building on 0.4 acres of land that currently has three rooms on the ground floor, all with their own bars, a three-bedroom flat on the first floor, a decked and covered smokers’ shelter outside, and car parking – had been struggling for trade and closed earlier this year.

But now it is set to be refurbished, with the owners of Sunderland’s Ivy House at the reigns.

Christie + Co associate director and pub specialist Mark Worley dealt with the sale and said he was pleased to see the tavern – which had been on the market for £325,000 – sold to an experienced North East pub owner.

“We are delighted that the pub has been purchased by Magnus Wilson, a former director at Vaux and also Orchid Group, who also recently purchased the Ivy House in Sunderland,” he said.

Asked about his plans for the site Magnus Wilson said the pub will be refurbished, with structural alterations to convert the three-room building into an open-plan, single-room pub with open kitchen and plans for an on-site brewery in the building’s cellar.

“We strongly believe in keeping high quality in all of our food and drink, and the best way to do that is to make it yourself,” he said.

“We’ll be focusing on getting our chefs the best produce from our local suppliers, supporting top local breweries like Temptation and importing some of the best beers from the likes of Mikkeller, Cantillon and Brooklyn brewery.

“We want to make sure that we make this place an asset to Heaton and a pub of which the community can be proud.”

The pub is due to re-open in mid-September and looks set to be one of three brewpubs in the city, with both Wylam and Temptation breweries planning new ventures on Newcastle’s Quayside.