Award-winning pub gets £200,000 makeover and expansion during pandemic lockdowns

Daryl Frankland says he spent at least £200,000 on the Three Horseshoes, in Leamside, a previous CAMRA pub of the year winner, over the last 12 months.

As well as overhauling the inside of the bar, the enforced closure also allowed him to plan an expansion into bed and breakfast rooms at the venue.

“We’ve been fortunate in some ways to have a lockdown,” he said.

“We’ve been able to carry out the work we have, we’ve invested upwards of £200,000 in the premises to improve the facilities we have.

“We haven’t really gained any more space, but we have got a bit more flexibility in how we use the space and increase the comfort of those that do.”

Mr Frankland, who also runs the Courtyard bar at Washington Arts Centre, was speaking at a meeting of the county council’s Statutory Licensing Sub-Committee on Tuesday, March 23, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.

A decision is expected later on an application to extend the pub’s licence for alcohol sales and music, which Mr Frankland hopes will help the business be ‘competitive’ once it starts offering accommodation.

Off sales are already permitted, with drinkers able to take home beer brewed on the site.

But responding to concerns, he insisted he did not intend to start offering ‘slabs of lager’ or ‘big loud music festivals’.

A decision on the proposal is expected later.

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