'I'm absolutely chuffed': New owner prepares to take over The Prince of Wales with plans to make it a 'proper local' again

Ally Brooker has said she is eager to get stuck in after confirming she will be taking over The Prince of Wales pub, in West Street, Havant, next week.

The 57-year-old has more than a decade of experience in the pub industry under her belt, and has worked all over Portsmouth and its surrounding area, with Havant proving one of her favourite spots.

She said: “I’ve been looking for a pub for ages but everything I looked at wasn’t what I wanted. I worked at The Prince of Wales previously but left and went to The Derby Tavern and ran that for six months. I rang Admiral Taverns and asked what they had and this came up and it was a case of ‘okay I’ll go for it’.”

With friend, Nikki Brown, flanking her side, the pair have plans in the pipeline to reopen the kitchen and offer lunch time discounts for nearby businesses and employees.

Ally will take over the site on Monday, March 16, where it will be closed for the day to allow for cleaning and necessary changes ahead of its reopening on March 17.

She added: “I’ve worked for quite a few different types of venues for more than ten years. I worked at The Swallow in Leigh Park and it was the best pub I’ve ever worked in. I’m absolutely chuffed to bits about taking on The Prince of Wales because it’s in an area that has the best customers - When I took up the job at The Swallow, the people were amazing and then when I went to The Prince of Wales you still had the same sort of customers and everyone there is just lovely.

“When the pub was run by Ann, it was an absolutely thriving pub because it is a proper local and unfortunately when she left, it changed. We hope to get it back to where it was again - a proper local pub. I can’t wait to get in there. It has been manic because of everything you have to have in place, it’s been absolutely constant but I’d in there tomorrow if I could.”