Work underway to refurbish historic Hampshire pub The Hunters Inn in Swanmore
REDEVELOPMENT work has started at a pub which is more than 300 years old.
Builders and construction machinery have been spotted at The Hunters Inn in Cott Street, Swanmore, amid plans to reopen the historic pub.
In June last year, the pub – which was owned by Heartstone Inns at the time – closed due to a decline in customers.
After being put on the market for £750,000, the pub was purchased in March by a private buyer, who plans to reopen the venue.
Photos show work cabins, diggers and construction workers have been spotted on-site, starting work on getting the pub back up to scratch.
Fencing has also gone up around the pub, with a clear-out inside evidently underway.
Councillor Frank Pearson, who lives in Swanmore, said the buyer, who’s identity remains unknown, would have to invest at least £500,000 to bring the pub up to a suitable standard.
If the sale price advertised by property company Savills was also met, it would make The Hunters Inn a £1.25m project for the owner.
‘As a pub, I would think it needs a fair amount of investment,’ Cllr Pearson said.
‘It’s a well-liked venue with a good picnic area and children's playground – and the large parking area too.’
The Hunters Inn is best known for its parties in the 1960s and 70s, where sailors from Portsmouth would visit en masse by coach, parking in the pub's enormous car park.
An opening date for the pub has not yet been set.