FUTURE OF HISTORIC BRIGG PUB SECURED AS NEW OWNERS TAKE OVER

An historic Brigg town centre pub is under new ownership - securing its future.
The freehold of the White Hart, on Bridge Street, has been acquired from the Marstons brewery chain by Hospitality Management Services Ltd (HMS), which is also managing the new Brigg Marina development  with lodges for holiday-makers and tourists, now nearing completion off Mill Lane.
Great interest is being shown in this ambitious project,  recently featured by Brigg Blog in a post that has had more than 3,400 views to date.
The sale of the White Hart was completed yesterday (Friday, August 10, 2018) and the new owners have made it clear that it will be a pub based on families and offering food, with plans to invest in the hostelry and make a number of improvements.
The premises remain occupied but will now be closed for several weeks while work is carried out.
The White Hart was put up for sale by Marstons, through an agent, some months ago. And when we took the above picture earlier this week, the 'for sale' sign was still evident.
Managing director of HMS, Sallie Charlton, told Brigg Blog that her company was delighted to be involved with the pub and the marina site, which would complement each other through marina boat links to the moorings alongside the White Hart's beer garden.
She said of both developments: "They will create jobs and bring business to the area."
Regarding the White Hart, she added: "We are already employing a few local people. There will also be work for local tradesmen and sub-contractors."
The pub dates back to the 18th century and by the mid-1800s was one of 30+ hostelries within the town centre.
The White Hart was acquired in the late 1970s by local businessman and builder, Ray Neall, who transformed it over several years and then ran what soon became a thriving concern alongside his wife, Norma.
The Nealls created additional car parking and developed the popular beer garden overlooking the Old River Ancholme.
The White Hart was eventually sold to a brewery, with well-known Brigg duo Bob and Sue Nicholson running it for a time before they acquired the Queen's Arms, on Wrawby Street, in the mid-1980s.
In recent years the White Hart has seen a number of tenants.
Brigg has lost its Brocklesby Ox and Ancholme Inn, with planning permission recently granted to turn the  Nelthorpe Arms into three dwellings.
So this week's acquisition of the White Hart, with commitment to keep it as a pub, will be warmly welcomed by many people living in and around Brigg.