A POPULAR Poole pub is closed until May awaiting a refurbishment and a new landlord.

The owner of Penn Central says it will reopen with a new licensee after a £350,000 refurbishment.

As revealed in the Daily Echo last year, Penn Central’s long-serving landlord Ben Manners was told to leave at the end of January.

A spokesperson for Star Pubs & Bars said: “We have found a new experienced licensee to take on Penn Central and have exciting plans for a major £350,000 refurbishment including a change of name in keeping with its heritage.

“The intention is for the pub to reopen in May as a top quality local once building work is complete,” the spokesperson added.

Mr Manners said he had turned down the chance to sign a new lease at the start of the pandemic because he was expected to predict sales two years ahead.

He ended up on a monthly lease but was told by Heineken-owned Star Pubs & Bars to leave in January.

He has lived in the area for 40 years and had run the popular venue at Penn Hill for the past 14.

Mr Manners said he had received strong support from customers after being told to depart.

His last day of trading was on January 29 and he said he was told to be off the premises by January 31.

“I had 300 people turn up on the Saturday night and the manager did a little speech for everyone,” he said.

“It was very sad. All the locals seem to be spread out around Parkstone now,” he added.

“It was at the heart of Penn Hill and it was one of the last pubs you could go and feel relaxed.”

Mr Manners previously told the Echo that he would have faced a rent increase from £39,000 a year to £65,000 if he had stayed on the pub company’s terms.

He said he would have also been expected to contribute upwards of £100,000 to a refurbishment, despite spending £40,000 on the building in lockdown.

The pub company had advertised the business at an annual rent of £62,700 with total “ingoing costs” of at least £109,631.

It put estimated annual turnover at £641,942, which Mr Manners claimed was “very optimistic”.