£500,000 project to refurbish the Elmswell Tavern is progressing well according to Stroods Specialist Contractors
A £500,000 project to refurbish a village pub is progressing well, according to the contractors and a parish council.
On Tuesday, SuffolkNews was invited on to the Elmswell Tavern site, in School Road, where Stroods Specialist Contractors is working to bring the venue back into the community.
So far, the pub has been stripped out and all asbestos removed, a process which took two weeks.
Craig Rallings, Stroods director, said the project appealed to the company, with its track record of working on Greene King pubs, and said it was a good chance to be involved with the community
He said: “We’ve worked with Greene King developing their pubs for 35 years. The appeal of working alongside the parish council to bring the pub back into the community was really appealing to us. We always enjoy projects of this nature.”
Craig said there was more asbestos in the roof than expected, but it had been safely removed.
Fred Pallett, chairman of Elmswell Parish Council, and Peter Dow, Elmswell parish clerk, were effusive in their praise for Craig’s team’s site safety, saying they were definitely the right pick for the job.
Fred said: “We should trust Stroods as we did our due diligence.
“We chose Stroods commercially, for their track record and financially – they were best suited for us and they’re doing an excellent job, they’re very professional and very safe.”
With the project now under way, the trio are hopeful the pub could open at the end of September, but are remaining cautious. Peter said there would certainly be a soft opening at some point in the autumn.
Peter said: “What has happened is they (Stroods), have become part of the team. They’ve picked up on our ideas and given us as much advice as we have from some of our advisers.
“They’ve been so good at feeding into the process.”
He reinforced the intention, as is already supported by the community, that the Tavern would operate hand-in-glove with the neighbouring Wesley Hall, which is operating successfully.
The phrase ‘Wesley – Tavern, Working Together’ has caught on as defining the co-operative nature of the two community facilities.
With a new licence secured for The Tavern, it would also apply to the coffee shop, allowing it to open as a wine bar three evenings a week.
It would also be able to host events which could be live streamed into the Tavern and vice versa, as well as expanding its capacity for Sunday lunches and other dining events.
