A POPULAR pub in Oswaldtwistle has undergone a £50,000 facelift – and a name change.

The New Inn, in Thomas Street, has opened its doors to customers again after being closed for 12 months.

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After changing hands, the pub has been rebranded as the Lord Longworth, using the surname of new business partners Colin Lord and Iain Longworth.

Mr Lord, 58, said: “People cannot believe the transformation. This is our first venture as landlords and we want it to be a good community pub.

“All of the local pubs are going so we want to revive the area and we hope we have found a niche in the market.

“We are not aiming for a football crowd but want to attract families, children and people wanting quality food.

“We plan to have bands, singers, bingo nights and wider-scale events once our function room is finished.

“We set ourselves a target turnover each week and we are surpassing it.”

There is ongoing work being carried out in the upstairs space of the building to create a function room and the owners are pending a license for an extension to the bar upstairs.

It is hoped that the function room will be completed in six weeks, followed by further work to install an ice cream parlour.

Family events will be held at the venue, including a fun day on Sunday, July 3 when a bouncy castle and other activities will fill the pub grounds.

Mr Lord said: “It has taken a long time to get to this stage and there is more work going on even now.

“But people coming through the doors say they feel safe and relaxed in the venue which is great news for us.”

Day to day running of the Lord Longworth will be carried out by landlady Donna Lord, Colin’s wife.

Mr Lord’s involvement will be to provide night support and cover.

He said: “We just want people to know that we are back up and running. We had seven ladies coming in for lunch yesterday and we are also getting our own locals in which is fantastic.”