'Varsity Accrington' - Blackburn Road pub rebranded after £20,000 renovation

The Calder Inn will change its name to Varsity Accrington when it reopens next month under licensee Martin Angus.

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The Blackburn Road pub closed under its previous name towards the end of last month.

Mr Angus believes a rebranding was the best move to get away from the ‘bad reputation’ the venue had in the past.

The 32-year-old said: “It needed to be shut and come back as something different.

“It’s going to have a brand new name and a brand new look to it.

“It’s had a bad reputation, but it used to have a great reputation before different companies took over and it never got off the ground.

“It’s smack bang in the middle of Accrington. It’s a big pub, it could be the focal point of the area.”

Originally from Northumberland, Mr Angus has worked in Accrington previously and used to work for the Barracuda pub group in the area.

He will be working with Malcolm Bennett to open the pub, both of whom are directors at Varsity.

They also run a ‘Varsity Bangor’ pub and were asked to expand to work at the Accrington branch.

Mr Angus has said that the new pub will feature a sports focus and that they will look to provide live music.

So far around £20,000 has been spent renovating the pub, and while it has required more work than Mr Angus expected, he said that he is confident in the business’ success.

He said: “It shut down that quickly last time that we needed to recruit all new staff. It was like starting from scratch.

“It was empty when we took over and started decorating it. It hadn’t had any money spent on it in a long time.

“We’ve had a lot of interest in what the pub is going to be, so fingers crossed.

“I know the money the pub could make, it just needs a bit of TLC.”

Cllr June Harrison, who represents the area on Hyndburn Council, has said that she hopes it will help to improve nightlife in the area.

She said: “I think it’s a great idea. It will help bring people to the town centre.”