A POPULAR town centre bar in Accrington is to be transformed in a £500,000 refurbishment.

Work on the huge revamp at the Regency Bar is set to start in the second week of August and expected to take almost eight weeks to complete. The Thwaites pub, in Church Street, will be closed while the top-to-toe refurbishment goes ahead.

Joint manager, Mark Davies, said: "It basically involves gutting the pub and starting again.

"It's going to be a minimalist design, very modern, with feature brick walls and fire places. We want people to be excited about it. It is very different for Accrington."

He said the re-fit would include a state-of-the-art music and light system, but blended with traditional features like a wooden bar with shelves for spirits as opposed to optics.

As well as evening trade, they aim to attract business people and office workers for lunches.

The structural alterations were given the green light by Hyndburn licensing justices this week.

The work includes redesigning and enlarging the bar area, which will give more space behind the bar and improve supervision of the premises.

The lounge area is also to be made bigger, along with improvements to the ladies toilets, and a new stairway created into the cellar.

Mr Davies, who is the licensee and manages the pub with Kieron Parsons, agreed to comply with any fire service requirements as the work is carried out.

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