THE Green Dragon in South Street, Wellington, will re-open as a bar/restaurant towards the end of next month.

The Chapman Group, of Littlehampton, is spending £475,000 on turning the 250-year-old building into a 21st Century establishment serving traditional English food and a range of real ales.

The building is being refurbished to a high standard throughout and will also have 13 en suite rooms and a meeting room which has been created in the large cellar.

The Green Dragon closed in mid-August after the landlady, Ruth Pike, who had run the old-fashioned pub for 16 years, was evicted.

The closure of the pub has meant the loss of five skittles teams, one darts and one pool team. 

The Dragon, which will retain its name, has been a pub since 1766 and Ruth was its 17th landlord/landlady.

The Chapman Group has 37 sites across the South-East and South-West of England, made up of hotels, coaching inns, pubs and pub/restaurants.

The company has begun advertising this week for staff, including a general management couple, bar superviser, bar and waiting staff, head chef, kitchen porter, cleaners and house keeper.

Only last week Wetherspoon announced it would be opening a pub in the old town hall building in the town centre, the refurbishment costing £2.3million. Work began on The Iron Duke on Monday and will be completed in mid-July creating about 50 jobs.