Stratford pub to get a restaurant makeover before reopening

THE Red Lion pub in Stratford will be undergoing a refurbishment before reopening with new owners at the helm.

The pub, on Warwick Road, was bought by the Heartwood Collection in August after it was closed and put up for sale by Whitbread.

The Red Lion has remained closed since then, but the new owners have submitted plans to revamp the pub’s interior, making it more open plan and giving more emphasis to the restaurant side of the business.

An application for listed building consent, submitted to Stratford District Council, states: “The proposed development will result in changes to the layout of the main rooms on the ground floor of the pub. The current layout is cramped with lots of small rooms that have been divided by non-original partitions. The pub is also focussed around a large bar servery.

“The proposed development is seeking to move away from a predominantly 'drinks' offer and to increase more sales from food to reflect modern customer requirements. This opening up of the space will allow for a better arrangement of tables and chairs for diners, which will improve the operational management of the pub. The large bar area will be removed to create a more ordered and structured servery area.

“Original elements such as the fire will be retained in the new layout, however, non-original features such as the toilets will be moved from the ground floor to the first floor. This move will utilise the existing staircase and see the former toilet area being re-purposed as an additional seating area.”

It adds that a new external bar for customers in the garden is also planned, but will mainly be used during the summer months.

A new pagoda is also planned along with a small new extension to the rear of the building to replace an existing walk-in external fridge freezer.