Holbeach pub The Red Lion nears completion of facelift
Excitement is growing as the prospect of a 19th century pub in Holbeach reopening with a brand new look draws closer.
The developer behind the transformation of the Grade II-listed Red Lion , in Spalding Road, from what one report described as "little more than the shell of the earlier buildings" into an iconic local for the town confirmed that work on it was nearing completion.
But Sean Portass, who with wife Dana currently run Palmers Ale House and Kitchen in Long Sutton , admitted he was in no hurry to finish the project after planning permission was originally granted in January 2016.
Mr Portass said: "It's now getting to the final point of the build as we have decorators in and the bar is being built.
"If I wanted to, I could get it open before Christmas because the work is so far done.
"But I'm not in a massive rush because of the way the world is at the moment.
"Palmers is doing so well and I've learned that it's best to run one pub well than have two and risk a drop in standards.
"So I'm hoping that in the early part of next year, The Red Lion will be open."
A team of electricians, plumbers, builders and decorators have spent the past four and a half years turning the pub, which Mr and Mrs Portass bought at the same time as Palmers in 2014 , into a nine-bedroom "feature piece" near Holbeach town centre.
New toilets, drainage, gas and electricity supplies, windows, doors and a roof have appeared at the building, which was sold for £180,000 in 2014.
Mr Portass, who has renovated four other pubs in Gedney Drove End, Long Sutton and Sutton Bridge respectively over recent years, said: "The Red Lion has certainly been the project that's taken the most work.
"The building was a lot, lot worse than I'd imagined, but I'd put in such a cheeky bid for it that I thought I might as well go through with it.
"I'd bid on The Red Lion and Palmers on the same day, but I never I'd get both.
"My idea was that The Red Lion would be something for me and Dana to do when we didn't have any work.
"But because it's a listed building, we've had to keep a lot of things in character.
"It would have been so much easier to have built a brand new pub and if the planning authority would have let me, I'd have gladly knocked it down and started again.
"Instead, we've had a new roof fitted, new drainage all the way through the building, new feeds for electricity and gas services, new windows and doors, all the toilets are brand new and the nine bedrooms have all turned out quite nice.
"Some are self-contained chalets, while others are of hotel standard.
"We've also put a brick and oak fireplace in as well, so we're getting there slowly but surely."
