JD Wetherspoon announces opening date for Bourne pub and plans to pay tribute to motor racing history

It won't be long until people can grab a pint or two in a new town pub as JD Wetherspoon announces its plans for Bourne.

The pub giant purchased the two adjacent shops between 44-48 North Street a number of years ago and was granted planning permission earlier this year to change the use of the two buildings to a public house.

The long-awaited Bourne outlet has suffered some delay, as plans were pushed back during the pandemic.

However, a spokesman for JD Wetherspoon has today (October 15) confirmed that work will begin in just a few weeks.

The pub is due to open on April 26 next year with builders set to descend on the site from November 8.

The proposed works are to extend the rear of the property to create a large customer area and a new conservatory with alteration to the remaining rear yard for an external area.

The development is part of a £200million investment the company made pre-pandemic into smaller towns, such as Bourne, as part of plans to create 10,000 jobs nationally.

JD Wetherspoon pubs are often given a name which pays tribute to the building’s former use or in relation to something in the town.

It has now been decided that the Bourne pub will be called The Raymond Mays, after the man who put Bourne on the motor racing map through his success at many races throughout the 20th Century.

Raymond, with fellow car enthusiasts Humphrey Cook and Peter Berthon, also established English Racing Automobiles (ERA) in 1933 and their cars, built in Bourne, were used national and international races.