THE White Hart in Okehampton is to open again in July after JD Wetherspoon announced development work will begin on the pub on Monday (February 29).

The pub chain has announced that work will begin on the development of the pub on Monday and is due to open on July 19. Development work is estimated to cost £3-million.

The hotel will have 20 rooms available for guests to stay in while the company is optimistic that the pub opening can create up to 60 jobs.

Wetherspoon spokesperson Eddie Gershon said: ’We are delighted that development is set to start on our new pub and hotel for Okehampton.

’We have been keen to open a pub in the town for a number of years and pleased that this is now happening. We are confident that the pub will be a great asset to Okehampton and also hopefully act as a catalyst for other businesses to invest in the area.’

The news will come as welcome relief to many across the town after JD Wetherspoon reiterated in January that they had no confirmed start date on when work would start on the pub. Since the previous owners stopped trading last year, the building has stood empty.

Okehampton’s MP Mel Stride and Okehampton and District Chamber of Trade were among those to raise concerns that should the pub remain closed indefinitely, it could potentially become an eyesore much like the Plume of Feathers, which has stood empty for years.

The White Hart, which is a listed building, is renowned as one of the longest established hotels in Devon, and is a fine example of a 17th century coaching inn. The White Hart was part of The Trafalgar Way — the historic route used to carry dispatches overland from Falmouth to the Admiralty in London, with the news of the Battle of Trafalgar.

See more in this week’s Okehampton Times.