Published at 16:11, Thursday, 22 November 2012

A BLAZE-DAMAGED pub is due to open its doors again to the public today.

READY FOR BUSINESS: Landlord of the Black Dog Inn, Mark Corkill, who is set to re-open the pub at 4pm today. JON GRANGER REF: 50041402B001

The Black Dog Inn, which was forced to close following a chimney fire in November last year, will re-open “exactly how it was”.

Mark Corkill, owner of the Black Dog Inn in Dalton, said the locals are welcoming the return of their old favourite.

He said: “They are looking forward to it.

“The crowd that used to drink in here keep asking me when it will be open.”

The 49-year-old said that the Broughton Road venue will be embracing the traditional pub style.

He said: “It’s a real ale pub with nothing too fancy.

“How it was is how it is going to be.”

Even the food that will be served will be in keeping with the traditional style.

“We will be serving pub grub, like pie and peas”, Mr Corkill said.

The pub owner said that he has been waiting for all the appropriate fire protections and safety precautions to be given the all-clear before opening.

He said: “We’ve got all the fire protection in place.

“We were waiting on the police getting back to us.”

The re-opening of the Dalton pub follows a report that predicted nearly a third of pubs in Cumbria could face a serious risk of closure in the next 12 months.

The report, which was released last month by R3 – the trade body which represents insolvency practitioners – showed that 31 per cent of the registered Cumbrian pub and bar businesses face the possibility of collapse over the next 12 months.

The figures revealed pubs are closing at a rate of one per month in Cumbria.

Mr Corkill, of Barrow, said: “Most of the pubs are shut down.

“So we thought we would buck the trend and open one.”

He stressed people can expect the same atmosphere and warm welcome from the pub as always.

“It’s going to be exactly how it was. I wanted to keep it how it used to be.”

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk