Major investment made to rejuvenate the Duke of Cambridge pub

Earlier this year, 'The Duke', formerly known as the Duke of Cambridge, had its licence revoked by St Helens Council after a series of violent and criminal incidents were reported to the police.

With the Duke Street pub owned by well-respected publican Ste Lawler, who also owns the Nelson on Bridge Street and the Moss Bank Hotel, the Duke had previously been leased out to another tenant.

However, after the Duke's enforced closure in January, Mr Lawler has taken back the reins of the pub and work has been ongoing to rejuvenate the venue and return it to its traditional roots.

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Work has been ongoing to refurbish the pub back to its traditional roots (Image: Ian Leahy)
Speaking about the plans for the pub, operations manager Ian Leahy said: "There has been major investment to rejuvenate the pub and we are going back to the more traditional kind of pub that the Duke of Cambridge used to be.

"We're aiming to provide something different on Duke Street, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere - like we do at the Nelson and Moss Bank - and a focus on live sport.

"There is a good mix of venues on Duke Street that are doing really well, so we want to complement this and help breathe new life into the area.

"Ten or fifteen years ago, there used to be even more bars and pubs along the 'Duke Street shuffle', so we want to bring a bit of that atmosphere back and support the town."

The Duke team aim to have the pub reopened on June 6 (Image: Ian Leahy)
Referencing the crime and disorder that led The Duke to be closed down under its previous landlord, Ian confirmed there will be a zero-policy approach to this kind of behaviour moving forward, like there is at the other venues that they manage.

Ian added: "The council and police have put a lot of effort into tackling the crime levels in recent months, such as improving lighting and CCTV and cracking down on licencing.

"So we hope that people feel comfortable coming back to the Duke of Cambridge and can attract more customers back to Duke Street and the town centre."

There will be a focus on live sport at the new Duke of Cambridge (Image: Ian Leahy)
With a small food offering planned in the coming weeks, and the potential of live music events, the Duke of Cambridge is set to reopen on Friday, June 6 at 6pm.