Cellar Bar Batley: New management team aims to promote Yorkshire beers to commuters and tourists

However James McNair, who worked in the bar, told The Yorkshire Post that it is due to re-open under new management on Monday.

Mr McNair said: “There was a lot of disappointment when the pub closed between Christmas and New year and I, along with my colleague found ourselves out of work.“We’ve decided it’s just too good a pub to be closed forever,” he added.

"We decided to to try and take the lease of the pub, which is a free house, with another partner who has helped set things up financially so the pub will be owned by a new limited company, with myself and two others.

"We are on the ‘real ale trail’ and our main focus will be on getting as many Yorkshire beers on the bar to promote our region."

Before the pub closed, Mr McNair said he had been working with the local CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) branch and had managed to gain an entry for the Cellar Bar in the latest “Good Beer Guide”.

He added: “Our plans for the future are to increase the range of products on offer and try and appeal to customers from the railway station, so hopefully we will be offering hot beverages and maybe some food offerings in the future.

"We will be having live music every fortnight as well as various events for charity throughout the year. The pub is a keen supporter of the local Kirkwood Hospice charity and I hope that relationship can continue in the future.

“It’s a real community asset with strong ties to the local railway group set up by Jo Cox (the late MP) and the local Bulldogs rugby team.

"We serve traditional Yorkshire ales alongside the usual lagers and ciders.“We hope to buck the trend of pubs closing and offer the people of Batley somewhere warm to meet up to have a chat and a drink. We are also a live music venue with well supported band nights and, of-course, are at the start of the famous ‘Real Ale Trail’ between Batley and Stalybridge.”

Mr McNair said the bar is inside a Grade II building with lots of character.

He added: “It was originally offices for the woollen mills selling their wares at the railway station. The pub is located in an area of national architectural interest. You can only imagine what it would have looked like in Victorian times.”

Over recent months, campaigners have been highlighting the damage inflicted on Britain’s economy linked to the large number of pub closures.

Speaking last year, Tom Stainer, chief executive CAMRA, said: “Pubs are one of the only proper local spaces to gather in, as we have seen the decline of community hubs. They allow you to meet people from where you live, they help to combat loneliness and isolation, and pubs generally do a lot of work for local charities and grassroots sports teams.”