Former Merseyside Wetherspoons pub could reopen this summer

Its current owners are looking to rent the site out for at least the next three summers.

The former Master Mariner pub in New Brighton closed for redevelopment and expansion in 2022 but the plug was pulled on the project by then-owners JD Wetherspoon a year later. At the time the company said demolition work on one part of the building was due to fears it could collapse.

The site was sold in 2023 to LSF Estates which is now looking to redevelop it. It was previously floated the site could become a nine storey building with ground floor retail and leisure space, 147 apartments, and three town houses while another option could be a 200 bed hotel with 59 apartments and three townhouses.

- Get the biggest stories from Merseyside in your inbox with Liverpool World’s free newsletter emails.

However while any future options are being considered, the building could reopen soon on a temporary basis helping revive a building that has previously been described as a mess and an eyesore by people in the area. Work has been done in recent weeks to begin to tidy up the site as well as repair a hole in the side of the building.

Documents previously promoting the sale of the site highlighted its location within the New Brighton Masterplan, a document produced by Wirral Council to support its Local Plan. The Local Plan is a guide for how, when, and where the Wirral should be developed over the next two decades.

Anthony Fox, from Huyton-based owner LSF Estates, told the LDRS: “We are trying to do something down there. Now the Local Plan has finally been adopted by the council, we are looking at different options and working with the different partners down there.

“We are working with the different parties and looking at what fits best and also what is deliverable from a financial point of view.”

However, in the short term, he said the firm had decided to tidy up the building, spend a bit of money on it, and are currently marketing it for a short term of let of three years, potentially longer if plans for any future development take longer to be approved. It follows recent investment in the nearby former Queen’s Royal hotel next door too.

He said: “At the moment we are doing some repairs but we aren’t too far away now,” adding: “It was a mess but now it’s been cleared out, it’s in fairly good condition. We are now looking to try and let it for this coming summer if we can.”

Mr Fox said how quickly they got it open was down to whoever was interested but they had already had several enquiries about taking over the site. It is currently being marketed through Hitchcock Wright and Partners.

Opposite the Marine Point shopping and leisure complex, he said footfall in the area was really good, adding: “It’s nice down there especially on days like today (April 24) and to have something where people can go and sit and relax, it will just make the whole area look a lot better while we finalise the best option for the site.

“There are a few options but at the moment, it’s getting the right scheme and the right partners on board. It’s not a small site.”

He said: “It’s ready to go. With the amount of people that are down there, it’s a really good opportunity for somebody and everyone seems to stop and ask what is going on. I don’t think I have ever been to a place where everybody is so interested in what is happening.”

When the LDRS visited New Brighton in February, people were keen to either see the building reopen or be redeveloped in the future. One person said: “It just seems a shame that it’s quite prominent and it’s just a little bit sad looking now”.

Ken Robinson said: “It spoils the whole front. The whole section needs redeveloping. It just spoils the view,” adding: “In the summer, it’s great because families come down here. You have got the beach but it just needs something there.”

Linda Jones, from Prenton, said: “It’s a shame when people come here to see that. They come here for the shoreline, the lake and the views over to Liverpool. It’s a shame for that to be just left.”