Pledge to re-build fire-hit Boathouse pub

7:03pm Sunday 18th May 2008

A disused pub left devastated by fire for the second time in as many months will rise from the ashes.

The Boathouse Inn, on the banks of the River Aire in Saltaire, is in line for "significant" investment, according to owners, Punch Taverns.

Built by Sir Titus Salt in 1871, it was recently turned into a pub and restaurant but became a target for arsonists after it shut at Christmas.

The building was set ablaze for the second time in two months in a suspected arson attack last week.

Punch Taverns has now confirmed it will invest heavily in either restoring the building or replacing it.

A spokesman said: "We are looking to invest a significant amount of money into it. We have got a number of interested parties who we will be speaking to."

Shipley Councillor, Martin Love (Green), welcomed the proposed investment.

He said the re-opening of the pub would provide a major boost for the Saltaire World Heritage site ahead of £4.6 million of improvements to Roberts Park, set to be complete next year. Coun Love said: "Obviously, we don't want it to remain as it is. Any investment in the property to make it attractive to people is to be welcomed. I always felt that it was an underachieving establishment with a lot of potential in a great spot down by the river.

"It will be a year down the line until Roberts Park is finished. It will be good if someone can get this up and running before that happens."

Craig McHugh, Saltaire World Heritage site officer for Bradford Council, said: "The boathouse was actually built as part of the park.

"Parks were very much an expression of civic pride, independence and prosperity in the Victorian era and for a village as small as Saltaire to have one was quite significant.

"The boathouse is a nice little building on a riverside location in a tourist attraction, so it should attract a lot of interest."

Investigations are continuing into the causes of Thursday's blaze, which is believed to have started in the former kitchen area.

A West Yorkshire Fire Service spokesman confirmed that it was being treated as suspicious.

e-mail: marc.meneaud @telegraphandargus.co.uk

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