A SMALL bar at a popular night-time destination in Bradford is aiming to re-open at the end of this month.

The Sparrow, on North Parade, which has been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is planning to open at the end of September.

The pub, which paved the way for North Parade's real ale scene, has been a popular destination for beer connoisseurs and other pub-goers at the top of the city centre.

Kirkstall Brewery, which took The Sparrow under its wing in May 2018, is starting the process of carrying out work that will make the bar comply with COVID-19 guidelines for hospitality businesses

"We plan to re-open by the end of September," said Steve Holt, owner and director of Kirkstall Brewery. "We would have liked to open earlier but when there was a spike of cases in Bradford and it was put in local lockdown we thought we'd wait until things settle down. As things start to relax we're feeling more confident to get in there and carry out some work.

Steve said: "We want to get it open by the end of the month but there is some work needs to happen over the next couple of weeks for us to re-open."

"A lot of pubs have a one door and one door out policy at the entrance, but The Sparrow is very small it wasn't possible to do that because it has just one door at the front and one at the back.

"So we've had to work out what would be the best way forward once we re-open. We're need to remove a few tables and change the format of the bar.

Steve explained that the brewery's plan for The Sparrow is to "turn it back into a cafe bar with an off licence feature that would allow us to sell our craft beers".

He also said that Kirkstall Brewery, which operates three other pubs in Leeds and the Black Horse in Otley, is considering changing The Sparrow's opening times. A late morning opening and an alteration of the evening hours are under consideration.

The Sparrow opened nine years ago as a small bar in the former shop unit at the top of Bradford city centre.

It paved the way for the North Parade hub of independent bars that has been one of the city’s great success stories of recent years.

Peter Down, acting chairman of the Bradford Campaign for Real Ale, said: "They are one of a core group of pubs in the area that are destination pubs, so the The Sparrow re-opening will definitely be a good thing for the area.

"When they first opened nine years ago, The Sparrow was the first of the newer style of bars on North Parade.

"They are now certainly one of the real ale destinations in the city.

"They have a good range of styles in the kind of beer they have on offer, including their core beers."