Blackpool pub Crazy Scots Bar in Rigby Road reopens

Crazy Scots Bar in Rigby Road has reopened after landlord Hamish Howitt, 71, made a 'u-turn' on his decision to shut the pub permanently in November.

The pub reopened on December 28 and enjoyed a busy New Year's Eve - just seven weeks after closing its doors for good on November 15.

Mr Howitt, its landlord of 27 years, said a number of people were interested in leasing the building but pulled out due to uncertainty over plans to demolish the pub and neighbouring properties as part of the resort's redevelopment.

After pulling his final pint in November, the straight-talking publican issued a parting shot at Blackpool Council who he said was to blame for the pub’s closure.

He claimed the Council's redevelopment of the Rigby Road area had led to a downturn in trade at his pub, with customers reportedly put off by an "unfinished monstrous building site" across the road.

"They’ve ruined our area completely," said Hamish. "They knocked down all the hotels and guest houses which gave me 50% of my trade.

"They knocked them down 15 years ago and then the private developer behind the Foxhall Village housing scheme collapsed into administration, leaving us with an unfinished monstrous building site."

He added: "The final straw was a fire at an abandoned hotel in the middle of our building block and the hotel next to it is boarded up. It can’t be rebuilt into the block and it has to be demolished, but when?

"I have loyal tourists who have visited my bar for over 20 years and each year they say, surely the Council is going to rebuild the block and the area?

"I’ve survived and worked my guts out but I can’t do it anymore.”

But Blackpool Council dismissed Hamish's criticism, saying it did not believe its regeneration of the resort was a factor in the pub's closure.

A Council spokesperson said: “It is always disappointing to learn that a business is closing but we do not accept that it is the result of our efforts to regenerate the town – building new homes, creating new jobs and investing in multi-million schemes to boost the local economy."