Last gig as historic town centre pub to close

The Hop on the corner of King Street and Cookson Street is closing after being sold by pub chain Greene King.

It is believed Blackpool Council has bought the building, although the council said it was unable to comment at this time.

The hostelry, which previously traded as The Veevers Arms Hotel, is locally listed by the council in recognition of its heritage value.

Manager Cliff Thompson said: “It looks like it is no longer going to be a pub.

“It had been up for sale for a while and staff here had worked really hard and had hoped it would be sold as a going concern.

“We had got the pub turned around and people were starting to come back to it.

“There are people who have been coming to this pub for 35 to 40 years, so it’s a shame it is closing down.”

Local band The Collison have been booked to play on the final Saturday night.

Cliff added: “Hopefully we’ll get a good turnout and give the pub a nice send off.”

Staff have been found new jobs at other Greene King pubs.

A spokesperson for Greene King said: “As a leading pub operator and brewer, we are committed to running high quality community pubs.

“To be able to continue to invest in our estate, from time to time we have to make difficult decisions and therefore after much consideration we decided to put The Hop on the market some time ago.

“A sale has been agreed. Our team at the pub are aware of the situation and we are looking to find them positions at other Greene King pubs in the area.”