First-look: The Cross Pipes Otley Pub brought back to life

One of the oldest pubs in Leeds, which was saved by a local Otley consortium in 2023, has been brought back to life following a major refurbishment.

Transcript

00:00Raising a glass to a radical refurbishment. The Cross Pipes in Otley, dating back to 1762,

00:07was saved from closure in 2023. A local consortium, backed by the Otley Pub Club,

00:12have gradually brought it back to life. The bar has been transformed, there's a three-tier beer

00:17garden and seven ensuite rooms, soon to be completed. It went into receivership to the

00:22building and had developers interested in it. We were more interested in the pub side and

00:30providing accommodation for Otley, so we got involved in making an attempt to buy it and

00:35luckily that became successful. The building was in a bad state of repair so we literally had to

00:40start from scratch, put some new plans into the planning office for the design of the bedrooms

00:46and then obviously all the design of the pub and what was doing in and outside of the pub.

00:50When the pub went up for sale through the administrators, we were really, really worried

00:57that it would go as a pub and just absolutely over the moon. It was a real battle to really help

01:06push the administrators to accept the bid as a pub, which they did. We were delighted,

01:11but seeing the transformation is amazing. I mean, what Phil and Kevin and the team have done is

01:17it's absolutely extraordinary. The previous owner had already started a bit of a refurb and

01:22knocked some of the walls and ceilings out, so it was not in great state. This pub used to be

01:29such a thriving little bar, so it's nice to see it being renovated up to a nice high standard.

01:35It feels like Christmas for me because they've been building this for two and a half years and

01:39I've come in in the past month and we're now going to start helping to run it. So yeah, I feel very,

01:43very lucky. Right now when we're at the finishing line, you know, we can really see what we've

01:48achieved. You don't often see that as you're going along. If you get local owners who are passionate

01:54and care and do the kind of wonderful refurbishment, that makes all the difference. And then you've got

01:58some great people running pubs and if you have those things, then people will come. We've tried to

02:03keep it as traditional as we can and you know, the old where the pub was. We've named all the rooms

02:09after the lost pubs of Otley. Last time I poured a pint was March 23rd, 2020, which probably

02:16everybody will realise that that is the beginning of the old Covid. So a little bit rusty, but it's

02:21like riding a bike. So I'm very glad to be back on board and all gears are working and well oiled.

02:27We've also got a 60 seat beer garden, which used to be a small little courtyard, which we extended

02:34into the car park, which has given us 60 seats. So I can't wait for that with outside screens,

02:40with the show sports. It's great for Otley's continued legacy of history as a pub town. And we

02:46think that this wonderful investment, particularly with the seven bedrooms, will bring more people in

02:50to enjoy the town as a whole. So it's great news for the cross pipes. It's great news for customers,

02:56but it's great news for Otley and it's great news for the whole local economy.