A SOUTH Lakeland town's last remaining riverside hostelry is set to re-open as a pub for the community.

Levens-based fun fair operators Taylor's have bought The Bridge Inn, on Stramongate, and have plans to renovate it before the summer.

Repairs will be made to the building's roof and money will be spent on updating both the bar and hotel areas.

"We want to make the most of this pub's lovely location by the river," said David Taylor, who owns the company with his wife Linda. "We will be keeping it as a community pub, serving food and drink.

"My wife used to own a guest house in Bowness and she has been after doing something like that again for years.

"There is a lot of work that needs to be done. We will be repairing the roof, raising the beer garden and refurbishing the building.

"Architects are looking at it at the moment, and we hope to get the plans in soon and, if we get permission, will aim to be open by summer.

"It is in such a super location, and it is a conservation area, so we want to keep it looking its best. There is so much potential for this pub."

In February, a community group made an application to SLDC for the pub to be listed as an asset of community value.

This would mean that, once the building was listed, the community would have had the option to buy The Bridge Inn.

This application is still ongoing. However, regardless of the outcome of that process, the group would now not be able to buy the pub unless the new owners were to put it up for sale again.

They would however, following successful application, have a say in the pub's future should the new owners put in any planning application for change of use.

Marilyn Molloy, Pub Preservation Officer for CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Westmorland, said the group's aim was to preserve Kendal's historic pubs.

"The general feeling about this purchase seems very positive," she said. "If the pub is to remain as a pub then that is an excellent outcome for us.

"This is a very valuable pub for the town. It is not a matter of who is buying it, as long as it stays open. A community buyout is what is necessary when there are no other options.

"If an experienced licensee wants to come and take over The Bridge Inn then we are delighted about that."