A SCOTTISH town's oldest pub is back serving alcohol again.
After recently coming under new ownership, Windy Ha in Saltcoats will once again been pouring pints.
New owner Sean Conaghan appeared at North Ayrshire Licensing Board to confirm that the premises did not have a licence passed on from the previous owner and he is now looking to get the place up and running.
He applied for an occasional licence as the venue had only been able to operate as a non-licensed restaurant and takeaway.
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Conaghan said: “I have recently taken over ownership of the Windy Ha and we were in talks with the owners before who were under the illusion that there might still have been a premises licence in place so we thought it was going to be a simple task of a transfer to the personal licence and a change of name.
“We have since found out that the premises licence had gone, we think that came from the previous owner who passed away and there was a lot of confusion about this.
“We were looking for a full premises licence but we just missed the cut-off date for this meeting.
“We have opened as a restaurant serving food with soft drinks with a bring your own bottle but we have so much potential and it would be so sad to wait until June to come forward for a premises licence so we have applied for the full premises licence to be considered in June.
“But we’re just looking for something now to get the place moving and get in clientele before we hit the summer and it’s a lot harder come June to pull in people.
“Lots of people have been asking about the pub which is a big asset to the town and has a big amount of space compared to the other pubs in Saltcoats and we offer seven days a week as well.
“My partner and I had a pub in Cumnock for a six month trial before it was being sold by the brewery to see if it was for us and that was very successful through East Ayrshire licensing board.”
The owners asked for a 10am opening time, rather than the normal 11am because they wanted to have the opportunity to serve alcohol, along with breakfast.
Another pub, the Albion Bar, he said served drinks and opened at 10am and people could get their food from a cafe and take it in, Conaghan said. Wetherspoons and the Salt Cot also open at 10am to serve alcohol.
The Licensing Board agreed to grant the occasional licence, which will keep being renewed until the permanent licence hearing in June, unless there are any issues.
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