HUNTERS Hall Wetherspoons pub in Galashiels is set to reopen on Tuesday, July 23, following an £800,000 expansion and refurbishment project.

The pub had been closed for three months during the refitting but is set to welcome customers again next week.

A total of 20 new jobs have been created by the expansion, which has seen the premises extend into JB Hogg butcher’s shop next door, which has been vacant since the retirement of Jim Hogg in 2013.

The original pub has almost doubled in the number of covers, to more than 250, with a new ground floor area extended to 4,401sq ft and newly refurbished 1,357sq ft outdoor seating area.

The beer garden has been increased, with a new seating area also created by revitalising an unused barn.

The décor has also been overhauled, with vintage artwork and historical pieces celebrating the town’s history taking pride of place.

The pub, which first opened in October 1999, is housed in the former West United Presbyterian Church, first used as a subscription school and converted into a relief church shortly after.

Matthew Blackburn, Pub manager, said: “We are thrilled with our fantastic new-look larger pub, together with all of the redecoration and new beer garden.

“The extended space will provide additional customer area, in an already popular and busy pub.”