Campaigners hoping to see Bury St Edmunds pub reopen have hopes dashed after Greene King sends 'welcome back' email in error

Campaigners who want to see a Bury St Edmunds pub reopen had their hopes dashed after an email was sent in error announcing it would welcome back customers tomorrow.

The Macebearer, in Home Farm Lane, was among 53 Greene King pubs to remain closed amid the fallout from coronavirus - with a further 26 shut permanently.

In October, a brewery spokesman said they ‘hope at some stage to be able to reopen it for the community’ but residents, fearing for its future, launched a campaign calling for the pub to reopen with hundreds signing a petition.

This week, they thought they had been given a reprieve when an email was sent from Greene King announcing it would 'welcome back' customers tomorrow.

However, a Greene King spokesman said the email was sent in 'error' and the Macebearer remains closed.

He said a clarification email will be sent to customers.

Pub regular Adrian Knox said the email had raised hopes among the community that they would soon be able to socialise at the pub.

"People were delighted that after such a long time they could meet up with their friends at a safe distance but we've now been informed the email was a mistake," he said.

"It isn't good enough for a company claiming to be committed to the communities it serves to give something on one hand and then steal it away with the other."

Among Greene King's leased and tenanted pubs in Bury, The Masons Arms and The Station are due to reopen tomorrow, while The Rose & Crown and Black Boy are 'looking to reopen imminently'.

The Nutsell and King's Arms will stay closed for the moment, while managed pubs Dog & Partridge, The Fox, The Bushel, The Grapes, Spread Eagle, Tollgate, Greengage and Rushbrooke Arms will open from tomorrow.

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