A YORK pub which has been shut for more than a month is expected to reopen within weeks.

The Shoulder of Mutton, in Heworth Green, closed its doors at the end of March, but its owners, Enterprise Inns, say plans are in place to bring it back into business by the end of this month.

A spokesman for the firm said he could not confirm the reasons behind the closure of the pub, which was run by Robin and Sue Watson, but that it would be reopening under new licensees.

He said: “It will be a new business and we are currently completing a full refurbishment of the premises, which will see new furniture being installed and the building being spruced up, so it will soon be open again for customers old and new.”

The pub drew headlines in 2008 when Mr Watson was told to take down a gazebo which acted as a smoking shelter in its beer garden after City of York Council said the use of seven screws in the structure were a breach of planning rules.

Later that year, Mr Watson also barred York MP Hugh Bayley from the pub over his support for a blanket smoking ban.