A PUB and carvery on a busy route through East Lancashire has been given a £300,000 plus guide price.

Joint agents Fleurets have placed the currently-closed Duke of Wellington, on Haslingden’s Grane Road, up for auction.

Bosses for owners Milton Pubs confirmed the venue, which had a Crown Carvery, was closing last March.

Cllr David Stansfield, Helmshore ward councillor, said then: “This is a sign of the times and a sign of the changing world we are living in.

“Years ago everybody had a local they used to go frequent, but things are different now.”

Since then the landmark has remained shuttered, with barriers installed to guard against unwanted incursions.

Auction officials have not ruled out the pub being used for other purposes, subject to planning approvals.

A spokesman for auctioneers Pugh and Co said: “(This is an) extensive vacant former public house which includes dining capacity for approximately 104 covers, a three bedroom managers apartment, beer garden and 88 on-site car parking spaces.

“The property may also be suitable for alternative use or development subject to the necessary consents.”

The freehold for the one-acre site is being offered, alongside a premises licence, when the Wellington is placed up for auction at the AJ Bell Stadium in Salford on February 25.

But the pub will not be the only well-known building in the Haslingden area to potentially go under the hammer at the same gathering.

The former St John’s Church, which has been used latterly as a gym, is also up for grabs at the auction.

Auctioneers have placed an £85,000 guide price on the John Street building, which could be converted for residential use.

Before its eventual closure in the 1990s, the site also saw service as the New Jerusalem Church.