THE future of a pub that was ruined by a fire in 2017 will be decided next year, a brewery has confirmed.

The Grill and Grain at the Boatyard was forced to shut in April last year after a fire ripped through it.

The pub, formerly called The Boatyard, was open at the time and staff and customers were evacuated.

The site, based on the banks of the Leeds to Liverpool Canal near Bolton Road in Riley Green, had a £1million refurbishment the previous November.

A Thwaites spokesman said: "We have had an unprecedented amount of development taking place within our properties across the country, so we took the decision earlier this year to put plans for the Grill and Grain on hold until 2019.

"This will give us time to complete some major developments such as moving our head office, brewery and stables to Mellor Brook, along with refurbishments of our pubs and hotels which this year have already included The Britannia at Oswaldtwistle and the Royal Oak at Riley Green."