The Honor Oak to reopen with £350,000 facelift

East London Lines reports that Punch Taverns, owner of the Honor Oak pub, is committed to investing £350,000 to refurbish it:

A statement from Punch Taverns said: “With the Honor Oak currently being closed for trade, we are aware that there may be some concern regarding the future of the pub. We can re-assure the community that we see the pub very much part of the long term future of Punch Taverns and we are planning a £350,000 investment and refurbishment beginning in January with a gala reopening in mid March.”

The pub had been subject to a campaign by the Forest Hill Society to turn it into a community-run pub, but while that's a model that can work (as the Ivy House in Nunhead has shown), the scale of this investment is a very encouraging sign that an important local pub is going to be given the love it deserves.

Given that less than two months ago, the Honor Oak was being squatted, this is a quick change in its fortunes.