A YORK city centre pub which has been closed since last summer is looking for new management.

The York Arms in High Petergate, near York Minster, is advertising for a management couple to run the place and get it back up and running once coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted.

A sign in the window says there is a flat that comes with the job and training will be provided, also that a bond of £1,000 will be needed.

The York Arms closed down suddenly last July - just one of several Samuel Smith’s Brewery pubs in the York area which shut in 2019 and have so far failed to reopen, causing consternation amongst customers and local community leaders.

Others which closed included the Agar Arms, a picturesque pub near the village green in Warthill, the Buckles Inn, a landmark pub on the A64 between Tadcaster and York, and the Brown Cow in Hope Street, off Walmgate.

However, another pub which was shut for several months, the Blacksmiths Arms at Skelton, re-opened in December after a major refurbishment.

The brewery has consistently declined to explain why it has shut the pubs, including the York Arms, or state whether, or when, they will re-open.

The row of buildings in High Petergate which includes the York Arms was designed by J. P. Pritchett in 1838 and incorporated an early 18th-century house at each end.

As things stand, UK pubs and bars may be allowed to open in July as long as social distancing measures are followed and table orders put in place to avoid the spread of coronavirus.

In Warthill at the time, parish council chairman Paul Spetch has said the closure of the Agar Arms had been raised at a meeting and members were very saddened to hear the news, as it was "an important little hub of a place", and they hoped it would re-open.

He said he believed changes introduced by the brewery, such as a ban on the use of mobile phones and tablets, had had an impact on lunchtime trade.

He said another problem had been the introduction of a rule saying customers should pay for things with cash and not credit cards.