A FORMER Guiseley bank is taking on a new lease of life as a gastro pub.

The Oxford Road premises was put on the market after HSBC closed its Guiseley branch last September.

It has now been acquired by the pub and bar chain The Potting Shed and will become the company's fourth Yorkshire venue.

Potting Shed Trading was founded in 2015 by the Leeds-based BurningNight Group, the team behind city centre Bierkeller Entertainment Complexes across the country. The project is being backed by Downing LLP which has invested £5.5million into the business.

The former bank will now undergo a complete remodelling to transform it into a contemporary gastro with a signature garden theme with brightly-coloured wooden sheds. The menu will include wood-fired pizzas, homemade classics, cocktails and craft ales.

Bingley was chosen as the location for the first Potting Shed in April 2015 and the company opened a further pub in Beverley, August 2016. Each development aimed to breath new life into formerly disused buildings.

A third venue is due to open soon in Northallerton, and Guiseley will become the fourth, with contracts now exchanged on a freehold for the building near the town’s railway station.

Steven Kenee, partner at Downing LLP, said: "We have been really impressed with the progress of the first two sites and we look forward to bringing the concept to the people of Guiseley."

Allan Harper, founder of BurningNight Group and director of the pub group said: "Potting Shed bar and grill has been so successful since we launched the first one less than two years ago that it’s given us real confidence to open more.

"Location is always crucial in everything we do and this particular site in Guiseley offered us a great opportunity to create something that’s different and fun which we’re sure customers will enjoy."