A LANDMARK pub is set to re-open after nearly nine months and the new landlady is looking forward to listening to regular punters to find out what they want from their watering hole.

The British Queen, in New Wanstead, will open its doors on Monday January 25 after lying empty since early summer last year, and it is hoped it will once again become an important part of the community.

Landlady Annie McGirl said she will be open to the thoughts of customers to find what they want in terms of entertainment aside from the usual offerings.

Ms McGirl said: “It's going to be a proper local pub where we hope people will come and enjoy good beer and fine wine.

“We're not going to have live music and we have an over-21s policy, so we hope it will fit in well with the surrounding area.

“We're thinking about having screens in for the World Cup in the summer, and if people want screens that show football and other sport all the time then we'll definitely think about that. I want to find out from local people about what they want from their pub.

“I'm hoping it will become a real community pub. I used to run a place in Stoke Newington and it became like that, we really worked at building it up, so I'm looking forward that we can do the same here.”

The pub initially re-opened on Monday this week (January 18) but technical problems with some of the bar's chillers meant they had to close for repairs to be carried out.

Mr McGirl said: “We had a false start earlier this week, but we're looking forward to being fully up and running on Monday.”

Check next week's Wanstead and Woodford Guardian to find out more about the new-look British Queen.