A HISTORIC Otley pub has been put up for sale - triggering a 'window' for a potential community bid.

The Otley Tavern, on Newmarket, is being sold as a freehold for a guide price of £275,000.

The inn - formerly called The Ring O' Bells - was recently added to the List of Assets of Community Value (ACV).

That means community groups and individuals have a chance, during a six week moratorium, to express an interest in buying the property and keeping it going as a pub.

Should that happen then a full, six month moratorium period would begin to give the community bid time to be prepared and submitted before the pub is put on the open market.

Otley Pub Club is hoping someone will step forward despite the extraordinary difficulties the hospitality industry is currently facing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posting an appeal on its Facebook page, the club said: "Do you fancy buying a historic Otley town centre pub - or know anyone who does?

"It might not seem like the greatest time to be buying a pub, when they're all forced to stay closed, but just think of the pent-up demand when they're allowed to open fully again!

"The Otley Tavern is for sale freehold for £275,000 and includes two-bedroomed accommodation upstairs.

"The pub currently has Asset of Community Value status which means any community group interested in buying it has until January 4, 2021 to say they’re interested in making a bid for it, to keep it open as a pub.

"If no community interest is shown during that time the pub can be sold for any change of use, subject to current planning conditions.

"Otley Pub Club has always said the best way to make a pub successful is for the freehold to be owned by the people running it, and for it to be free of any restrictions on what drinks it can sell, or where it has to buy them from.

"This could be a perfect opportunity for a local group, an individual entrepreneur, or maybe even a brewery wanting a dedicated outlet for its beers to get a foothold in this famous pub town.

"We’ve lost three of our traditional historic pubs in the last decade, let’s hope we don’t lose any more."

Leeds City Council officers have written to ward Councillors about the sale and the potential ACV bid, stating: "The deadline for any group to inform us they want to be treated as a bidder is January 4, 2021. If no eligible group informs us of their intention to be treated as a bidder by this deadline the landowner will be free to dispose of the property on the open market."

The Otley Tavern's roots, according to the Pub Club's website description, stretch back to the 18th Century.