A PUB which has been closed for three years is set to reopen within weeks.

The Dyke in Dyke Road, Brighton, closed suddenly in 2016 and some of its former customers have been attempting to revive it ever since.

Now under new ownership, the watering hole is expected to reopen in mid to late-August.

The pub will also take on a new name, The Dyke Alehouse and Kitchen.

Will Farmer took over the pub earlier this year having started a crowdfunding campaign to raise £20,000 to help his cause.

He said: “It was good timing in a way. I met with people from the community and it all fell into place.

“I’d been into the pub a few years ago but didn’t know much of the background until I spoke to people.

“Clearly lots of people wanted it reopened. With the amount of people campaigning for it I thought it would be foolish not to invest in it.

“There’s a lot of pressure with opening a new business but I’ve spoken to the community about my ideas and had a lot of positive feedback.”

Will said the pub will be at the heart of the community and he hopes it will appeal to those who frequented it before it closed.

However he will not be taking over the whole of the original building, which has been split in two.

Will is opening The Dyke in the north east corner of the building. Meanwhile the upstairs of the second half remains residential and the downstairs of the same half is vacant.

The new landlord said hearty pub grub and good drink will be at the centre of the new-look Dyke.

He said: “There will be a good offering of food and beer, there’s a big gap in the market for traditional pub grub.

“There’s a lot of gastropubs and Thai and Mexican food in pubs but there’s not many who take on the back-to-basics pub food.

“We will offer a range of beers, both traditional and craft and home-cooked food like pies and bakes, that kind of stuff. Good pub grub.”

A year ago The Argus revealed the site in Dyke Road was sold by estate agents Carr and Priddle to Lan Estates for £1,050,000.

The Save The Dyke Pub campaign group, which had been battling to reopen it, said the sale was “two fingers to the local community”.

There have been several attempts by the community to buy the pub to save it from closure.

In 2017, the then owner Martin Webb tried to save it and submitted a planning application to reopen half of it.

He withdrew the application because he thought the venture would fail due to the level of opposition.