The Moorgate Kippax: Leeds pub reopens after three years as Keir Mather MP raises glass to boozer
Pints are flowing once more in a much-loved village pub.
The Moorgate, in Kippax, had been closed for three years - until a new team took over on Saturday (February 8).
It was a sight that many former drinkers in the Leeds Road boozer had been hoping for, with numerous calls for it to reopen.
Among those keen to see the watering hole alive was former landlady Mary Harland, who is now a councillor.
“It’s absolutely fantastic to see it reopening,” said Coun Harland, who ran the Samuel Smith’s Brewery-owned venue in the late 1980s.
“The Moorgate is a real community hub and it always has been. It has been closed for too long, and I’m so excited that it’s opening.”
Last summer, Kier Mather MP singled out The Moorgate as a pub that he wanted to see reopen in the village.
He wrote to the brewery, emphasising the social role that pubs play in rural communities - and has since been in contact regarding other venues that he hopes to see return.
“The reopening of The Moorgate is fantastic news for everyone in Kippax, complementing the brilliant pubs we’ve already got on Kippax High Street,” he said.
“Last summer, I spoke to the Evening Post about the role of pubs as vital community assets, and about my hope to see them reopening.
“That’s why I’m so delighted to hear this news about The Moorgate, and I’ve written once against to Samuel Smith’s to urge them to get their premises back open in Micklefield, Selby, Fairburn and Stillingfleet.”