THE opening of The Iron Duke in Wellington at the end of next month will boost business in the town.

That’s the view of Wetherspoon whose spokesman Eddie Gershon said yesterday: “We have been keen to open a pub in the town for many years and are pleased that this is now coming to fruition.

“We believe that the pub will be a great asset to Wellington and also act as a catalyst for other businesses to invest in the town.”

Work on The Iron Duke in the old town hall – the pub was named by readers of the WWN – began in late February, ending speculation that it had pulled out of the £3.2 million project.

It was set to open this month but work was held up for six weeks because of the amount of asbestos found in the roof of the building.

Asbestos had to be removed from a power substation which Wetherspoon had no direct control over.

The new pub will now open as planned on Tuesday, August 30, with no celebrity opening.

Wetherspoon will create about 50 new jobs and it will be the second big pub venture to open in the town this year – the Green Dragon in South Street having undergone a £400,000 refurbishment before re-opening.

This has already become very popular with those eating out and is only 100 yards away from The Iron Duke.

The opening of The Iron Duke will be a boost for the centre of Wellington, particularly with the closure of shops and the King’s Arms in the past couple of years.

There is no sign of the King’s re-opening because landlords in the past have struggled to make it pay.

And they would now find it even harder with the opening of the Green Dragon and The Iron Duke.