FOUR wildly differing futures are awaiting well-known venues in Burnley — after a pub chain denied it was opening its third outlet in the town.

Bosses at JD Wetherspoon have quashed speculation that they are looking at moving into the former Walkabout bar, at the corner of Hammerton Street and Hargreaves Street.

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Staff at the Australia-themed outfit moved out earlier this month, with the loss of 10 jobs, and the premises have been advertised for a rental of £35,000 per year.

Hopes are high that a new tenant will be found, after Wetherspoon’s communication boss Eddie Gershon confirmed that the national chain, which also runs the Brun Lea and Boot Inn at Burnley, were not in discussions over the site.

Ten people were employed at the bar, while two managers have been relocated to Carlisle and Birmingham.

At the time of the closure announcement a spokesman for Walkabout said: “iNTERTAIN, the company that owns Walkabout, announced plans in January to reduce its debt and increase the level of investment in its bars across the UK in order to secure the future of the business.

“In order to do this we needed to look at all our venues across the UK and assess their performance levels.

“Unfortunately the Walkabout in Burnley is one of those venues.

“Due to current market conditions and the high level of rent we have to pay, the venue is making a loss.

The former Rewind club, situated above the old Walkabout, is also up for grabs.

A Petty spokesman said: “The property is situated in the heart of the circuit with a number of bars and nightclubs in the immediate surrounding area.”

The former Lava and Ignite club, further along Hammerton Street, based in the old Proctor’s Mill foundry, has also been mothballed, as part of a regional shake-up by leisure giant Luminar.

More concrete plans have been unveiled for the Garden Bar, in St James Street, which most recently traded as the Guys As Dolls Showbar and Bailey’s.

Ian Walker has unveiled plans to convert the elaborately-decorated bar into six retail units, with five shops facing onto the main street and a larger outlet with an entrance looking out onto Brown Street, at the rear.

Work is now nearly complete on the conversion of the former White Hart pub, in Church Street, which is set to open as the first East Lancashire restaurant for the Shimla Spice chain.