A BRAND new pub is being opened in Cradley Heath bucking the trend of hostelries closing.

The Black Countryman will be the second of a new chain of pubs of the same name opening across the region, with the first one open for business in Brierley Hill.

The former Essentials store, Cradley Heath High Street, is currently being transformed into a pub and should be pulling pints in April.

New company Blackcountry Ltd is behind the new pub and is run by partners Steve Letherbarrow and Scott Dudgeon.

Scott, from Kingswinford, and his business partner from Quarry Bank, said: "The plan is to open between ten and 20 pubs over the next two years."

All of their pubs will be known as the Black Countryman and will look the same in appearance and style.

They have already transformed former Brierley Hill pub The Laurel in Stourbridge Road.

All of the pubs will operate as Free Houses as they intend to sell a number of locally brewed real ales, including Enville Ale, Pardoes and Holdens.

Mr Letherbarrow said: "It's all about selling good beer at the right price.

"At many pubs these days, you find their hands are tied. They have to buy their beer from a certain place and a certain price, but we can do what we want.

"We intend to sell our beer at £2.50p a pint, although ciders and lagers will cost a little bit more.

He added: "We can make sufficient profit on these prices so there's absolutely no reason why breweries should be charging so much more.

"I get the feeling some of the big breweries don't really care about their pubs at all, it's just about making money and I think they'd be quite happy just supplying the beer."

He added: "As a result, they've become greedy and because of that, they are driving people away from pubs with inflated prices to the point where some people now prefer to buy their beer from a supermarket at a much cheaper price and drink at home.

"But that isn't doing anything for society. Pubs are hubs of their communities and we want to bring that back."

Scott confirmed they decided to open a pub over a pint themselves and they originally planned to make the Cradley Heath Black Countryman their first one, but when The Laurel became available they decided it was too good an opportunity to miss.

He added: "We're not necessarily looking to bring old pubs back to life. Some pubs need a great deal of money being spent on them. We're looking at all sorts of premises, whether they be old buildings or shop units."