The Jubilee in York Wins Money-Can’t-Buy Charlie Dimmock Makeover

Following a nationwide search, The Jubilee in York was deemed to be the most run down and neglected beer garden in the country - but also one with great potential.

Now it has been transformed with a £10,000 makeover, designed by celebrity gardener, Charlie Dimmock.

The national campaign, in conjunction with Ronseal Eco, searched for the most neglected and run down outdoor drinking areas in a bid to encourage the creation of better beer gardens and give Britain’s ailing pubs a boost.

Punters and landlords across the country were encouraged to nominate their local ‘beer gardens of shame’. A shortlist of ten pubs across the UK was whittled down by a panel of experts, including Charlie, who deliberated over which beer garden most deserved the makeover, based on the pub’s role in the community, and the garden’s potential to be transformed.

Charlie designed a whole new look for The Jubilee’s derelict garden - which was overgrown, neglected and ultimately abandoned by customers. Then a team of landscaping experts moved in to transform it and kit it out with bespoke furniture.

The makeover focused on making a dramatic improvement, while being kind to the environment; all wood in the garden was treated with Ronseal Eco products while the pub benches were made with recycled wood, provided by Indigo Furniture.

Sue Callahan, landlady at The Jubilee, said: "I thought it was a wind up at first when they told me my pub beer garden had won a makeover. It’s been at least five years since we’ve done anything to the garden, and it’s fallen into disrepair. As the grass got longer, and the benches rotted away, customers stopped going out there, but hopefully that will all change now, as it looks absolutely fantastic."

James Smith of Ronseal, said: "With so many pubs closing in recent months and years we wanted to help and what better way to inject life into a community pub than by creating an outdoor haven to enjoy in the summer months.

"There are many beautiful and well-used beer gardens across the UK but we have seen some terrible ones as well. The Jubilee now has the chance to set an example to other pubs and demonstrate that a well presented beer garden can really boost profits and attract customers."

Charlie Dimmock, said: "It has been quite sad to see the state of some of Britain’s beer gardens. But it has also been a pleasure to see how a completely dilapidated beer garden can be transformed. And although we have done this on quite a grand scale landlords could easily spruce up their outdoor areas on a budget and a bit of TLC."

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