A pub in Carlisle city centre is soon to have new owners - and a new first floor restaurant.

Dianne and Iain Irving, who run the Crown Inn at Stanwix and the White Mare at Beckermet, will take over the Howard Arms in Lowther Street.

The Howard, a 16th Century coaching inn, will be their third venture.

She said: “The Howard is an iconic Carlisle pub. We are not going to radically change it.

"It will still appeal to its regulars and new customers too but there will be significant investment and it will be something really special.

“We are in the process of signing over the papers and then we can get started on work at the Howard.

“It is listed so we will be keeping the historical aspects and we’d like to make more of the State Management side of things.”

Plans for a change of use for the first floor from accommodation to a restaurant have already been submitted to Carlisle City Council.

Mrs Irving said: “We are hoping if plans are passed we will be able to get started on some renovations in February or March - but it depends on timescales.”

Michael Maxwell, current landlord of the Howard Arms, said food was an essential part of any pub business.

“If you don’t offer food then I think you would struggle," he said.

"The majority of our afternoon customers have food. It's all traditional and home made and we have lots of regulars. I think the new owners want to put the kitchen upstairs so there’s more room.”

The Howard Arms, once a popular pub with drinking journalists, has been open as a watering hole since the late 1880s.

It has a grade-II listed frontage with ornate green tiles.

The takeover will be good news to pub enthusiasts in the area, many of whom have been concerned about the rate of closures over the last decade.

The Crown in Stanwix has won a national award for its “dramatic transformation” since Mr and Mrs Irving took over.

It was named ‘Best Turnaround Pub’ at the prestigious Great British Pub awards in London last year. A £350,000 makeover was carried out over six weeks which was well received by regulars and new customers.

Also, in May last year a renovation of the pub’s garden was completed creating a new area known as The Courtyard@The Crown.

Their work on the garden also earned the drinking spot a nomination in the ‘Best Pub Garden’ in Britain at the same awards, reaching the national final.

Mrs Irving praised her staff for their hard work in winning the award.