THE owners of a pub which mysteriously closed six months ago are close to making a decision on its future, they have claimed.

The Admiral Jellicoe, in High Street, Canvey, shut at the beginning of the year. At the time, new licensee Kyla Cox claimed it would be undergoing a £300,000 refurbishment. Her ambitious plans included adding a restaurant and function rooms.

However, it still remains closed, with its landline phone number out of use. Its website has been taken off the internet, with the former address giving an “under construction” message. A spokesperson from Ei Publican Partnerships, which owns the pub, said: “We can confirm that the Admiral Jellicoe remains closed. We are currently considering our options for the site with the view of reaching a decision in the coming weeks.”

The pub is named after a famous naval commander from the First World War, who most notably fought at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.

The Admiral Jellicoe, which is now boarded up, has been an institution along Canvey High Street for many years.

Canvey Independent Party councillor, Alan Acott, who represents the island’s East ward, said: “The pub itself has been boarded up with a heavy metal shutter over the front doors and round the back with corrugated iron.

“I contacted Castle Point Council and they have no idea what happened. They are no wiser than I am.

“People have referred to it as the best pub on Canvey as it is an old fashioned pub.”

His colleague Carole Sach, who also represents the Canvey East ward, added: “I think it would make a wonderful pub but it’s got to be run properly. It has got a wonderful outside garden, but it has just been left.”