A MUCH-LOVED name will soon be back above the door of a Haddington pub.

The Railway Hotel had been part of the town's history for several decades but, following a £250,000 renovation in 2017, was renamed The Bell.

The name of the pub, on Haddington’s Court Street, was then changed again to become The Green.

Now, East Lothian Council has given the green light for the name to be changed back to The Railway.

Belhaven Pubs was given approval by East Lothian Council after no-one objected to the proposed name change.

When the plans were revealed earlier this year, John Hamilton, from the town’s community council, was confident the move would be welcomed.

East Lothian Courier: The Railway is returning to Haddington after a name change was approved. Image: East Lothian Council planning portalThe Railway is returning to Haddington after a name change was approved. Image: East Lothian Council planning portal

Mr Hamilton, who also runs the popular Lost Haddington Facebook page, said: “We know for a fact that feedback on the likes of Lost Haddington when they changed to The Bell originally that the old Haddingtonians were ‘it will always be The Railway to me’.

“For several generations, it has been known as The Railway.

“I’m sure the community would welcome it.”

The name for the pub comes from its location near to the town’s old railway line, which closed to passengers at the end of the 1940s.

Advertising consent showing various signs, with gold lettering on a burgundy background, were approved by the local authority’s planning department.

The planning officer’s report said that none of the “sizes, scales, designs, colours, positions, method and number of fittings” would appear as “harmfully prominent, intrusive or incongruous”.

READ MORE: Haddington: Plans for The Railway to return to town

Planning permission is in place until the summer of 2028.

A spokesperson for Belhaven Pubs highlighted the reasoning for the renaming of the premises, at the junction with Hope Park and Station Road.

They said: “The pub was renamed The Green in recent years to link it with another business operated by our partners who were running the pub at the time.

“Following their departure last autumn, we are working with our new partner at the pub to take it back to its original name of The Railway.”