Developer wants to reopen historic pub

TWEEDSMUIR, Scotland, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The developer who had big plans for a Scottish pub where Robert Burns and other writers raised their glasses now says he wants to work with preservationists.

Jim Doonan closed the Crook Inn after he bought it in 2006 and has been fighting to convert the site to luxury housing. He said Friday he has been "impressed by the strength and commitment" of the Tweedsmuir Community Company, which has been fighting to save the inn, The Scotsman reported.

The pub, in the village of Tweedsmuir in the Borders, is one of Scotland's oldest. Burns is said to have written "Willie Wastle's Wife" there, and a later patron, John Buchan, may have been inspired by the inn to write his suspense classic, "The Thirty-nine Steps." Sir Walter Scott and 18th-century poet James Hogg also stopped by.

Doonan filed a new plan Friday with the Borders Council in which the Crook Inn would be the centerpiece of a mix of new and renovated buildings.

Duncan Donaldson, president of the community company, said the group is glad Doonan's plans have changed. He said his group's "vision has grown" to see the Crook as part of a complex of local businesses.