A prominent Oxford pub is getting its second major revamp in two years and reopening as a restaurant and bar.

The White House in Botley Road is undergoing a major revamp to be renamed The One restaurant and bar by new landlord Raymond Chu.

Mr Chu took on the Punch Taverns lease in December and is carrying out the site’s second major transformation in the last two years. He expects it to open by the end of May.

He already runs Paddyfields restaurant in nearby Hythe Bridge Street and the Chef Imperial in Woodstock.

He said: “We are going to reopen more as a dining establishment but there will still be a bar.

“We are doing something different with the menu and it will be a mixture of British and Asian food.

“We really like the site because it has a lovely garden with a lot of potential in the summer and it also has a small car park.”

Meanwhile the future of some Oxford Pubs is less positive.

Pub operator Greene King has put The George Inn, Botley Road, up for sale. It was taken over by city-based restaurateur Michel Sadones in 2008.

The Bricklayers Arms in Marston has been sold by agents Savills, which marketed it for £500,000 with the view it had “development potential”.

The Shelley Arms in Cricket Road and The Maroon @ St Thomas, formerly the Chequers, in St Thomas Street have both closed and been put on the market by Punch Taverns.

Meanwhile, Oxford City Council members will again consider a planning application for a shop and student flats at The Cavalier in Northway on April 19.

Tony Goulding, pubs officer with the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, said: “I don’t trust any pub companies with buildings worth a lot of money.

“People don’t make the money they used to.”

Punch management are carrying out a major overhaul of their estate nationally with more than 2,000 of its 5,241 pubs being sold off, as it announced pre-tax profits down £5m to £61m in 2010.

Bosses say more sites in its 86-strong Oxfordshire estate will be sold off but declined to say which would be affected until landlords have been informed.

Regional operations manager Mark Bromley said: “We are selling pubs off in blocks and we will give our partners the opportunity of buying the properties they are running.

“Pubs closing is not good for the economy, jobs or Punch. The sooner we have sorted out our high quality estate, the better.”