According to their Facebook page "renovations are soon to get underway. And while we had hoped to keep the pub open for local community to enjoy for a little while longer, unfortunately that is no longer viable."

In January the pub went back into the hands of the hotel's owner, James Derriman, who also ran the pub between 2002 to 2010.

Oberon Councillor Lauren Trembath, who lives in O'Connell, said the hotel only reopened in February and the new manager had the hotel up and running with a great team.

READ MORE:

"It's a shock and disappointment to the community. Locals were coming back and there were raffles and a footy competition.

"And now the rug has been pulled out from under us."

"Small regional communities rely on their local pub for social contact. They're the hub of a community. Now we have no where to go."

O'Connell Hotel's Facebook post went on to say "preliminary work will get underway shortly, and we'll be providing regular updates of the progress here on our socials over the coming months. So stay tuned, and we look forward to welcoming you back to a bigger and better O'Connell Hotel soon."