Oakman Inns has secured planning permission for its biggest project to date – the £5.2m restoration of the Royal Foresters in Ascot.
Bracknell Forest Council approved the project, which is expected to take eight months to complete, at a meeting on Friday.
Oakman Inns chief executive, Peter Borg-Neal, said: “We are delighted with the outcome and would like to thank the very many members of the public who gave us their unwavering support. I think it’s appropriate to commend the Officers of Bracknell Forest Council who conducted a robust and professional process as well as delivering a determination within a few days of the original target. On a personal level, I am particularly grateful to Councillors Dorothy Hayes and Tony Virgo for their relentless encouragement and strong support for the application. This is the biggest project Oakman Inns has ever done and is incredibly important to us. Getting planning permission is a significant step in what will be a lengthy and extensive project and we will commence work immediately. The first stage will be to rehouse the bats living within the buildings and we will then need to satisfy a number of pre-commencement conditions before starting work on the demolition of the annexe buildings and the modern extensions behind the main building.
“We have already started work on putting together the detailed information required. If all goes to plan, and Bracknell Forest Council are able to discharge these pre-commencement conditions quickly, we will start the demolitions within a few weeks and be open by Spring 2018.”
In the meantime, Oakman Inns has recently added a second Berkshire pub to its Collection - the 19th Century Walter Arms in the heart of Sindlesham near Wokingham. The Walter Arms, which is being run under the Ei Group joint venture, Hunky Dory Pubs, is open and trading but the expectation is that Oakman will apply for permission to renovate and extend the building after going through a pre-application consultation with Wokingham Borough Council.
