Food and drink

'I'll fight to keep The Redan open'

March 22, 2010

A landlord has vowed to fight to keep a town centre pub from being demolished as part of Wokingham's regeneration.

Andy Rogers, owner of The Redan in Peach Street, wants the popular pub, which was built in the Victorian era, to be left standing when the bulldozers roll into town to revamp the Peach Street and Rose Street area.

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Mr Rogers says the building’s historic importance to Peach Street, and the town as a whole, and the pub’s popularity with locals mean it should be saved.

Mr Rogers took over The Redan more than three years ago and has since turned it into a thriving cocktail bar which is packed with customers over the weekend.

He says keeping character buildings like The Redan are important because they keep the market town look for Wokingham, and without them it would become a clone of towns such as Bracknell.

He added: “The other way of looking at it is the importance of the actual pub to the town and how it has given it something the town didn’t have before.”

If The Redan is demolished, Mr Rogers would look into having the pub in a new unit, however he said locals would be disappointed to lose the pub.

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It would be an utter shame to lose such a great pub full of Wokingham charma and character! where do we sign up to petition the council to ensure this pub is kept safe?

garethrees, Wokingham
23/03/2010 at 22:04

I don't think any of the old buildings should be demolished - they are what give Wokingham its charm and make it stand out from other towns. If Wokingham wants to have something to attract shoppers from elsewhere it needs to keep these beautiful older buildings and work with them, rather than knocking them down.