Plans to convert an old pub and restaurant in Wargrave into homes appears to have been completed.
The building in the High Street, which went through various iterations as a pub and two different restaurants, has now been converted into six flats.
According to Historic England, the building started life as an Inn in the 16th Century and is Grade-II listed owing to this heritage. It has undergone a series of changes over the last 15 years.
Initially serving as The White Hart pub for hundreds of years, it was converted into the Haweli restaurant in the 2010s. It was last seen open as Haweli in 2017. A year later, it became the Da Toni Italian restaurant, until Da Toni closed in 2020.
The building now contains three one-bed and three two-bed apartments.
Although works appear to have been completed, the planning application for the site does not appear to have been approved.
A decision on the project will be made by Wokingham Borough Council’s planning department. The council’s planning portal states that a public consultation is currently live and ends on Wednesday, April 17.
The project also involves the demolition of a coaching house building to the rear, which would be replaced by a new two-bedroom home.
When the application was submitted in 2023, it was judged that reverting the building back into a pub would be unviable.
A planning agent wrote: “In 2013, when planning permission was granted to change the use to a restaurant, the council considered evidence as to why the property couldn’t continue as a pub.
“The conclusion was that the change of use and the loss of a community facility was accepted.
“In the intervening seven years, pubs have continued to be lost and there is no indication of any reverse in the cycle of fewer pubs being needed.
“The reversion to a pub remains unviable as it was back in 2013.”
Advocating for its conversion into six homes, the planning agent wrote: “The application comprises the redevelopment of an existing building which is not only a sustainable form of development, but it supports a listed building and the proposal will contribute to the Borough’s housing stock. ”
The conversion of the former White Hart is listed as a ‘case study’ in Historic England’s ‘Heritage Works for Housing’ guidance.
The listing states that the application is in process with no decision being made yet.
You can view the application for new homes at 45 High Street, Wargrave by searching planning application number 230688 into Wokingham Borough Council’s planning portal.
