Scaffolding has gone up at a pub in Wargrave as part of a project to transform it into a village shop and a wine bar with rooms.
The Greyhound closed in December 2021, following the retirement of its landlord Steve Linstead.
It has been taken over by H’artisan Specialty Coffee, a fellow Wargrave business run by Nick and Sarah Hart.
Last July, they won permission to convert the pub on the village’s High Street. Work has started with the installation of the scaffolding needed to secure the structure of the building.
Internal work will reconfigure the ground floor into a shop and cafe space, with the existing kitchen and toilets retained.
The area known as the former Smithy, which fronts onto School Lane will be converted into a wine bar.
Upstairs, work will take place to create four double-bed guest rooms.
Outside, minor modifications to the exterior will be made. The gold Greyhound lettering is expected to remain.
Meanwhile, extensions to an existing outbuilding will create flexible office space use.
Cllr Graham Howe (Conservative, Remenham, Wargrave and Ruscombe) said: “Anybody that knew the old Greyhound would know that it’s in need of significant renovation, that’s what the new owners are doing.
“On buildings of that age, you start with the roof and work their way down, that’s the need for the scaffolding.
“Clearly the investment is significant. Anyone who would want to use the pub would want to make sure the roof is in the best order in order to do the rest of the works.”
Cllr Howe said work has been held up as a result of recent storms.
He said: “They did need some good weather, storms may have had an impact.
“I believe the goal is to have the renovations and fittings to be complete by the end of this year.”
H’artisan has a partnership with the Rapha Cycling Club, by providing a space for cyclists to meet in its current location.
It is expected that the partnership will continue, with 20 cycle spaces being provided as part of The Greyhound project.
Cllr Howe said: “Anybody who lives in Wargrave will know that it’s a very popular cycling area.
“When I go to Henley to the gym at the weekends there’s always a lot of cyclists in the winter and many more in the summer.”
H’artisan’s owners did not responded to a request for comment.
The approved application can be seen by typing reference 223795 into Wokingham Borough Council’s planning website.
