A woman has threatened to sell up after plans to bulldoze her next-door pub in favour of a Greggs drive through were approved without her knowledge.
Kathy Skinner, 51, from Reading, lamented the move which is set to see the derelict pub next door bulldozed in favour of a brand-new drive through bakery.
The George and Dragon on Bath Road had been forced to shut down by Covid restrictions, and had been put on the market – but due to the exorbitant fee needed to reopen the pub, owners Greene King decided it would be more financially viable to replace it with a branch of the sausage roll chain.
Now, Skinner fears the consequences – namely, the traffic, light and air pollution living next door to the Greggs will require.
Skinner said none of her neighbours had received any communication of the impending development
Google/PA
She said: “I am going to be writing to Greene King and Greggs – I want to ask them the simple question: ‘Why do they think it's acceptable to destroy someone's sanctuary for the sake of profit?’
“It'll run within metres of my house. I get that I live on a busy road, but the cars are not that close to my back garden.
“As a result of this drive through, there will be noise and pollution directly into my garden, and I am an avid gardener – I bought my house for the garden, it's where I eat.
“Essentially now I'm going to be sitting eating with car fumes coming over my fence.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Street View images show the decline of the George and Dragon pub since 2019
“I just think this is Greene King looking for an easy solution to developing some land they couldn't sell – It's actually a beautiful building, it would be a shame to see that go.”
Skinner said she had reached out to neighbours – who all lived around the old pub – but none of them had received any communication of the impending development.
She told the Mail: “Either their post room was having a bad day, or Royal Mail was having a bad day,” and described finding out the plans had gone ahead as a “kick in the teeth”.
Reading Borough Council said their plans involved a minor change to the purpose of the site – extending its hours from an 11am to 11pm slot to a more drive-through-friendly 6am to 11pm.
Skinner said she would have to sit and eat in her garden (pictured) next to the planned Greggs site (left)
Skinner said the council said the ‘minor’ change meant it did not require a PAC (pre-application consultation) to seek feedback before submission.
She said: “What I really now object to is how they say it was a minor application – I want to say ‘did you even look at this?’
“I will be going back to them… I would like an answer as to how they think this isn't going to have a significant impact on the immediate neighbours.
“Lighting – once again – within metres of my boundary fence… They will say that modern technology can focus the light down, but it's still going to bring a significant amount of light pollution into my garden and my neighbours’ back bedrooms.”Skinner said a parade of shops, “truly affordable housing” or repurposing the existing pub building would have been much more suitable uses for the site.
“It could've been something so much better… anything that would bring a sense of community,” she said.
Skinner has lodged a formal complaint to the council, but she has threatened to leave altogether, saying: “If I do move, I'll be moving out of Reading”.
A Greene King spokesperson said: “The George & Dragon has been closed for almost four years and regrettably, even once Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, the pub was not economically viable to reopen.
“We have opted to work with Greggs to bring the area back into use and create a number of local jobs.
“We took our proposal to Reading Borough Council last year and were pleased to receive approval for the scheme in December.”
GB News has approached Greggs for comment.