PROPOSALS have been put into place to revive a former Wokingham pub and put its historical characteristics back into the heart of the community, following the closure of a restaurant.

The former Café Rouge building in The Market Place is set to go back to its original pub roots and be called The Rose, which was its previous 19th century name.

New owners of the site Oakman Inns will be holding a public exhibition of their proposed new plans and the planning application was submitted to Wokingham Borough Council last week.

Oakman Inns hope the exhibition will provide an opportunity for the community to see their design and refurbishment proposals.

Malcolm Schooling, property director at Oakman Inns, said: “As everyone who has an interest knows, it can be very frustrating to try and make sense of planning drawings and designs, especially on a home computer screen.

“We always try to ensure that as many interested local people have an opportunity to see the plans close-up, and to ask questions of those involved in the process.”

The suggested work includes renovation of parts of the main building, reinstating the fireplace, stripping away some of the internal additions to reveal historic fabric and adding in a café.

Mr Schooling added: “We always thrive on the opportunity to restore a building’s heritage while balancing it carefully with new elements of high-quality modern architecture, comfortable interior design and maintaining the charm and special historical character of the building.”

When Oakman Inns first brought the site they wanted the pub to be called The Rose Revived, following feedback from the community it’s been confirmed the pub will be called The Rose.

Peter Borg-Neal, founder and CEO of Oakman Inns, said: “I absolutely love this property and believe our plans will re-establish The Rose at the centre of Wokingham’s community.

“We encourage everyone who visits to leave comments and observations on the design as these are often insightful and helpful and can provide a useful focus for the management team when it comes to meeting their future customers’ expectations.

“Those comments have helped to guide us and to drive our standards ever-higher.”

The exhibition will take place at the former Café Rouge building, 30 Market Place Wokingham on March 6 and March 9.

Directors and senior managers from the company and their architect team will be on hand to answer questions from the public.