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Major Investment to Revamp The Sportsman Pub

Improvements are coming to The Sportsman after Greene King agreed a £249,000 investment in the pub.

The Sportsman is a Greene King pub at the busy junction of Shinfield Road in Whitley and Elm Road in Earley. It is passed by thousands of people every day and is within easy distance for people living in Whitley, Earley and Shinfield.

Greene King is on the lookout for a new landlord to run the site under its 'Hive' brand, which are described as pubs that are 'at the heart of the communities they serve' with great food and a regular programme of entertainment and live sport.

The investment includes replacing a large umbrella known as a ‘jumbrella’ with a covered pergola. Greene King needed planning permission from Reading Borough Council for the pergola. Planning officer Alison Amoah said: “The proposal would support the ongoing use as a public house and would enhance the available facilities and continued use of this community facility.”

The pergola plan was approved on Friday, March 6. You can view the application using reference PL/25/1593 on the council's planning portal.

Earlier this year Greene King won permission to paint the pub navy blue and replace its signage.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter

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