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The business of leisure and entertaining people
in Wokingham has been
very active and competitive during recent years and it seems that
2009 is no different. Changes are always under way and further
changes being planned, Peach Street place has not appeared yet, but is
still in the works. The turmoil in the commercial property business has
certainly delayed this further.
But, our continuing expanding population is one on the
drivers of this change, it brings new opportunities for businesses
and, for those that have been in the trade for many years, it
brings the challenge of expansion. Some projects blow hot and
cold, one such is the Peach Place/Rose Street development that has
been 'on the books' for many years and is currently on the back burner.
The plan is to replace the 60's flat roofed shopping
block with units more in the "vernacular" style of Wokingham. The current store units are occupied by, amongst others, Superdrug & Boots. Above them were number of homes whose
residents have to be accommodated elsewhere in preparation for the redevelopment.
The units are on very short lets at the moment, and this sees stores come and go.
A recent change is the opening of a new Costa Coffee outlet. This is a new chain
to Wokingham that is likely to have ssen the success of Caffé Nero, which is always
popular, it seems the demand for light grazing increases rather than reduces in
tougher times. The business people who turn up for the free wi-fi struggle to find a seat.
Staying
It has always been tricky to find somewhere to
stay close to Wokingham town, and although extra bed space has
been created recently, it still seems demand is higher than availability.
Remember in June Ascot Racecourse holds Royal Ascot, most overnight
accommodation is "sold-out" during that week. We are building a
listing of places to stay with links and details over here. It currently includes the main
Wokingham places, but is growing as we check places out.
One place that has undergone another change is Court Lodge in Wellington Road,
since being acquired by the owners of Cantley House Hotel, it was renamed
"Court Lodge", and has now been renamed "Cantley Lodge" which makes more
sense to me, sharing the quality brand associated with Cantley House.
Eating Out & In
Around the town you can find many styles of
cuisine, we list them all in our directory in this issue. If
you're on that limited budget there are often
offers available in local restaurants. Newspaper
offers are worthy of a mention, look out for the annual
Times
Dine with Wine & Lunch for a Fiver offer, which
requires the collection of vouchers from the newspaper. These
vouchers are accepted by a range of eateries around the country.
Meet up for drink
Wokingham once topped the charts in pubs per
person, and it continues to offer a wide choice of hostelries.
Look at pages three to eight for eating and drinking venues. There are several good outlets
for Real Ales and of interest to Campaign for Real Ale members. You can check out the beers found in the Crispin, the Broad Street Tavern and Wetherspoon's at the BeerMad website and the breweries at Quaffale
Pampering
A trend that is common to most of the UK is
reflected in Wokingham. Pampering palaces are opening up around
the town. In Denmark Street the former Rejuvenate premises is now part of the Retreat.
Keeping Fit
Want to keep fit in Wokingham. The are lots of choices
to help you with this task. The Holmes Place fitness centre is now part on the
Virgin group and has been renamed Virgin Active, a membership only club with pool,
workout equipment and Brown Bag Café. Ten Pin Bowling is available at the Bowling centre
in Wellington road just along from the station. St Anne's manor (a Hilton Hotel) in London Road
has a pool and gym for members and guests. The Carnival fun pools are at the end of Wellington
Road. They have two pools one with slides and paddling area, the other deeper and usually laid
out in lanes.
For the more mature Crown Green Bowling is catered for at the club in Reading Road.
The Crispin centre in London Road has racquet games and more.
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