SCAFFOLDING is being put up on the front of high street buildings as regeneration works continue in Wokingham.

Regeneration works will now come out from behind the hoardings at Peach Place as part of Wokingham Borough Council’s regeneration programme.

This phase of work affects the buildings at the top of Rose Street, which formerly housed Boots Opticians and J Strange Jewellers, and the buildings on Market Place, which currently house Costa Coffee and Superdrug.

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Cllr Stuart Munro, executive member for business and economic development and regeneration, said: “Whilst we appreciate there is disruption to the town, it is very much still open for business.

"Whilst we know the new development is going to be fantastic for Wokingham town centre, it’s important that we can keep the town trading as we build the new square and shops. All four businesses affected are great assets for Wokingham so we wanted to make sure they could keep trading throughout the works.

“With this in mind we’re using the same approach as when we refurbished the Clarks and Boots buildings in 2014. We are carefully scaffolding the Market Place facades above Costa Coffee and Superdrug whilst maintaining access to their stores to ensure it’s business as usual at all times."

Works taking place involve the affected buildings being covered in scaffolding and protective screening to minimise disturbance, before the frontages are removed and replaced with new facades, including new windows and render.

The Rose Street work will also see the building extended with a new corner unit, helping mark the entrance to the Peach Place square with its new restaurants, shops and public toilets, which will be opened as part of the development at Christmas next year (2018).