Greggs plans to install a drive-thru in a British town and has left locals fearing they may have to sell their homes. The bakery chain has acquired the building that once housed the George and Dragon pub on Bath Road in Reading before it shut due to the Covid pandemic.
An application to convert it into a drive-thru premises has since been approved, but locals claim they were not informed of the coming demolition until after local authorities gave it the green light. Kathy Skinner, 51, who lives next door to the disused site, described the approval as a “kick in the teeth”.
She has said she plans to ask Greggs and the building’s previous owners whether they “think it’s acceptable to destroy someone’s sanctuary for the sake of profit”.
Ms Skinner told the Daily Mail she worries about the coming traffic, light and air pollution associated with living next to a busy Greggs. She said she plans to write to the company and Greene King, the pub firm that previously owned and operated the George and Dragon.
She added the Greggs would ruin her gardening hobby and leave her “sitting eating with car fumes”. Ms Skinner 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.”
Reading Borough Council plans to change the building’s hours from the pub’s former 11am to 11pm slot to a new 6am to 11pm slot, and did not launch an application consultation – which would be required for other buildings and require officials to consult with locals – due to the “minor” change.
Ms Skinner has since lodged a formal complaint with the council and threatened to move “out of Reading” altogether if the construction goes through.
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.”
Express.co.uk has approached Greggs for comment.
