Berkshire pub set to replace Michelin star restaurant

The Royal Oak at the roadside in Paley Street near Maidenhead had a fantastic reputation for food, achieving a Michelin star.

But that was not enough to save it from closure during the coronavirus pandemic, leading it to be sealed off for years and put up for sale.

It was last seen standing in May last year, when the demolition project began.

The Royal Oak as seen from the roadside in May 2023. Credit: Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

A company called Paley Street Restaurant Ltd is engaging in a project to bring The Royal Oak back to its former glory by replacing it with an all-new pub building.

Developers had previously won approval for the redevelopment of The Royal Oak to modernise it, while keeping the existing building and materials.

However, the planning agent for Paley Street Restaurant Ltd, Chris Bagot, argued that the condition of the previous building ‘was too poor’ for it to be safely retained therefore it ‘needed to be demolished’.

Ultimately, planning officer Edward Vaudin at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead determined the project was acceptable, despite lamenting the permanent loss of the original building.

The project for the replacement pub was approved in January.

READ MORE: Roadside pub in Berkshire with controversial name closed for good 

In the latest development, Paley Street Restaurant Ltd has had details of its measures to protect animals as part of the project approved.

A condition of the approval of the new pub building was that the company had to provide details of biodiversity enhancements that will come with the development, to allow routes for hedgehogs to pass through the site and roosts for bats and birds.

The new pub building will come with two bat boxes and two boxes for Swift birds to roost.

Additionally, gaps within the boundary fencing will allow hedgehogs and other wildlife to pass through the site.

The approved biodiversity plan for The Royal Oak pub restaurant in Paley Street, near Maidenhead. Credit: Hankinson Duckett Associates

The biodiversity plans were approved on March 12.

You can view the biodiversity measures by typing reference 24/00276/CONDIT into the Royal Borough’s planning website.

Also, you can view the replacement project by typing reference 23/02106/FULL into the planning portal.

Paley Street Restaurant Ltd is headed by Alex Fasoli, who is listed as a member of the team at The Woodspeen restaurant and cookery school just outside Newbury.

Not far away, The Bridge House pub in Paley Street has also been closed and sealed off since May last year after being put on the market.

There are indications that the pub was active just over a year ago, as the operators submitted a plan for a timber pergola that was ultimately withdrawn in June 2022.

Furthermore, The Bridge House entry on the website What Pub? was last updated on January 30 last year.