Work is set to begin on a new Wetherspoon pub in Marlow in just a few weeks, ahead of an opening date this summer.

Building work to transform 3 Market Square at the top of Marlow High Street into a brand-new Wetherspoon pub called The Grand Assembly will shortly get underway. 

A spokesperson for JD Wetherspoon previously told the Free Press that work on the former M&Co store would begin in March, but they have now confirmed that it is expected to start in four weeks' time, around mid-April.

Plans to open the new pub this summer remain in force, though all dates are subject to change.

Following news of the venue's imminent opening, some residents in Marlow have fallen on either side of an opinion divide as to the benefits and drawbacks of a local chain boozer.

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Maria Bazely said: “At last, an affordable restaurant for us low-income people (who) still live in Marlow” and Tyler Rhys Stephens added: “About time we had somewhere affordable to get drinks”.

However, Richard Coleman took an opposing view, suggesting the town “has enough places to eat already” and another person warned that Marlow will “no longer (be) a posh place” once the new pub arrives.

The Grand Assembly is expected to create 50 to 60 full and part-time jobs and is described on Buckinghamshire Council's planning portal as "beneficial to the vitality and viability of the town centre".

It will operate between 7am and midnight from Sunday to Thursday and from 7am to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. A beer garden at the back of the building is expected to close at 11pm daily.