Month: January 2018

In Your Area – a new start for local press?

Reading-On-Thames, 2 Comments

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Local papers can attract ridicule at times.  The stereo-typical “Cat stuck up tree” headlines are good for a laugh – “Reading man almost wins lottery” is the most comical genuine example I can remember.  But I think the local press is a really important part of the community, keeping us informed, entertained and providing some scrutiny over local councils and institutions.  Last week saw the relaunch of GetReading, the former Reading Post, or former former Evening Post, as In Your Area.  Recent years have certainly seen a significant shake-up in the newspaper industry, local papers especially, and this latest initiative, with Reading as a guinea pig, is a nationally significant development.  Here are my observations.

Continue reading “In Your Area – a new start for local press?” →

In Your Area – a new start for local press?

The Arc – yet another new plan emerges

Reading-On-Thames, , 30 Comments

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Reading generates planning applications at a prolific rate.  The problem seems to be getting them all built.  In fact, it would be impossible for them all to be built, because most of them tend to be repeat applications for alternative schemes on the same sites.  Station Hill is the most celebrated example, with at least three or four schemes having been separately drawn-up and subsequently shelved.  Now the site of the former BMW garage on Kings Meadow Road is catching up.  Following the high-profile and unpopular “Swan Heights” three-tower idea, developer Lochaillort finally won planning approval last year for the revised “Thames Quarter” project, featuring a 23-storey apartment block comprising 315 homes.  Before the ink on the rubber stamp has even dried, they’re back again with a completely new plan, dubbed “The Arc”. Continue reading “The Arc – yet another new plan emerges” →

The Arc – yet another new plan emerges