It’s a good while since my last round-up post, so read on below for a quick rundown of Reading Town Centre news. As usual there’s plenty going on…

The leisure / “competitive socialising” trend is coming good for the town centre at a time it needs a bit of a boost. Bowl Central and Hollywood Bowl are both open, the former supplementing their offer with electronic darts, the latter with a vast arcade. Urban Fun’s possibly even larger arcade has become the busiest spot in the Broad Street Mall. On Station Road, the new Boom Battle Bar offers axe throwing and shuffleboard.

According the Boom Battle Bar’s Reading website, “our boards are simply the best, even Tina would agree”. At the risk of encroaching on bar review territory, I tried it out and admittedly quite enjoyed it… but I wouldn’t hang on every word I say.

On Broad Street, the short-lived Coco di Mama has been replaced by a fourth town centre Caffe Nero. According to Reading Chronicle comments section, “we don’t need another Nero, even Tina would agree”. I might have paraphrased that, but hey, at least it’s not a private dancer establishment.

A repainting of Harris Arcade is on the cards. Quite why they’ve had to apply for planning permission for that I’m unclear. And there may be some creative licence with the brightness setting on the submitted imagery unless they’re also installing some serious new wattage. Apparently planning applications to spruce up both entrances are also in the works, so we have green shoots (or is it duck egg blue?) for a possible boost to this little corner of independent Reading.

We’ve also seen Eclectic Games successfully upsize to Duke Street – the old nightclub site by the Kennet. Their vacated shop on struggling Smelly Alley is bad news there, no doubt ultimately ceding the entire length to phone stores. The Broad Street entrance to the narrow thoroughfare is set to be converted to apartments, which hopefully might smarten it up very slightly. And a separate application by the same landlord to rejig the layout of the former Hotter Shoes unit promises to remove the need for permanent metal shutters down the first 20 yards of Union Street. So just maybe it might be able to turn a corner, but only if they can tempt at least a tiny proportion of Broad Street’s footfall to do the same.

The Oracle seems to be gradually filling its remaining empty units. A number of smaller spots have been occupied and the vast new Hollywood Bowl has been heralded as the chain’s most successful opening. The old House of Fraser top floor has now been confirmed for Zara, with the rumoured Apple Store upsize into the former Top Shop remaining unconfirmed. Yet the Oracle still seems completely incapable of keeping its escalators working, with groups of confused shoppers constantly stranded pointing at random staircases, lifts, or plotting alternative routes through H&M or Next to try to change levels. It’s madness they can’t keep them functional. They are, however, very good at flowers.

Slow progress on some of the major schemes. No news on the sorting office coming forward despite earlier rumours of Moda Living taking on the project. Station Hill’s final phases still seem distant, although their new route through to Friar Street is gradually picking up footfall with a number of ground floor openings due, although no firm news on Flight Club.

The new library / council HQ entrance is well underway. Whether the complex will still host an actual council after the local government re-org is still unclear. I’ll stay out of the politics for today, with the battle for Tilehurst raging between Reading and “Ridgeway” aka Didcotshire. This is the best quick summary on the latest state of play.

The Hexagon studio theatre extension has begun work. They’re aiming to keep disruption to the main theatre to a minimum. Conversely, the Broad Street Mall residential project is likely to be far more chaotic. To help keep the logistics as simple as possible, the council is going to sell its remaining lease on the car park to the developer. The latest details reveal that the ultimately downsized car park will have half of the current 700 visitor capacity (plus 100 residential spaces). And they now plan for access to be only from the IDR and not from Castle Street. That’s not to mention the potential two year period where the car park will be closed entirely. But you can’t make an omelette etc… At least it looks like the scheme will finally come forward, potentially an Autumn 2026 start, and I remain optimistic it will revitalise the area. I hope I don’t end up with egg on my face.

The Gaol is still shrouded in mystery. News of the mooted cultural attraction remains elusive. Aptly, I can’t even find confirmation of what’s being filmed inside in the meantime – most credible theory here. I’m told my fears that the owners might opt to keep it as a permanent film set belong on the cutting room floor. Rumours are that various architects have been involved and options are being actively considered. They’re not even at a “pre app” yet, so nothing imminent I’m afraid. I hope they’ll involve the public as well as the council in any early discussions, otherwise we might find ourselves taking inspiration from the football supporters and throwing tennis balls over the walls in protest at another Chinese investment gone wrong.

The Thackeray scheme at the corner of Queen Victoria Street seems perpetually poised for action. There has been a succession of minor amendments to the proposals, the most recent of which submitted in recent days. Layout changes to the apart-hotel, and to the detailed layout of the retail units, all refer to specific tenant/operator requirements, without naming the businesses concerned. We have to hope the cycle of ever-more-intricate planning variations ultimately ends with some builders on site soon.

Residential conversions of older office stock are continuing. The old Prudential (Huntley & Palmers) is underway, with the other old Prudential (the green glass building) heading the same way. Caversham Road also has one conversion scheme underway (40 Caversham Rd) with similar proposals for The Pinnacle further along held up in planning. The opposite side of the road is seeing the old Drews frontage preserved with new homes being built behind it, in a win for the planning committee. Yet they’ve had a loss along Oxford Road at Eaton Court with a naff office conversion now submitted after they turned down a reasonably tasteful new build.

The old electric works site is starting construction with the first homes now being sold off plan. And the Carter’s scheme nears completion. Back in the town centre, Soane Point’s conversion is also back in full swing after the first builder went bankrupt. We await news of the Natwest Bank site, and opposite, the scaffolding has returned on the period buildings backing onto the Bristol and West site, which hopefully implies they’re being fully converted now following previous maintenance work.

What have I missed?! I always welcome further news and rumours! And as usual, your thoughts and comments appreciated below. No registration necessary.

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