Recent months have seen a flurry of new and altered plans for developments along Friar Street, as well as construction continuing on the new Friars Walk. Let’s take a look through the progress, and the context of how this street fits within the evolving story of Reading Town Centre.
Continue reading “Friar Street – Finding the Way Forward”
Houses, hotels, a jail, a station, an electric works… as we pass Go for another lap round the board, here’s a roundup of where we are with the main projects in Reading, and who’s winning.
Continue reading “What’s new for 2022…”
This is my first post since the tragic events at Forbury Gardens. It’s a desperately sad time, and others have contributed far more eloquently than I could. There have been tremendously moving tributes and reflections. Is it too soon to be talking about anything else in Reading? My reason for doing so is prompted by one social media post I saw suggesting that many ‘safer’ open spaces exist locally and that people should use those instead. I think we must disagree. People should not be fearful of going out or visiting our town. And as we emerge from Covid-19 lockdown, I hope people will show the defiance to carry on, to maintain and even enhance the energy, diversity and spirit that makes Reading a great place to be.
It’s a case of “Anything you can do” for Reading’s Broad Street Mall. Following news last year that The Oracle has lodged plans for bowling and mini golf to replace the lower floors of House of Fraser, the Broad Street Mall has found a tenant to provide… mini golf and bowling. “Bunker Reading”, in the storage basement of the former Argos store, would provide a 12-hole mini-golf course, together with a two-lane bowling lounge. It’s a bold move to go up against Hammerson’s much larger leisure scheme, but I think this place looks the business, and they look likely to strike first.
It’s been a while since I posted, and a number of you have been asking for updates on what’s going on around town. Whilst pretty much all of this has been reported in various places, hopefully it’s useful or interesting to pull it all together. And I promise, it’s not all about flats! …Okay, some of it is about flats.
I spotted an interesting planning application on the council’s website this week. The Broad Street Mall is proposing a temporary development of small shops and cafes built out of recycled shipping containers. It’s certainly a change of tack for the shopping centre, which has drifted off course in recent years.
Continue reading “Shipping Container Plans for Broad St Mall”
Reading-on-Thames 