reading

Station Hill Phase 3A – Latest plans reviewed

Reading-On-Thames, 9 Comments
Aerial view of Station Hill phase 3A

Plans went on display last week for the next phase of Station Hill in Reading town centre. After a generation of inactivity on the site, recent years have seen things progress apace. We’ve watched 598 apartments go up in two blocks on the site of the old Friar’s Walk shopping centre, with a new pedestrian bridge and route through to the station lined with a slowly emerging cluster of food and drink outlets. A gleaming new office tower, now 80% let, occupies the plot closest to Reading station, with its lobby playing host to the exhibition. Let’s take a look through the latest proposals.

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Station Hill Phase 3A – Latest plans reviewed

Reading to Heathrow Rail – will we finally get there?

Reading-On-Thames, , , 6 Comments
Reading Station square

Reading’s economic fortunes are underpinned by its proximity to Heathrow. With a new runway set for take-off, there’s renewed interest in future rail connections to the airport. This is a long-running saga, with various rival schemes proposed that best suit various locations or interests. A firm proposal, to be funded by the airport as part of its expansion project, is apparently on its way, giving us a final opportunity to indulge in speculation. Will Reading finally get its long-awaited direct train, or will it be shunted into the sidings once again? Let’s look at our chances…

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Reading to Heathrow Rail – will we finally get there?

Reading regeneration schemes – Spring Update

Reading-On-Thames, , 5 Comments
Domain Reading apartment scheme under construction

As the days lengthen and mercury starts to climb, life is springing out of the ground. Although this year, as far as Reading’s major construction projects go, we have some cases of delayed germination. Right now, there’s only one crane following the sun around the town centre sky, despite no end of seeds planted. Let’s take a look at what’s going on…

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Reading regeneration schemes – Spring Update

There’s going to be a mayor, but a mayor of where?

Reading-On-Thames, , , , , 9 Comments
A map of the area likely to become the Thames Valley Strategic Mayoral region

A frenzied process of provincial match-making is in full swing, with central government having issued an edict that the country must be chopped up into regions, each of which will elect a mayor to receive devolved executive powers. City regions and combined authorities in the larger cities have operated this model for some time. Now the rest of England is to play the same game, but with the added fun of a new rule: regions should have a population of at least 1.5 million. Rather than carve up the map in Whitehall, the government has amusingly thrown it over to the nation’s Town Halls to figure it out for themselves, missing the glorious opportunity for a TV show format in the process. So where’s Reading ending up? Let’s speculate…

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There’s going to be a mayor, but a mayor of where?

Waterfront Square Plans Submitted

Reading-On-Thames, , 9 Comments

Another regeneration project has been submitted for planning in recent weeks. The developer has paid for the Gold package with its architects as we get a vast array of CGIs from every conceivable angle. This must be Reading’s most photographed building despite not yet being built. You can almost hear the disquiet from neighbouring buildings: “Who’s this Johnny-come-lately with sixteen selfies?”
Clearwater Court pipes up, “I’ve got two cylindrical fire escapes yet you don’t see me carrying on like that”.
In amongst the abundance of imagery, I’ve pulled out a few details for you…

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Waterfront Square Plans Submitted

Reading Local Plan Update

Reading-On-Thames, 16 Comments

Last week the full council meeting was presented with a hugely detailed update to the local plan. The documents published included lengthy to and fro between the council and prospective developers around specific sites. Given the relatively light coverage in local media, I’ve pulled out some quotes that offer glimpses into the schemes that might be coming forward – or very much not in some cases – over the coming few years. I hope it’s useful…

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Reading Local Plan Update

Greyfriars Road: Co-Living makes its debut

Reading-On-Thames, , 19 Comments

Today’s consultation write-up relates to a plan for 257 co-living units in a redevelopment of Greyfriars House. More significant than the proposed building itself is the new type of accommodation it would provide: Reading’s first* purpose-built co-living scheme. The planning exhibition gave me the chance to ask a few questions, so here’s what I made of it…

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Greyfriars Road: Co-Living makes its debut

Should we be anti new flats? Taking apart the argument

Reading-On-Thames, , , , , , , , 23 Comments

The latest flurry of development news in Reading has focussed on new apartment schemes. It prompts constant debate, so it feels like a good time to make the case, perhaps controversially to some, that this is the right direction of travel for the town.

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Should we be anti new flats? Taking apart the argument

Oracle Proposals Updated

Reading-On-Thames, , 19 Comments
Revised Debenhams Oracle CGI

Revised plans have been published on The Oracle’s consultation website. For those who haven’t followed this story, the owners of the Oracle are seeking to bring forward a significant mixed use regeneration of the eastern end of their estate. The vacant Debenhams would be blocked off through the middle, across all three levels. Around half would remain as retail/leisure accessible through the mall, and half would give way to new primarily residential buildings. In a subsequent phase, the cinema building would be replaced with further flats, incorporating a smaller replacement Vue cinema at lower levels. I featured the scheme when it was submitted more than a year ago, so I’ll just cover the changes here.

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Oracle Proposals Updated