Buildings that have until recently served as an office complex in Reading town centre are now set to be turned into flats.
Buildings that until recently served as offices on the former Huntley & Palmer factory site in Reading town centre are being turned into housing.
The latest decision lets the distinctive Beta Building at 121 Kings Road be converted into 44 flats (PL/25/1573). The mix will be 31 one‑bed, two‑person flats, 11 one‑bed, one‑person flats and two two‑bed, three‑person flats. Planning officer Jonathan Markwell determined the application meets the rules on office‑to‑housing conversion.
This follows last year’s conversion of neighbouring Kennet Place into 93 flats, which are being marketed by Haslams.
Other recent planning decisions
Advertising and wayfinding signs for the Village Hotel at Caversham Bridge (PL/25/1455) were granted retrospective approval. The branding and signage for the 122‑room hotel were installed before it opened last month, and the council signed off the positioning and sizes on December 22, 2025.
A single‑storey rear extension to create a new kitchen and dining room at a semi‑detached home in Chiltern Road, Caversham (PL/25/1563), was approved. Planning officer Sian Hickey noted the adjoining property already has a rear extension and judged there would not be an adverse impact on neighbours. The plans allow for a kitchen, a five‑seat dining table and a three‑seat breakfast bar.
The Berkshire Independent Hospital in Coley won approval for a temporary modular building to house a new MRI unit (PL/25/0615). The unit will sit next to the hospital’s main entrance off Wensley Road to enable more MRI scans. Planning officer Nathalie Weekes concluded the scheme would not have an adverse impact on parking.
You can view each application by typing the reference in brackets into Reading Borough Council’s planning portal.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
