Plan for Flats at Forbury Park Expired

A huge plan to replace a retail park near Reading town centre with hundreds of flats has effectively expired.

A huge plan to replace Forbury Retail Park, near Reading town centre, with hundreds of flats has effectively expired.

The Forbury Retail Park – home to big‑box stores such as Furniture Village, HomeSense and Bensons for Beds – sits opposite Forbury Gardens and Reading Gaol, about a 10‑minute walk from the town centre.

Back in February 2022 planners proposed ripping out the row of eight stores and the KFC drive‑thru to build 12 tower blocks. East‑side businesses such as McDonald’s, Argos, Hobbycraft and Decathlon would have stayed.

Scottish investment company Abrdn originally sought 900 apartments, later scaled back to 820 flats when plans were formally submitted in May 2023. The scheme was called Kings Meadow View, since future residents would have views over the meadows.

But the application has now officially expired, a letter from Reading Borough Council says.

“There has been no recent progress on this application, with the most recently agreed extension of time for the determination of the application having expired on April 30.

“The application has been effectively dormant for over six months now, and no known attempt has been made by yourselves to appeal to the secretary of state on the grounds of non-determination within the prescribed timescale.

“It has therefore become clear to officers that there is no prospect of the above application being brought to a state where your client will be in a
position to secure permission.”

The letter went to Abrdn’s appointed planning agent in November. The last planning document was a sustainability appraisal filed in February last year — a year and eight months ago.

Developers can appeal to the planning inspectorate if applications aren’t decided in time, but no appeal was lodged here. You can view the expired application on Reading Borough Council’s planning portal under reference PL/23/0822.

The most recent local news from the retail park was KFC’s successful licensing application to stay open for drive‑thru and deliveries until 2am. The KFC website, however, says dine‑in closes at 10pm and drive‑thru and deliveries run until 10.45pm each night. It’s possible KFC may need planning permission before any extended hours can start.

The last major scheme allowed after non‑determination was the outline plan to replace Reading Station Shopping Park with 1,000 flats and new commercial space, approved by the previous Conservative government in March last year.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter