Plans Unveiled for 229 New Flats in Reading

Reading's planning team has signed off on a string of local projects, from a big office-to-flat conversion in the town centre to smaller home builds and flat conversions in Caversham and Katesgrove.

External changes to convert offices into apartments (PL/26/0091)

McGrath Group is pushing ahead with plans to turn the largely vacant seven-storey Abbey Gardens offices in Kings Road into 229 flats. The scheme includes conversion and extension work plus new windows, brickwork and balconies to refresh the exterior. Planning officer Jonathan Markwell judged the project acceptable, crucially on access to daylight.

Progress for new family home in university area (PL/25/0620)

A self-built four-bed house can go ahead on an unoccupied walled garden in Upper Redlands Road near New Road and Wantage Hall. The council's planning applications committee approved the scheme last September and the required Section 106 legal agreement was completed on June 10.

Flats behind defunct restaurant in Caversham (PL/19/1530)

Plans to create flats at the rear of The Spice Oven in Church Street have been revived. The scheme would deliver two two-bed and two one-bed flats by partly demolishing the restaurant rear and building a two-storey house. The application dates back to 2019, with the latest documents submitted in April and a S106 agreement signed on June 10.

Convenience store set to be converted into a flat (PL/25/0813)

No 1 Convenience Store on Elgar Road, Katesgrove, has permission to become a two-bed ground-floor flat while keeping a three-bed flat above. The building already contains a flat above the shop and sits close to the Bally Convenience Store.

To see each approved application, type the reference in brackets into Reading Borough Council's planning portal.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter