Reading Aparthotel Eyes Conversion to Homes

An aparthotel in Reading town centre could be turned into permanent homes if planning bosses approve the conversion.

House of Fishers City Wall House in West Street is an aparthotel with rooms that have kitchen and living facilities, close to shops and less than a 10-minute walk from the station.

The firm, which also runs 100 Kings Road, has applied to Reading Borough Council to convert City Wall House into 16 studio flats, 11 one-bed units and four two-bed flats.

The company says it operates a serviced-apartment model for short-to-medium stays, aimed at corporate travellers, consultants and event guests, offering cleaning but no restaurant or bar.

House of Fisher sought pre-application advice in June. An agent from The Harris Partnership stated:

"The proposal was deemed to be acceptable in principle and housing was welcomed as a needed improvement to the area.

"The general quality and layout of the flats was found to be suitable and appropriate as a car-free development."

The council suggested external changes could be made to the building; similar facade work was done at Soane Point at some point last year. House of Fisher says such upgrades would make the project financially unviable.

An agent from Woolf Bond Planning stated:

" An assessment was included in the financial viability assessment to explore the potential inclusion of window and fae7ade improvements.

"However, the assessment concluded that these upgrades would increase costs by a3188,760, increasing the already existing deficit to -a3694,741.

"As a result, no external upgrades are proposed for this scheme."

There was also debate over demand: the agent said demand for serviced apartments has weakened since COVID changed business travel, but a planning officer noted several floors were in active use during a site visit.

The application is under consideration by the councils planning department. You can view it on the council planning portal using reference PL/26/1341.

City Wall House also houses the Mleczko Polish supermarket. House of Fisher failed in a bid to convert 100 Kings Road into 41 flats in September 2024.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter