Published: Friday, 26th June, 2009 6:07pm
Station Hill plans submitted
by Alan Bunce
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THE revised plans for Sir John Madejski"s redevelopment of Station Hill have been submitted to the council for planning permission.
Owners of the five acre site, Sackville Properties (Reading) Ltd hope that if permission is granted work can start in 2011 with completion of phase one by 2014. Planners are due to consider the application in autumn.
Sackville unveiled its latest proposals in April at a public exhibition which attracted more than 300 people. Director, Jon Homan, said: 'The comments made were overwhelmingly positive. We are hugely encouraged by the level of enthusiasm that local people have shown for the scheme.'
The new scheme which incorporates Friars Walk has 1.72m sq ft of floor space including offices, residential, shops and restaurants, an arts venue, a health and fitness venue, new public spaces and a central piazza.
Sir John, chairman of sackville, said: 'Reading town centre is experiencing a period of major change and, if there is the will to support securely backed creative ideas, we could see it emerge from the current economic doldrums as one of the country"s most vibrant commercial centres.
'Our new proposal for Station Hill is designed to be one of the first major mixed-use developments to contribute to Reading Borough Council"s vision of transforming the station area into a top-class location for business, retail, leisure and culture. We"re optimistic that we will receive the support we think we - and Reading - deserve.'
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howard thomas
(Unregistered User)
Jun 28 09 01:15
Our Ref: 4309
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John Madejski is a major financial backer of the Tory party. Should the decision to approve or reject these plans rest on Tory votes in RBC, will the Tory councillors be able to look at the scheme with an open mind and without a conflict of interests about biting the hand that feeds their bank account??
This makes a very good case for limiting the amount an individual can give to a political party to perhaps £10,000 per annum to avoid such situations.
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