Plans have been submitted for a huge development to replace Reading’s former Royal Mail depot.

The development, called Reading Metropolitan, is next to Reading Station on Caversham Road and includes 658 homes, office space and a health centre.

The Royal Mail depot closed in 2009 and is currently being used as a temporary base for Network Rail.

Developer Hermes Property Unit Trust has submitted plans to Reading Borough Council (RBC) to build nine high rise buildings and 17 town houses, ranging in height from two to 25 storeys.

Reading Chronicle:

Hermes say the scheme will help people to live and work in the heart of Reading, enhance the business community and provide new walking and cycling routes to Reading Station.

The blocks would contain 79 studio, 227 one-bedroom and 335 two-bed flats as well as 17 three-bed town houses on the Caversham Road site.

Hermes said it expects the work to start at the end of 2019 if granted planning permission and take around five years to complete.

The development includes plans to provide a new public square outside Reading Station and a tree-lined avenue connecting Caversham Road to the square.

Reading Chronicle:

A new community facility, health centre, shops and six storeys of office space are also part of the plans.

The scheme will include apartments for private sale, along with a number managed by a housing association for below market rent or shared ownership.

The former Royal mail depot site is allocated for redevelopment within the council’s Local Plan and previously had planning permission granted for a high-rise scheme, which has since expired.

Just 94 car parking spaces are proposed, with 636 cycle spaces to be provided.

The application can be viewed on the council’s planning portal and is expected to be considered by the council’s Planning Applications committee later this year.