The most important planning applications decided in Reading this week

Taco Bell in Broad Street Mall

A Taco Bell is coming to Broad Street Mall. The popular American fast food chain will occupy the unit next to Metro Bank. 

The restaurant has worked with the council on detailed plans on dealing with ventilation, smell and litter. 

Chop down a willow tree

A willow tree on the Thames, by the Warren in Caversham, cannot be chopped down. Richard Barnes wanted to cut down the tree and replace it with a new one away from the riverbank. He said it was destroying a dock and creating a hazard to navigation. 

But the council said they couldn’t find evidence for this, and Mr Barnes is not allowed to chop down the tree. 

Sarah Duckworth, environment officer, said: “The graceful beauty of weeping willow trees when planted adjacent to rivers means that the weeping willow has become a popular traditional tree for planting within the Thames landscape.”

READ MORE: Springwatch presenter Chris Packham speaks out on 800 trees accidentally chopped down in Palmer Park

Cinema at Broad Street Mall

A new cinema at the Broad Street Mall will have an open ‘loggia’ — similar to a balcony — on the first floor. The open space will be on the corner of the Oxford Road and Queens Walk, and will join the lobby of the cinema. 

The space used to be used as the stock room by Argos. One member of the public raised concerns about how windy it could get. 

READ MORE: New 199 homes in Calcot approved amid fears over ‘unsustainable congestion’

Bigger beer garden at Spoons

The beer garden at the Back of the Beyond, a Wetherspoons on King’s Road, will expand. One neighbour raised concerns about the extra noise, but councillors voted to approve the plans anyway. 

An extra six tables could fit into the bigger beer garden, which overlooks the Kennet canal. 

Change warehouse into flats

An application to change a warehouse in Caversham into eight flats was refused. The warehouse on St John’s Road, with a floor space of 1,000 square metres, is currently for sale. 

The owner wanted to turn half of the warehouse into flats. But the council said this wasn’t allowed because of the impact on traffic and car parking in the area. 

One public commentator said: “It would create a wholly unsatisfactory residential environment, effectively just screening off one side of a typical industrial shed.”