Developers at a derelict pub that has become a rubbish tip have once again changed their mind on plans for the site.

Lainston Woodley Arms LLP submitted plans last year to bulldoze Woodley Arms, in Katesgrove, and turn it into co-living flats aimed at young workers.

The developers already had planning permission, which it won on appeal, to demolish the former pub on Waldeck Street and turn it into two blocks of 38 student flats but changed its tactics last year.

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But Lainston has now reversed its decision and returned to its previous approved plan for student studio flats.

Meanwhile, Reading Borough Council (RBC) has issued an enforcement notice to get the mess cleared up as soon as possible.

Councillor Liam Challenger said: "It is a shocking dereliction of duty by the owner.

"We are exploring every avenue to ensure it cleaned up and kept clean. It is a constant headache for us."

The co-living flats plan was withdrawn in December and Lainston is now asking the council for permission to go ahead with an altered version of its student flats plan.

The revised plan would simply alter the layout of the buildings to allow for more communal space in block 2, with no change to the number of flats.

The site’s history

There have been five application at the disused pub, with planning permission first given in 2013 to convert the building into four flats.

Two applications to demolish the pub and redevelop the site as student flats were rejected by Reading Borough Council (RBC) and a planning inspector.

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A third application – also rejected by the council– was backed on appeal by a government planning inspector last year.

The pub, which closed in 2012, remains intact for now, with the developer having not yet committed to a single plan and the back yard full of rubbish.