A vacant hotel in south-west Reading could become a new health clinic.

Number 166 Berkeley Avenue, formerly part of the Upcross Hotel, has been empty since 2018 but new plans could see it turned into a private health clinic offering a range of services.

A planning application from Dr Rabhinder Mittal has been sent to the council to change the use of the building.

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He says the clinic could include:

  • Counselling/psychotherapy
  • Acupuncture
  • Physio
  • Occupational therapy
  • Rehab therapies to deal with the effects of Long Covid
  • Minor Operations
  • Nursing care

The original building provides spacious well-proportioned rooms suitable for conversion into clinical rooms, according to Dr Mittal, and there is no intention to enlarge the building.

Dr Mittal plans to retain the building’s many original features and carry out “sympathetic alterations to improve the thermal efficiency of the building and protect the building for the future”.

The clinic would open from Monday to Saturday for appointments only, limiting the number of patients on site at any time.

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Dr Mittal said, in the planning statement for the application, the redevelopment will “prevent the further deterioration of the building and its possible use by squatters”.

He added: “It will also provide a secure property that will have a minimal impact on the neighbouring domestic properties because it is only operational for limited hours during the week and on Saturdays and not on Sundays.”