It’s been a busy week for development news in Reading as the council’s planning committee met recently.
At the meeting on July 20, the committee approved a plan to knock down a historic hall and replace it with apartments.
They also extended the use of temporary homes for the homeless in Caversham, and an extension to the Berkshire Record Office.
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You can view the approved plans by typing their reference in brackets into the council’s planning portal.
Olympia Hall to be replaced with flats (220244 and 220245)
Buildings in London Street and the historic Olympia Hall will be redeveloped to provide a total of 15 homes.
Of those, 12 will be contained in two three storey new builds which will stand where Olympia Hall was, and three will be provided by converting the ground floor of 75-77 London Street.
They will be of similar design, with two three-bedroom flats and two two bedroom homes on the ground floor, and four two-bedroom flats on the first floor and roof levels of the new builds.
But councillor Josh Williams (Green, Park) was unimpressed with the lack of affordable housing.
He said: “We’re getting four per cent affordable housing.
“Is there a realistic chance of us actually receiving any money?”
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A council officer replied that £119,000 would be paid by the developers (four per cent) would be guaranteed, with the remaining 26 per cent of affordable housing potentially paid by a ‘deferred payment mechanism’ which is not guaranteed.
Cllr Williams and cllr James Moore (Liberal Democrats, Tilehurst) both abstaining, with the rest of the committee voting to approve.
Artificial pitch ruled out at special school (221009)
The prospect of a special school having an artificial pitch has been ruled out.
Hamilton School, a special school, run from the Hamilton Centre in Bulmershe Road, potentially had the option of building an artificial pitch using a portion of £25,000 in funding to deliver sports improvements.
But that option was revoked after councillors objected.
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Cllr Williams said: “The impact on the environment of a plastic pitch is significant.
“Artificial turf needs replacing regularly, it’s not easy to recycle and microplastics leach into the water sources.”
The committee unanimously agreed to remove language from a condition allowing an artificial pitch to be built.
Extended use of ‘homes for homeless’ in Caversham (220304)
The committee unanimously agreed to extend the provision of temporary accommodation in Lowfield Road, Caversham.
In 2016, the council agreed to build 28 two bedroom homes to provide accommodation for homeless people.
Permission was granted for the homes for five years, expiring this year, but the committee voted to extend it for 10 years.
Cllr Simon Robinson (Conservative, Emmer Green) stated neighbours did have concerns when the site was first proposed, but since then, the project has proved to be “a huge success”.
Extension for Berkshire Record Office (211485)
The committee unanimously approved a plan to build a two storey extension to the Berkshire Record Office at 9 Coley Avenue.
The office, operated by West Berkshire Council, applied for the extension to provide additional archive storage.
However, councillors pushed for either solar panels or a green roof to be built on the extension, subject to a feasability assessment.
Six parking spaces will be lost once the extension is built.
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