A plan to add floors to the Bristol & West Arcade in Reading town centre has been rejected because it would have made the building look ‘jarring and awkward’.
Mountley, the company that owns the Bristol & West Arcade, applied to add two floors to the building back in September.
The new floors would have created 10 apartments, with three studio flats, three one-bed and four two-bed flats.
It would have been made out of brick to match the current appearance of the arcade.
But the plan was rejected on the suggestion of case officer Connie Davis, who called the extension design ‘jarring and awkward’.
In her verdict arguing for it to be refused, officer Davis said the addition would ‘harm the character and appearance of the existing building’.
Furthermore, she was unconvinced by the noise assessment that had been submitted with the application.
Mountley has secured approval to convert the existing upper floors of the Bristol & West Arcade into a total of 26 apartments in October.
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The developer submitted the same noise assessment from the previous plans.
The council’s environmental protection officers and officer Davis argued that a site specific noise assessment would need to be conducted to determine the impact commercial noise would have on future residents.
Mountley acquired the Bristol & West Arcade earlier this year from previous owners Sonic Star Properties.
Sonic Star had won permission to knock down the arcade and replace it with a 182 bed hotel with its own restaurant.
However, the company withdrew its plan in August.
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