Aldi Reading store days numbered as 1,000 flats approved

The Reading Station Shopping Park just to the north of Reading Station has been the subject of a plan to replace it with apartments, offices and new retail space.

The retail park is currently host to Aldi, The Range, OneBelow, Majestic Wines and TGI Fridays, which has been there since August 1989.

Now a project to replace them with apartment towers and commercial space including a bar and takeaway has been approved, despite the disapproval of Reading Borough Council.

The decision was made by Lee Rowley, the minister for housing and planning and Conservative MP for North East Derbyshire, because the council failed to deliver a verdict on the project in time.

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The plan was submitted by Aviva Life & Pensions which owns the site, in 2020.

Aviva Life & Pensions appealed to the government after the council did not give a verdict within a target decision date.

The minister Mr Rowley approved the project despite planning appeal inspector Susan Heywood who judged it recommending that it be refused.

In her verdict of the project, inspector Heywood argued that there would be ‘significant harm’ to the Reading townscape, as the existing one-storey buildings will be replaced with towers ranging from four to 18 storeys tall.

Indicative heights for a plan to build hundreds of apartments, offices retail and more in a project to replace Reading Station Shopping Park. Credit: Collado Collins Architects

She also said that there would be harm due to the loss of protected trees and lack of appropriate planning for new tree planting and public space within the scheme.

However, her suggestion was overturned by Minister Rowley, acting on behalf of Michael Gove, the minister for housing, levelling and communities.

Ultimately approving the plan, Mr Rowley wrote:  “The Secretary of State notes the Inspector’s conclusions, but disagrees with her recommendation.

“He has decided to allow the appeal and grant planning permission.”

Inspector Heywood conceded that there would be ‘substantial public benefits’ to the project, which included between 383-427 people directly employed during the construction phase, and hundreds of jobs created from the offices the scheme will provide.

The Reading Station Shopping Park in Vastern Road, Reading. Credit: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service

The news comes as a defeat for the council, as councillors voted against the project at a meeting back in March 2022.

At the time, councillors argued failed to provide an effective north-south link between the train station and Caversham, and that the proposed buildings would dwarf the surrounding homes

Back then, the scheme was for around 600 apartments, but that escalated to up to 1,000 in the period between the council vote against the project and its approval this year.

But the planning applications committee vote was only that it would have refused the project if it had the opportunity to deliver a verdict on it.

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Ultimately the decision lay with the government, with the result being postponed from November 2023 to March 21, when Minister Rowley’s decision was issued.

You can view all documents for the approved project by typing reference 200328 into the council’s planning website.