Work is steadily being completed at the former House of Fraser unit at The Oracle.
The two-story department store bid farewell to its loyal customers in 2023, with plans to add a new host of amenities introduced earlier this year.
New pictures show that both the upstairs and downstairs floors are currently bare, waiting for the two new businesses to set up shop there.
A previous license was granted to open a Hollywood Bowl at The Oracle Riverside in Reading which will be open from 9 AM–12:30 AM daily.
Locals have previously said that the town would benefit from more activity centres, so when plans were revealed that a bowling alley would come to the popular shopping centre many were pleased.
They will also have a bar area which will be open from 10 AM–midnight every day, and until 2 AM on New Year's Eve.
The first floor will be home to a TK Maxx, the department store already occupying a nearby unit at Broad Street Mall.
Currently, planning conditions for The Oracle state that stores and restaurants must close at midnight from Monday to Saturday and 11 pm on Sundays, Bank Holidays, and other statutory holidays. But Hollywood Bowl wants to operate later than that.
Justifying the later hours, a planning agent from consultants Turley said: “The requested extension in the opening hours is required to meet Hollywood Bowl’s operational requirements and will facilitate the reoccupation of this prominent Riverside unit.
“The proposed occupation by Hollywood Bowl will positively contribute to the night-time economy, without causing adverse impacts to residential amenity.”
The planning agent also stressed that the hours change only affected the unit that Hollywood Bowl will occupy, and not the upper two units that are being created at the old House of Fraser store
These activities include food and alcohol sales, with drinks being served from a bar between 10 am to midnight each day, and until 2 am on New Year’s Day. However, the company still requires planning consent for the extended hours.
The nearest Hollywood Bowl is currently located at The Point and Peel Centre in Bracknell, which closes at 11 pm most nights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Since the plans were released, work has been undertaken to fit out the unit, which is obscured by a mural celebrating the ‘three Bs of Reading’: beer, biscuits, and bulbs.
The artwork references three major companies that were based in the town; H & G Simonds brewers, Huntley & Palmers biscuit makers, and Sutton and Sons.
We are currently unaware of the timeframe that either floor will be open to the public but will let our readers know in due course.
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