The plan to replace the former John Lewis customer collections centre with flats has cleared a crucial hurdle.
The project involves replacing the closed collection centre opposite The Oracle and building 170 apartments in its place.
A legal agreement has been signed between John Lewis and Reading Borough Council, meaning the development can go ahead.
Elsewhere, progress is being made on bringing a long-vacant pub and historic building back into use, and a plan for new signage at a busy retail park has been submitted.
You can view each application by typing the reference in brackets into the council’s planning portal.
Replacement of John Lewis site with 170 flats clears hurdle (PL/24/1155)
The plan to replace the John Lewis customer collection centre with 170 flats has officially been approved.
The facility in Crossland Road, opposite The Oracle, has been closed since 2022.
John Lewis signed a section 106 legal agreement with the council on August 20, laying out affordable housing contributions and other commitments.
The status of the project is unclear, as the John Lewis Partnership announced in February that it was withdrawing from its Build to Rent property business.
Plans progressing to bring pub and historic buildings back into use (PL/25/0087)
A project to bring The Coopers Arms and the historic buildings at 27-32 Market Place is moving forward.
The development involves the creation of three retail units and eight apartments above ground level.
DreamVault Escape Adventures has occupied retail unit 1 since January.
The development company has won permission for details of hard and soft landscaping, particularly relating to the amenity area of retail unit 2, the reprovided pub.
New look signage for Brunel Retail Park (PL/26/0886)
Signage for Brunel Retail Park in Whitley could be changing soon.
For years it has had two cylinder totem signs displaying the businesses that occupy the retail park.
A plan has now been submitted that would replace these cylinders with two tall rectangular signs with 12 labels for the businesses on site.
The latest news from the park is that a tile business is set to open at the former Halfords unit, which closed in June last year.
Plan to expand house to add more rooms (PL/26/1123)
A plan has been submitted to expand an end-of-terrace house in Erleigh Road and create rooms for students.
The house is currently a six-bed home of multiple occupation (HMO) that is used as private student accommodation.
The landlady has applied for a single-storey rear extension to create more communal living space for occupants and further alterations to the property to provide a total of eight bedrooms.
Following a loft conversion in 2022, there have been seven people living there, which requires planning regularisation from the council.
