MORE than 500 new homes could be built in Reading as an investment company has submitted a plan to replace town centre offices.
Peveril Securities, an investment and development company, wants to replace the Napier Court office buildings in Napier Road with apartments.
Napier Court is located opposite Kings Meadow, and is near the Thames Quarter apartment complex and a Tesco Extra store.
The site comprises three two-storey brick office buildings. These would be demolished and replaced with two buildings containing 570 apartments: 296 two-beds, 208 one-bed, 56 three-bed and 10 studio flats.
They would be contained within one 11-storey and one 10-storey apartment block.
Due to the site’s proximity to the town centre, 58 car parking spaces are proposed for the development, along with four car club spaces and cycle storage space for around 283 bicycles.
Describing the residential amenities which would be included, the applicant’s planning agents Carney Sweeney said: “The proposal includes ancillary facilities for residents at ground floor providing an active frontage at street level, with further provision within a mezzanine level.
“The amenity provision includes a resident’s lounge; gym; workspace; cinema; private dining and games area.
“The proposal also includes for a rooftop garden and terrace for residents.”
The site has been identified for residential development in the Reading Local Plan 2019, in policy CR11i. which gives an ‘indicative capacity’ of 210-310 homes, well under the 570 proposed by Peveril Securities.
The council has stipulated that any development must also avoid detrimental impact on River Thames, as the site is close to its banks, as well as the Thames Lido, a Grade II listed building.
The policy states: “This area will be developed for residential. The design must avoid detrimental effects on the adjacent Thames Valley Major Landscape Feature, and building heights should reduce from west to east across the site.”
The policy also mentions that any development would have to be sensitive to prospective Network Rail depot and now-quashed plan for a single-track bus lane bridge over the historic Kennetmouth, known as the East Reading Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) route.
Partly due to a residents’ campaign against the idea, Wokingham Borough Council refused the plan.
If it had been approved it would have ripped up historic woodland and created a colossal concrete eyesore.
Before a full planning application for the 570 flats is submitted, the developers seeking a ‘screening opinion’ from Reading Borough Council to determine whether an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is needed.
Carney Sweeney argued it is not as the site is featured in the Local Plan and within the urban development of the town.
It will be up to the council’s planning department to determine this.
The application can be viewed by searching for reference 231263 in Reading Borough Council’s planning portal.
