Plans for a new day centre and homes that replace a former care home in Whitley have been adjusted.
The Willows care home previously stood at the junction of Hexham Road and Northumberland Avenue in Whitley.
Built in the late 1970s, it contained a sixteen-bedroom residential care home for people with dementia and ten flats to provide intermediate care for people getting rehabilitation following an injury or illness.
The Willows was closed after decades of service in 2020 and completely demolished in November 2022.
The site, owned by Reading Borough Council, is due to be transformed with the construction of a new four-storey building containing a day centre to provide social care services and 42 one-bedroom flats.
Of those, 36 flats will be sheltered housing aimed at people aged over 55, with six units being for people with general needs.
These plans have recently been adjusted with changes to the elevations and designs of the new building.
A document by Shrimplin Planning & Development states the redesign was “necessary”, with details of the changes being provided by Morgan Sindall Construction.
For example, materials have been changed, with the newly proposed brick design being less susceptible to climbing, therefore reducing anti-social behaviour.
The bricks chosen will also be less at risk of staining and dirt build-up.
Furthermore, the walkways on the first, second and third floors of the proposed building have been changed from brick to exposed reinforced concrete.
The adjustment has been justified as the concrete would have a lighter appearance and would be less susceptible to vandalism.
Additionally, the plan has been adjusted to increase cycle space provision.
The site previously would have had two cycle stores containing a total of 30 cycle spaces.
A redesign has meant that one of the cycle stores will have 20 spaces, and another will have 12 spaces, providing a net increase of two cycle parking spots.
All of these adjustments have been submitted prior to any construction work taking place.
But before any changes can go ahead, the project has to be approved by Reading Borough Council’s planning applications committee.
A decision is due to be made when the committee meets on Wednesday, April 30.
Planning officer Matthew Harding has recommended that the adjustments be approved by councillors.
Mr Harding concluded that the proposed changes are acceptable.
You can view the changes in full by typing reference PL/24/1589 into the council’s planning portal.
The original version of the development was approved by councillors in November 2023.
