PLANS to revamp part of Reading’s town centre have been given the go-ahead by the council’s planning committee.
A new 163-bed hotel plus 104 apart-hotel rooms, complete with a courtyard and shopping area will be created at the corner of Queen Victoria Street and Friar Street, and includes The Bugle pub.
Thackery Estates proposals were praised by councillors during the meeting, held last week.
Cllr James Moore (Lib Dem, Tilehurst) said: “I love the courtyard and the shops, I hope it will be a little gem in years to come”.
Cllr Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) said: “As a town centre ward with Cllr Tony Page (Labour, Abbey), I know that we both welcome the proposal and thank Thackeray Estates for bringing this forward, and giving this town, that’s a city in all but name, something that we really deserve.
“This is the kind of development that really can bring a site into existence that Reading deserves.”
The plans were split into two parts, with the first decided being the apart-hotel rooms and courtyard located at 1-15 Queen Victoria Street and 147-148 Friar Street.
The 104 apart-hotel rooms will have a maximum occupancy time of three months to prevent them from becoming de facto permanent residences.
The principle of transforming Queen Victoria Street was laid in June 2021, when the committee approved plans for 41 apart-hotel rooms and the courtyard.
The second feature of the development is the construction of a 163-bed Jurys Inn brand hotel which would bring The Bugle back into use following its closure in October 2021.
The council gave the pub protected status in July, with Thackeray Estates incorporating it into the hotel building.
Cllr Andrew Hornsby-Smith (Labour, Church) said: “This is an application that really needs to be supported. The key words planning officer Jonathan Markwell has used are ‘richness and quality’. I thoroughly endorse that.
“This brings together a number of underused and unused spaces and developing then in a sympathetic way.”
He continued: “The way they’ve used The Bugle is very sympathetic, it’s exciting, it creates an atrium, the heritage aspect of that has been retained in a very creative way and I welcome that. It also meets Reading’s hotel needs.
“This is a major investment and I look forward to it.”
The two separate plans, codenamed QVS1+ and QVS2, were both approved unanimously by the committee on Wednesday, December 7.
The approval means Revolución de Cuba and the Eyesite Opticians will have to vacate so the hotel can be built.
WH Smith will remain in place, with a smaller store, and it is unclear what will happen to Reading Food & Wine, Timpson and the beauticians which occupy the ground floor of the first site.
The plans are available to view on Reading Borough Council’s planning portal website, QVS1 – 221232 and 221233, and QVS2 – 221235.
