A famous bar in Reading that has widespread recognition as a great music venue has won permission to expand to create an eatery and more entertainment space.
The Purple Turtle has a heritage stretching back 35 years to 1990, occupying its current spot at 9 Gun Street since 1997.
The venue regularly hosts live bands, rock and dance DJs, burlesque performances and stand-up comedy.
Now, bosses have been given permission to create a café restaurant performance stage, bar and a changing area for performers in the building next door at 10 Gun Street.
But before work can start, the venue bosses required planning consent from Reading Borough Council, which was discussed at a recent meeting.
Evelyn Williams, chair of the Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee, had objected to replacing the external door, calling it a ‘major change’ to the appearance of the street front.
The building is Grade II listed as it dates back to circa 1700, with a long heritage as a commercial building.
The Purple Turtle was represented by Paul Tunstall from JWPC Planning, who argued the expansion would be a significant investment, providing entertainment space and creating 10 jobs.
He cited a government report on grassroots music that had found similar venues closing at a rate of two per week.
Furthermore, he said measures to connect 9 and 10 Gun Street with a single internal door were approved in principle after consent to previous plans granted in 2016 and 2020.
He also mentioned that it has been a while since the plan to expand into 10 Gun Street first emerged in early 2023.
Addressing councillors, Mr Tunstall said: “It’s nearly two years we’ve been working with your officers to get to this point.
“Ultimately, no matter how complex it is, the decision before you is pretty simple.
“After considerable scrutiny, it’s recommended for approval.”
Councillor Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) called the venue ‘a star’ in the town’s nighttime economy, and that the connection of the two buildings would “make an even greater success of the Purple Turtle in the future.”
Ultimately, she argued the benefits of bringing 10 Gun Street back into use outweighed the heritage impact of changing the frontage of the building.
Cllr Richard Davies (Labour, Thames) said: “I remember in 2022 I was privileged to take the Mayor of Dusseldorf around the Purple Turtle, it was indeed quite well known in Dusseldorf as a venue.
“Despite the fact that he’s the mayor of this very large city, with the very powerful position he had, he was absolutely delighted to be shown round the Purple Turtle.”
Cllr Jan Gavin (Labour, Caversham) quipped cllr Davies had ‘added a bit of local colour’ to the discussion.
The project was unanimously approved on Wednesday, February 5.
You can view the approved project by typing references PL/23/0107 and PL/23/0108 into the council’s planning portal.
