JACKSON’S Corner is set to be revitalised with a brand new food vendor.
The Fat Hippo burger chain has applied to install a kitchen extraction system and make alterations to the shopfront at Unit 2 of Jackson’s Corner.
The company’s plan involves removing the distinctive Jackson’s Corner gold lettering and green paint, replacing it with their own branding.
Fat Hippo’s planning agents, John Taylor Architects, said that the shopfront design is not original and can therefore be replaced without having an “adverse” impact on the heritage of the building, which falls within the town centre conservation area.
Architect John Taylor wrote: “The shopfront amendments will retain an elegance to the street scene.
“Although the existing shopfronts are relatively consistent, the introduction of different tenants by splitting the original structure up will inevitably result in more variation in external colours, finishes and signage.
“We do not believe that the shopfront proposals will have an adverse effect on the heritage value of the building.”
The plan also involves internal alterations which would provide seating and five toilet cubicles for the vendor.
The application has come under scrutiny, with by Rebecca Moon, reading Borough Council’s environmental health officer.
She has pointed out that no noise assessment has been submitted yet and has recommended that the plan be refused until the assessment is conducted.
She has raised additional concerns about cooking odour coming from the kitchen.
She said in a consultation report that cooking odour “is often a significant problem in commercial kitchens and therefore the applicants must provide an assessment of the likelihood of odours based on the proposed cuisine and a statement of how the proposals will ensure that odour nuisance will be prevented.”
She expressed concerns that the upper floors of Jackson’s Corner are set to become apartments and what impact Fat Hippo’s activity in the unit could have on future occupants.
Cllr Moon proposed that a condition of approval should be in place so that no development can take place until an odour assessment is submitted and approved by the council’s environmental health team.
Fat Hippo has ten restaurants and five kiosks across Great Britain, with the closest one to Reading currently being located in Shoreditch.
Fat Hippo’s planning proposals can be viewed via the council’s planning portal by searching for proposal number 221373.
The chain will be joining Rosa’s Thai Cafe, which applied for an alcohol licence and its own extraction systems for Jackson’s Corner earlier this year.
Rosa’s will be taking over Unit 1, serving Thai food and a selection of hot, cold and alcoholic drinks to diners.
Rosa’s was given approval for its plans, but no date for the undertaking of the works has been given.
