SHOPS ON Broad Street could be revamped along with 15 flats being built, under new plans to transform part of the town centre.
Toucan Finance, on behalf of APM, has submitted planning proposals to Reading Borough Council to build a four-to-five storey building with 15 flats behind vacant shops at 86-87a Broad Street.
The developer also wants to revamp the two shops, formerly home to EE and Shoe Zone.
Shoe zone has been vacant since January 2021 and EE since June 2017 “despite active marketing”.
Employment agency Blue Arrow occupies the first floor above No. 87 but would be replaced with flats under the plans.
In the application, Toucan Finance wrote: “The existing site and its cluster of vacant buildings are in a poor state of disrepair following long term vacancies and poor quality additions in the past, which has led to an ad hoc industrial style structure.
“There is a clear and compelling opportunity to utilise the sites full potential with central Reading in a way that respects and celebrates its original design.”
The façade on the first, second and third floors would remain, with the ground floor shop facades getting a new look, while a new storey for the flats would be added above 86 Broad Street.
The three-storey group of mid-terrace buildings is around 80 metres to the east of the Broad Street Mall shopping centre.
Apartments would be located above both shops and behind them, facing St Mary’s churchyard.
The plans include front gardens, secluded courtyards, expansive terraces, and balconies for residents.
Toucan Finance said the homes would be “sustainable”, with plans including the use of both “passive and active measures” such as solar panels to create energy, good insulation and an air-tight building.
It aims to reduce carbon by 46%, with a planning contribution to offset the remaining carbon emissions to zero.
Before the application was submitted, a series of pre-application discussions were held between the developer, officers and councillors.
One version of the plans included painting the three-storey frontages on Broad Street green.
This was opposed by the council’s design review panel in the second of these pre-application discussions. The latest plans including no changes to the facades on the main high street except for the ground floor shops.
