READING’S town centre police station could be demolished and replaced with flats.
Development company S2 has launched a webpage detailing how the Castle Street site would be replaced with 260 homes.
Sketches show a free-standing tower and four interconnected blocks, with people having refreshments, while children play in a tree-lined street.
The plan is at an early stage as no planning application has been submitted to the council and no pre-application consultation has been launched.
The S2 website states: “A planning application is being prepared for a comprehensive redevelopment to include 20,000sq ft of retail and commercial space along with 260 residential flats.”
The company predicts the gross domestic value of the development to be £110 million.
The website also mentions the site falls within the council’s ‘West Side Major Opportunity Area’ in the Reading Local Plan 2019, which are areas identified for residential and retail development.
The scheme has been launched as Thames Valley Police is set to vacate its five-storey headquarters in Castle Street and relocate its Reading operations to Atlantic House in Whitley later this year.
S2 is a developer behind some huge projects in Reading, London and Bracknell. It won approval for the part demolition of The Drews Ironmongers building in Caversham and the construction of 29 flats on the site in March this year.
It is also in charge of the huge Bracknell Beeches development, which will see 12 office buildings replaced with more than 300 flats contained in seven new apartment blocks.
Thames Valley Police was meant to have moved into new offices at Atlantic House in Imperial Way in March last year, but preparation works were required.
Contractors Midas Construction went into administration in January 2022, with the construction contract being passed to Willmott Dixon for completion.
S2 is expected to hold a pre-application consultation before the submission of a planning application for its project to build the 260 flats at the police headquarters is submitted.
Thames Valley Police has been asked to clarify the status of the Castle Street headquarters and give a more precise move in date for its new HQ in Atlantic House.
