Progress is being made on changes to a busy retail park visited by thousands of people in Reading.
The Reading Retail Park is at a strategic location along Oxford Road, near the Norcot junction and Tilehurst.
It hosts B&M, Pets at Home, Halfords, a 24-hour gym, a KFC drive-thru and Wickes.
Changes have taken place there to clear the way for Lidl to open a large new store, in plans that have been years in the making.
Lidl will occupy two units at the rear of the retail park, with photos showing the fit-out for the new store taking place.
Columbia Threadneedle UK Property, the company that owns Reading Retail Park, won permission to merge the two units together in May last year.
Lidl also won permission to sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm last summer.
A detailed application laying out the landscaping for the Lidl was approved in March.
Although no scheduled opening date for the supermarket has been provided, the Construction Map states the project period will end in February 2026.
The fit-out is being undertaken by Faircloth Construction, with work beginning on Monday, June 23.
To clear the way for Lidl, Halfords recently relocated to the former Wrens Kitchens unit in the retail park, opening on Friday, July 18.
The store features a range of car and bike products and a dedicated auto services area in the car park.
At the time of the opening, Mark Delaney, Managing Director of Retail at Halfords, said: “We’re investing in our stores to deliver the very best experience for our customers – whether that’s expert guidance on the shop floor, seamless access to our motoring services, or helpful, friendly support from our colleagues.
“The new Reading store is a great example of how we’re bringing our retail and garage services closer together. It’s a modern, confident space designed to make it even easier for customers to get what they need, when they need it.”
The DIY chain closed its Brunel Retail Park in Whitley on Friday, June 20.
Halfords stated that the team is increasing from 14 to 20 colleagues, although it is unclear whether staff could be fully redeployed from the closed store in Whitley.
The relocation of Halfords allows Lidl to occupy its former unit and the closed CarpetRight store.
The KFC received a refreshed look with new artwork around the drive-thru section of the building in 2022.
Although a plan to replace staff parking to create an extra drive-thru lane to process orders was approved in July 2023, these changes have not been implemented yet.
