ONE OF Reading’s legendary bars and venues could be set to expand after submitting a bid to the council.
The Purple Turtle has laid out proposals to more than double its footprint as it seeks to change the adjoining building.
The bar and events venue currently occupies 9 Gun Street, whose owners came into possession of the building next door, number 10, in 2004.
Current plans will see parts of the disused building demolished to make way for new cafe and club spaces to become part of The Purple Turtle.
Permission was granted for demolition works affecting the redundant features in 2016, but market changes meant that the “financial viability” of the proposals had dwindled, and it fell through.
The new proposals have a more flexible use of the building built in, with a coffee shop or restaurant in the front of the building stretching across two floors, and a venue to the rear acting as a smaller club venue.
The existing Purple Turtle would be connected to the property via the basement, which would also contain customer toilets, storage, and staff rooms.
Plans also include the construction of an extension behind the property, including a three-story building for storage and the development of yard space where it meets the culvert nearby.
The property itself is a Grade II listed building dating back to the 16th Century, when a timber-framed building stood on the site.
It was built over and remodeled in the early 18th Century, though the original was incorporated into the plans, of which the roof’s timber frame is evidence.
It was originally a private household, and associated with “significant families and figures” in Reading until around 1845 according to the Heritage Statement submitted as part of proposals.
A maltster from Henley by the name of Tyler Cleeter is the earliest recorded owner, in whose family name the property was registered for several generations.
In the centuries since, it has been the site of a saddler’s shop, a glass works, and has been used in the business of Reading Medical Society, as well as Harris and Hewett, who brewed with the Victoria Brewery in nearby Chain Street.
It became a listed building in the late 1970s while it was under the ownership of the West Berkshire Health Authority, and has been disused since it was bought from them in 2004.
Current proposals to expand the Purple Turtle into the premises were submitted back in January, and Reading Borough Council has made public notice of the plans.
Public consultation is currently open, and will form part of the Planning Committee’s considerations.
The Purple Turtle has been contacted for comment.
