Plans to add more than 600 flats to Broad Street Mall in Reading town centre are now available to view.
A project has been afoot for years to add hundreds of apartments to the mall, which would see the site being used for homes for the first time in years.
Now the latest iteration of the project is available to view on the council’s planning website.
The development team is a partnership between AEW, which acquired Broad Street Mall in 2022, and McLaren Living which wants to build more than 600 flats contained within four new towers.
The 644 flats created would be made up of 69 studios, 229 one-beds, 297 two-beds and 49 three-bed apartments.
To create space for the towers, shops and restaurants would have to close, as parts of the rear of the mall are set for demolition.
A document from Trium construction consultants shows Sushi Mania, the Bierhaus, Culture Mix Arts, The Forgotten British Gurkha association, The Escape Room Audio T and Pepe Sale all being located within the construction zone, therefore being at risk of closure or relocation.
Construction would also lead to the loss of 290 car parking spaces, down to 494 spaces, of which 100 would be reserved for residents living in the new towers.
Following the development, 394 public parking spaces would be left.
An agent for the development team said: “The new proposals provide a technically deliverable scheme that will transform Dusseldorf Way, Hosier Street and Queens Walk, bringing new life and vibrancy to an area currently beset with anti-social behaviour issues, and which has been neglected and is in obvious decline
“The proposals also enable BSM to continue operations, helping business to be maintained and then thrive in the new retail environment that will be created.”
The project has been divided into two applications which you can find on the council’s planning website.
Application 240173 is focused on the construction of the four new towers and demolition, and application 240174 relates to the building of a temporary construction area to facilitate the project.
Although McLaren Living submitted the applications in February, the documents only appeared on the council’s planning website later on.
The scheme has provoked debate among those living nearby, given the scale of the project.
The Baker Street Area Neighbourhood Association (BSANA) has launched a consultation asking for the views of neighbours to craft its response to the plans.
You can take part in the consultation on BSANA’s website. Responses must be received by Friday, April 19.
Reading Borough Council’s planning applications committee is set to make a decision on the plans at a later date.
If approved, McLaren Living hopes that the project will be completed by the summer of 2028.
A previous iteration of the project by the mall’s former owners Moorgarth achieved final approval in December 2021.
Revisions had to be made as government fire safety regulation introduced last year states that all new buildings over 18 metres tall must have two staircases.
