OFFICE space in an empty Reading town centre arcade will be converted into apartments.
The upper levels of the Bristol & West Arcade in Blagrave Stret will become 26 flats, after developers Mountley Ltd won approval for the conversions.
There were two applications.
The first sees a total of 20 apartments acroos the three upper floors of 173-174 Friar Street, the portion of the arcade located next to Marks & Spencer. Seventeen of these will be one-bed, and the remaining three two-bed.
Two shopping units will be preserved, with and cycle and bin storage spaces will be created.
And the neighbouring address, 175 Friar Street, will have six one-bed apartments on the upper floors. This portion of the arcade is located next to La’De Express in Market Place.
The changes received some support from Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CAAC).
Evelyn Williams, chair of Reading CAAC, wote: “175 Friar Street is located in the Market Place/London Street Conservation Area.
“In the conservation area appraisal, it is recorded as being a building of townscape merit.
“We are therefore very pleased that this application retains the building and no harm to heritage assets is caused.
“We support the retention of 175 Friar Street and future use as studio apartments.”
She stated that, while it is a ‘positive step’ that the shopping units would be updated, the plans are not detailed enough for the CAAC to form an opinion on them.
The group called for the stonework to be cleaned and any replacements should use high quality materials.
Mountley has also applied to add two floors to the existing building, planning reference 221381, which would contain three studio flats, two one-bed and one two-bed apartment on a new fourth floor, and three two-bed and one one-bed flats on a new fifth floor.
This replaces plans to turn the arcade into a 182-bed hotel.
