A decision has been made to clear the way for the major redevelopment of Broad Street Mall where more than 640 apartments will be built.
A plan to add 643 apartments in towers built to the rear of the mall achieved planning permission in April.
The development will require the demolition of the rear of the building, including eight rentable units and parking spaces, to make way for the apartments. The car park is currently run by Reading borough council.
In a decision to clear the way for the development, the council has agreed to sell its 72-year lease of the car park to mall owners AEW.
The resolution was made at a meeting of the council’s policy committee.
It was explained that the mall towers are part of the council’s wider vision for the Minster Quarter, which will feature more than 1,200 homes, a revitalised Hexagon Theatre, a hotel and commercial and community spaces.
Eleanor Brough, the council’s minster quarter programme manager, explained that the Broad Street Mall development will result in the permanent loss of about 330 parking spaces.
She recommended that councillors should sell the lease to AEW.
The conditions of the offer include protections to public car parking, with 325 spaces being kept available for a minimum of 25 years and 30 rent-free spaces being provided to Hexagon and council employees.
Micky Leng, deputy leader of the council, pointed out that 100 parking spaces would be reserved for future residents, including key workers, such as health and social care workers.
Councillor Leng said: “The Broad Street Mall is an integral part of the Minster Quarter.
“It’s good to see a development coming forward with a significant amount of parking, particularly for key workers.
“This isn’t councillor parking, it’s not for councillors just to have a jolly down to do a bit of shopping in the Butts [the mall], this is for the council staff.”
Cllr Anne Thompson said that people had grumbled about the loss of parking spaces, but acknowledged data the committee had sight of showed that the car park has never been full.
Liz Terry, the council leader, said: “There is some very hard work on this complex site by council officers and all the partners.
“It’s a really important place for us to get to, to realise the regeneration of this part of town and to open up The Hexagon in particular to people, so they know it’s there and they can access it, and they [the changes] are further down the line, but it’s critical that we get this in place.
“And in the case, divesting ourselves of an asset in a good way, and doing a good deal that has been done.”
The committee chose to sell the lease of the car park at the meeting last Wednesday. The decision was made in a private section of the meeting as the car park lease has been sold for an undisclosed sum.
