A plan to replace a pub in Reading that has been closed for more than a decade with flats has cleared a crucial hurdle.
The Battle Inn on Oxford Road has been unused since its closure in 2015.
A legal agreement clearing the way for it to be replaced with flats has been signed.
That is just one of the plans that have been approved by Reading Borough Council recently.
Elsewhere, a hotel is set to be converted into 14 flats, and a house in East Reading is due to be turned into a children’s home despite a previous refusal.
You can view each application by typing the reference in brackets into the council’s planning portal.
Pub replacement plan clears hurdle (PL/26/0237)
The project to replace the Battle Inn with six flats has cleared a crucial planning hurdle.
The pub was called The Royal prior to its ultimate closure in 2015, and has become dilapidated since then.
Councillors approved a project to replace it with a five-storey building containing two two-bed and four-bed flats and commercial space on the ground floor at a meeting on July 1.
The developer Anrish Properties signed a section 106 legal agreement allowing the project to go ahead on September 7.
Conversion of hotel into 14 flats (PL/25/1695)
The Reading Serviced Rooms hotel is set to be converted into a 14-bed home of multiple occupation (HMO).
The building was last used as short-stay accommodation in Caversham Road, a busy area with convenience stores and food businesses near the Reading Festival site.
The owning company RAM Bennett has won permission to turn it into a HMO, with each room coming with an ensuite bathroom. Tenants will share two kitchens and a lounge.
Planning officer Alison Amoah judged the conversion to be acceptable, and the application was approved on September 11.
Children’s care home approved after previous refusal (PL/26/0943)
A plan to convert a five-bed house in East Reading into a home for three cared-for children has been approved following a previous rejection.
The house is situated in Eastern Avenue, with a planned conversion previously being refused as it was judged the children’s home would be dominated by off-street parking and hardstanding.
This prompted a redesign. Planning officer Catrin Davies noted that there still would be parking, but acknowledged the redesign was more sympathetic to the character of the house and the neighbourhood.
The conversion was therefore approved on September 9.
Conversion of house into two flats established (PL/25/1685)
The unauthorised conversion of a three-bedroom terraced house in East Reading into two flats has been regularised with the council’s planning department.
The owner has converted the house into a one-bed flat on the ground floor and a two-bed flat on the upper floors.
They then submitted an application for a single-storey rear extension to create more space for the two-bed flat.
This application was approved on September 9.
