PLANS have been submitted to transform Reading’s Oracle shopping centre by adding 449 flats and replacing the existing cinema.
Hammerson, the company that owns The Oracle in Reading’s town centre, consulted on the plans last summer.
The building housing the Vue Cinema would be demolished, and there would be a partial demolition of the former Debenhams unit. They would be replaced with two towers containing the housing.
The apartments will be build-to-rent and managed by Packaged Living, which claims to provide cleaning services, flexible amenities, and a home sitting service in its packages.
Co-working office space, new retail and restaurant units, would also be part of the development.
Harry Badham, chief development and asset repositioning officer, Hammerson, said: “These proposals are designed to reinvigorate and reposition The Oracle by introducing sustainable new homes for rent, as well as incorporating new typologies and configurations of commercial space that will provide opportunities for new styles and types of retail, hospitality, services and amenities to enhance the customer experience.”
Mark Woodrow, joint managing director of Packaged Living, said the firm was delighted to be providing housing.
“The scheme demonstrates our commitment to deliver properties that are fit for the future, combining high quality finishes with high energy efficiency, low carbon solutions and, importantly, lower costs for the residents that will live there,” he said.
The number of apartments has been revised from 475 to 449.
The new buildings would provide 28,000 sq ft of film space for the replacement cinema and 28,000 sq ft of entertainment, leisure and flexible workspace.
Hammerson and its development partners state 38,000 sq ft of retail space will be retained as part of the transformation.
They project 85 permanent jobs will be made, and 260 jobs created during the construction phase and they will plant 37 new trees and create a 1,900 sq ft ‘pocket park’ as amenity space.
Although the plan has been submitted to Reading Borough Council, it has not been validated yet, which means it does not have an application reference number and therefore cannot be found on the council’s planning portal.
