The conversion of a former pub and hotel into new flats heading out of Reading has been rejected.
The Roebuck along the Oxford Road used to serve as a pub and hotel until its unauthorised conversion into a 21-bed home of multiple occupation (HMO).
A plan to transform it into eight flats has been refused.
That is just one of the plans that have been rejected by Reading Borough Council’s planning department recently.
A plan has also been refused to convert offices in the town centre into seven flats.
You can view each refused application by typing the reference in brackets into the council’s planning portal.
Roebuck conversion into flats rejected (PL/25/0719 and 250721)
A plan to convert the Roebuck hotel on the boundary between Tilehurst and Purley into eight flats has been rejected.
Hotel use ceased in 2012, after which it was turned into a HMO without planning permission.
An application to convert it into five two-bed, two one-bed flats and a three-bed apartment has been refused.
Planning officer Marcelina Rejwerska judged that the project would fail to provide adequate accommodation to future residents due to a lack of outdoor amenity space and unacceptable internal noise levels.
Plan to convert town centre offices into flats rejected (PL/25/0395)
A plan to convert the offices at 13-15 Station Road into seven flats has been refused.
The conversion would have created a two-bed flat and six one-bed apartments next to Tamar House.
The building is Grade II listed owing to its ‘exuberant mixture of Baroque Art Nouveau and Flemish styles’.
While the conversion was acceptable, the applicant failed to provide an offer to pay for affordable housing; therefore, the project was rejected.
Conversion of commercial space into 10 flats refused (PL/25/1376)
A plan to convert unused commercial space at a building in West Reading has been rejected.
The building in Audley Street currently contains a welding shop, gym and a dog grooming service, with the rest being unused.
The applicant was hoping to turn this vacant space into 10 one-bed flats.
However, planning officer Catrin Davies ruled that the applicant failed to demonstrate that future occupants would have access to natural light, and could potentially be disturbed by the existing commercial uses.
Postal lockers next to pub refused (PL/25/1286)
A part retrospective plan to install InPost parcel lockers outside the Spread Eagle pub in West Reading has been rejected.
The pub in Norfolk Road is also home to the Bagheera Indian restaurant, and currently has a clothes donation bank outside of it.
A concrete base has already been cast for an InPost Locker to be installed.
But planning officer Gary Miles ruled that its installation would be unacceptable due to its ‘unsympathetic form and incoherent appearance’.
Additionally, he stated it would be harmful to the character of The Spread Eagle and the wider street scene.
