PLANS to development the former home of BBC Monitoring and Radio Berkshire in Caversham are being reworked.
The Grade II listed building at Caversham Park was mothballed by the corporation in 2018, with BBC Radio Berkshire moving to Thames Valley Park and Monitoring to London.
Plans to redevelop the site were submitted two years ago. This included a conversion of the Mansion House along with the construction of new care homes and apartments.
Beechcroft Developments, which specialises in luxury retirement communities, is now proposing to reduce the number of homes from 20 to 12. These would be north of the existing car park and northeast of the mansion house to 12 houses.
On a separate part of the site, in the area to the east of the main house, the developers are seeking to build nine homes and 12 apartments, which would be for over 55s only.
Previously, Beechcroft applied to build 20 apartments instead, which has been reduced in the redesign.
The company has also redrawn its plan for the Caversham Park House, allowing it to add a two-bed assisted living apartment.
If approved, the house would feature 65 assisted living units comprising 23 one-bed flats, 40 two-bed flats and two two-bed houses.
Twenty-seven affordable homes will now be split roughly 50/50 between affordable rent and ‘discount market sale’.
In total, 16 homes have been removed from the project in the changes that were submitted last month.
A planning agent from Savills said the changes result in a reduced level of harm to the heritage assets on the site, namely the Mansion House and a Grade II listed temple built in Doric style to the east of the house.
A heritage statement from Montagu Evans said: “The proposals do not involve works to the Temple and its significance would be preserved.
“The proposals would change the setting of the listed building, and most notably by replacing the utilitarian buildings and fencing which interposes between the listed building and the main house in the long axial view.”
The agent argued the changes to the development “benefit the appreciation of the listed building and its relationship to the house”.
They also noted that a care home building has been shifted on the site to preserve views to the temple and the main house.
The application can be seen by searching for reference 220409 into Reading Borough Council’s planning portal.
