THE RIBBON will be cut on a new housing development in east Reading on Thursday, signifying a new lease of life for a much-loved amenity.
The Arthur Hill pool was closed in 2016, despite a community campaign aimed at keeping the Victorian baths open.
Reading Borough Council promised to convert the site into affordable housing and this week 15 new apartments will be officially opened by mayor, Cllr Tony Page.
They are one-bedroom homes that can be rented by public sector workers on the council’s housing register, including nurses, teachers and police officers.
While the Victorian baths have long gone, the council retained the front façade of the entrance to preserve the character and heritage of the building, which is 110 years old and locally listed.
Reading Borough Council says the site, next to Wycliffe Baptist Church, provides a blueprint for future housing builds in Reading by applying passivhaus principles to create environmentally-friendly and low-energy buildings, contributing to Reading’s net-zero by 2030 ambition.
Triple glazing has been installed, as well as the use of air source heat pumps to retain and reuse existing heat already generated within the buildings. This along with solar panels on the roofs will ensure that as well as striving for carbon-neutral homes, energy bills for the key worker tenants will be kept as low as possible.
It is also part of a £110m investment to provide 400 affordable new homes between 2021 and 2025, and is aimed at reducing the council’s waiting list but also provide flexibility for current tenants to move to bigger homes as their families grow.
In a statement, Cllr Ellie Emberson, Reading Borough Council’s lead councillor for housing, said: “Key workers play such an essential role in our society and it is hugely rewarding to see the Council provide 15 affordable homes here in Reading.
“We know the former Arthur Hill pool site was of historical importance for people, so to be able to preserve its façade while providing crucial, high quality and affordable homes for our key workers is something which we’re proud of.
“As with all our housing developments, this is another example of our continued response to the climate emergency and the cost of living crisis by helping our residents deal with energy costs. We aim to keep up the momentum by continuing to provide even more affordable homes for people in Reading.”
A contribution to the Council’s costs was made by Homes England, a public body funding affordable homes through its Affordable Homes Programme. The programme provides funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing either for rent or for sale.
