Empty offices in the town centre could be demolished and replaced with 27 flats.
The plans, submitted to Reading Borough Council (RBC) by Hamble Residential, would see the vacant offices at 10 Eaton Place replaced by an eight -storey building of 27 apartments.
The site is near to Reading Station, Q-Park Chatham Place, and the development of hundreds of homes at the former Wickes/Iceland site on Weldale Street.
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The housing would me made up of:
- Four three-bed maisonettes, all of which would be at affordable housing rates
- 18 two-bed apartments, two of which would be shared housing
- Five one-bed flats, one of which would be shared housing
There would be 26 per cent affordable houing under this plan.
However, in the planning statement, the developer says there is an “alternative scenario”, where the four affordable housing units could be two-bed flats instead and more shared housing would be on offer.
In this scenario, there would be 31 flats, split up as:
- 10 one-bed flats (four affordable housing and one shared housing)
- 21 two-bed flats (five shared hosing)
This would bring the affordable housing up to 32 per cent.
But Hamble Residential says it prefers the first scenario with four three-bed affordable rented maisonettes, “which more closely aligns with Reading Borough Local Plan Policy CR6”.
It said the preferred scenario reduces the affordable housing contribution to remains above 30 per cent when measured by habitable room.
But it said both options are “considered broadly cost-neutral” and acceptable
The plans also include a communal rooftop garden, communal deck and private front gardens for the four maisonettes.
Hamble Residential says the proposal seeks to improve the currently “pedestrian-unfriednly” character of the site whilst engaging local neighbourhoods with the town centre by improving connectivity.