The 4orty offices in Caversham Road are due to be converted into one and two bedroom apartments.
That is just one of the big planning decisions made over the last week.
Elsewhere, progress is being made for the project to convert short-stay serviced apartments into permanent residences, and a plan to convert a sound studio into flats has been rejected.
You can view each decided application by typing the reference number in brackets into Reading Borough Council’s planning portal.
Conversion of offices into flats approved (PL/24/1572)
The entrance to the 4orty Caversham Road business centre in Vachel Road, Reading. (Image: Google Maps)
The prominent offices at 40 Caversham Road are set to be converted into 31 flats.
The applicant Mandale Homes has won approval to turn the building into 17 one-bedroom and 14 two-bedroom apartments across its four floors.
Floor plans for the approved conversion of the 40rty Caversham Road business centre into 31 flats. (Image: ELG Planning)
Future occupants will be able to make use of 11 car parking spaces and 20 cycle parking spaces at the basement level.
The project, which was granted on January 9, has been given the go-ahead through the permitted development process, which fast-tracks the conversion of commercial properties into flats.
Latest on converting service apartments into permanent residences (PL/24/0830)
12-18 Crown Street, Reading, which is undergoing a process to convert the serviced apartments into 44 permanent residence flats. Credit: Google Maps
Progress is being made on the conversion of short-stay serviced apartments near the town centre into permanent residences for future occupants.
The council approved the conversion of the serviced apartments at 12-18 Crown Street into 44 permanent stay flats in December 2023.
READ MORE: Tough talk over plan to convert short-stay rooms near town centre into apartments
A condition of the approval was that property owners Shall Do Crown Street must provide details of how waste and recycling will be managed.
The company has appointed a private contractor to remove the waste twice a week, with residents using two large Eurobins and one wheelie bin for both types of waste.
Conversion of vacant offices into flats refused (PL/24/0304)
The plan to convert the vacant sound studio at 134 Oxford Road, Reading into a six-bed HMO has been refused. Credit: Heritage Fusion
A project to convert the Matinée Multilingual recording studio at 134 Oxford Road into a six-bed home of multiple occupation (HMO) has been refused.
The application was assessed by planning officer Matt Burns, who argued housing monitoring and noise mitigation measures were needed to make the building suitable for permanent occupation.
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If these measures weren’t undertaken, Mr Burns argued the six bedrooms would be ‘poor quality residential dwellings of an unacceptable standard’.
The applicant chose not to enter into a section 106 developer legal agreement with the council, therefore the plan was refused on Tuesday, January 14.
Progress for council housing project in Southcote (PL/24/1524)
The site layout for the approved project to replace the former Alice Burrows Care Home in Dwyer Road, Southcote with 32 homes. Credit: HTA Design LLP
A project to build 32 new council homes in Southcote is making its way through the planning process.
The development involves the demolition of the former Alice Burrows care home in Dwyer Road and replacing it with 15 one and two-bed flats, 12 three and four-bed terraced houses, four four-bed semi-detached houses and a five-bed detached house.
The latest update is that the Standard Assessment Procedure ( SAP ) used to estimate the energy efficiency of new homes was confirmed on Monday, January 13.
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