Last year, plans emerged for The Cosy Club dining and bar chain to open at the Minster Street entrance to The Oracle.
The unit was previously occupied by the Lakeland kitchenware store and the Artisans Handmade collective, but has been vacant since 2021.
Now The Cosy Club has taken over the unit and is gearing up to open this Spring.
The latest news is that plans have been approved for the kitchen extraction equipment needed to serve up the chain’s varied food menu.
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The main concern was about cooking fumes and noise coming from the seven condenser units and extraction equipment, which will be installed on the flat roof of the building Cosy Club will occupy.
The project was assessed by Reading Borough Council planning officer Mishga Marshall, who judged that the equipment would not cause a disturbance.
She wrote: “It is not considered that the proposal would result in unacceptable levels of noise or odour and appropriate mitigation measures have been assessed and put in place where required.
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“Environmental Protection was consulted, they commented their acceptance of the noise and odour levels, stating that it was demonstrated that the proposed plant if installed as stated will meet our noise criteria, they recommended a condition stating that the plant should be installed
as per the noise assessment and roof plan; officers back the comments made by the Environmental Protection Officer and have no further comments in this regard.”
The project was approved on Tuesday, February 18. You can view the approved application by typing reference PL/24/1428 into the council’s planning portal.
The former Lakeland store at the entrance to The Oracle shopping centre in Reading, set to be converted into The Cosy Club. (Image: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service)
It comes after the potential impact of the shopping unit being converted into Cosy Club was discussed by the council’s licensing applications sub-committee last December.
At the time, Rebecca Moon from the council’s environmental health department objected to the licensing application, raising concerns about noise disturbance from the equipment and future customers at Cosy Club.
However, following an assessment of the mitigation measures, the council’s environmental health team was satisfied that the equipment would not cause a disturbance.
READ MORE: Cosy Club Reading late hours and hoped for opening date revealed
Furthermore, the business agreed to close the outdoor area at 10pm to mitigate the noise coming from future customers.
The noise concern was addressed after an objection from Laura Grantham, the manager of the Premier Suites serviced apartments, located in the same building as the former Lakeland unit.
Gareth Morgan, an operations manager at Cosy Club, said the company is hoping to open in April.
The business was granted a licence to stay open until 1.30am from Thursday to Saturday, and 12.30am Sunday to Wednesday.
