Reading town centre retail park could become housing
Owners are consulting over plans to build 900 homes
Last updated 11th Feb 2022
The owners of a retail park in Reading have unveiled a huge plan to redevelop it into housing.
Scottish investment company abrdn, which owns the Forbury Retail Park near the town centre, has revealed a plan to transform it into a mixed used development with up to 900 new homes.
The scheme, which is dubbed Kings Meadow View, would involve demolishing retail blocks and replacing them with residential towers.
The retail park is currently home to Furniture Village, DFS and Nattuzi Italia.
Initial designs show the new homes being contained within 11 residential blocks, seen in an aerial photo of the proposal which includes a view of Reading Prison and the SSE offices.
Also, 2,500sqm of retail and commercial space would be retained, which abrdn states would suitable for a food retailer, with three smaller units being provided supporting small businesses such as cafes, a convenience store or cycle hire.
The development has been called Kings Meadow View as it would offer prospective residents a view of the meadow to the north.
A plan for the development has not been submitted yet, but abrdn has begun a pre-application consultation process.
A spokesperson on behalf of abrdn said:
“We’re excited to unveil our plans for this significant regeneration scheme, which seeks to make more of this sustainable, central site by creating a new community that puts green public spaces first.
“Half of the site will be set aside for landscaped green spaces, significantly increasing biodiversity.
“It’s an exciting proposal that seeks to show our ethos of responsible development, delivering a thoughtful, well designed and attractive scheme which reflects its surroundings.
“We look forward to hearing what residents have to say about the proposals.”
You can give your views about the proposal on the Kings Meadow View website here: https://www.kingsmeadowview.co.uk/give-your-views .
Also, you can join an online presentation at 7pm on Tuesday, February 15, on Zoom, which you can register for in the link above.
Furthermore, an in person drop in event will be hosted from 3pm to 7.30pm at the Bel and Dragon Blakes Lock.
The developers aim to submit an application later this year.
The redevelopment of Forbury Retail Park is contained within the Reading Local Plan which was adopted in November 2019.