Reading: Retail Park decision
Plans to demolish all or half of a retail park in Rose Kiln Lane have been approved.
Last updated 25th Jun 2021
Plans to demolish all or half of a retail park in Reading, which contains shops such as Pets At Home and Halfords, have been given the go-ahead.
Reading Borough Council’s Planning Applications committee approved the flexible plans, which will see Brunel Retail Park turned into logistics warehouses.
The developer has not yet decided whether to replace the whole of the Rose Kiln Lane site, wanting "as much flexibility as possible for the future use of the site".
Initially, units 6b-11 will be demolished and units 1-6a will be kept.
Tim Rainbird, the planning agent for the applicant, said the logistics market has been "remarkably strong" in the last 18 months compared to the retail industry due to the increase in online shopping.
He said logistics is "rapidly expanding" while retail is "retracting".
While Labour councillor John Ennis said: "When I saw this report, I was very refreshed. It’s a report that could be the future.
"More and more young people are going online.
"I think logistics is a really good way of looking at how we mitigate the potential negative impact of the closure of retail".
The current makeup of the retail park is:
Unit 1: Halfords
Unit 2: Pets at Home
Unit 3a: Vacant
Unit 3b: Next
Unit 4: Go Outdoors
Unit 5: Vacant
Unit 6a: Dreams
Unit 6b: Shoezone
Unit 7: Vacant
Unit 8: B&M
Unit 9: Laura Ashley (in administration)
Unit 10: Subway
Unit 11: Costa
In phase one, Units 6b, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 will be demolished and replaced with a logistics warehouse.
Units 5 and 6a will be reconfigured to accommodate Shoe Zone, Subway, Costa. Units 3a and 3b will accommodate B&M.
Laura Ashley is in administration and is unlikely to be involved in the reconfiguration.
Mayfair Capital will decide later whether to go ahead with phase two, which would see the rest of the retail park demolished and replaced with a second logistics warehouse.
The plan was recommended for approval by officers and was backed unanimously by councillors on the committee.
Officers and residents had raised concerns about noise from security alarms,
In response, an acoustic fence will be extended and a noise plan will be put in place to reduce noise by up to 10 decibels. Testing of security alarms will also only happen at specified hours.
Concerns were also raised by residents about waste being stored near the riverside and HGVs cutting through the Kennet Island residential area.
In response, Mayfair said bins will be securely stored and signs will be put up to warns HGVs about where they are allowed to drive.
Council officers had hoped the developer would include green roofs and walls but Mayfair Capital said green roofs are not compatible with the type of roofs planned and green walls would not be financially viable.
Green councillor Josh Williams called this "disappointing" and said "it would be great to see that kind of thing in the future" but expressed his support for the development and its proposed biodiversity net gain.