Warehouse to replace offices in south Reading
Two office blocks could be demolished to make way
A huge warehouse is set to take the place of office buildings at an industrial estate in Reading.
Bennet Court is an office complex made up of two L-shaped buildings at the Bennet Road Industrial Estate in Whitley.
Earlier this year, development company DV5 Coltham Investments applied to demolish both of the brick buildings and replace them with a huge new industrial building.
The project is likely to go ahead, as Reading Borough Council planning officer Jonathan Markwell has recommended it for approval.
Praising the plan, he judged that it has a ‘quality design’ and would provide new accommodation for a business in an established employment area.
However, Mr Markwell did acknowledge that there would be negatives to the plan, as it would “reduce the variety of employment premises on the site.”
Currently, Bennet Court is made up of five office units, which are occupied by The Cowshed charity, Press to Print Reading, computer consultants Black Box and workspace designers Aura, which occupies both existing buildings on the site.
If the plan is approved, the replacement building would only host a single occupier.
The new building would be appropriate for flexible industrial processes, as a general industrial unit, or for storage and distribution with ancillary offices.
Mr Markwell noted the reduction of car parking spaces from 148 to 43, which he judged as suitable.
He also welcomed the scheme as he felt a prospective conversion of the site for residential use would be ‘less suitable.’
Approval was granted to replace the existing buildings with a total of 49 flats in two applications granted in April 2021.
Yet no work on these plans has been undertaken, clearing the way for the current scheme for the industrial building.
While Mr Markwell did acknowledge that the larger size of the building would limit opportunities for the greening of the site, this was balanced by having more space turned over for business use in Bennet Road, which has been defined as a ‘Core Employment Area’.
Mr Markwell has recommended the plan be approved subject to a Section 106 legal agreement being signed between DV5 Coltham Investments and Reading Borough Council.
This would involve sums paid to the council to provide community infrastructure.
Any occupant of the new building would also need to provide an Employment and Skills Plan determining what the scheme would provide in terms of employment and training opportunities for neighbours in Reading.