'Frustration' over delay to iconic mural building plan

The 36m-long mural on Reading Central Club features paintings of prominent individuals from history

Delays redeveloping the building containing Reading's iconic black history mural have been frustrating, a community leader has said.

Proposals to build 17 flats and a community hall at the site of the former Central Club in London Street were given the go-ahead in July 2023.

But some new minor amendments are set to be put back before councillors on Wednesday for approval.

A council planning report said "complications in the sale process, affordable housing provider requirements and legal agreement negotiations" since the plans were approved had resulted in the changes being required.

Yvonne Yew said the lack of a base for the Caribbean community in Reading was frustrating

The club has been shut since 2006 and the mural - depicting prominent figures from black history including Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X - was at the centre of protests in 2017 over its future.

Red Line, which is developing the site, has said the 188ft (36m)-long artwork will be protected and incorporated in the new development.

But Yvonne Yew, who runs Reading Caribbean Express (RCE) News, had hoped the project would move more quickly and provide a much-needed meeting place for members of the Caribbean community.

"All the other groups have somewhere and we don't have anywhere - and it's quite frustrating," she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The adjustments to the plans include a change to the housing mix and relocation of an entrance.

"The proposals are broadly the same as those considered previously," the council report recommending the plans for approval said.