Town centre apartment plans set for approval

The plans for the Oracle include more than 400 apartments

Changes to a shopping centre in central Reading are due to be decided by councillors.

The plans for the Oracle include more than 400 apartments, with the Vue cinema and former Debenhams department store replaced with new towers.

The project has been recommended for approval ahead of a meeting of Reading Borough Council's planning applications committee on Wednesday.

The centre, which opened in 1999, was fully taken over by Hammerson last month and has major stores, including Zara and Apple, expected to "upsize" their units at early next year.

The proposals have been recommended for approval by Reading Borough Council planners

The centre has a footfall of more than 12 million people each year, according to owners Hammerson.

It sports a range of high street stores, food outlets, a bowling and arcade centre and a cinema.

The plans for apartments, revealed three years ago, would introduce a residential element for the first time.

Under revisions, two storeys were shaven off towers to the south of the river, with one storey being added at a block to the north.

The project would see the Vue cinema and former Debenhams department centre to the east of the centre replaced with new towers containing 218 flats each on either side of the Kennet.

The Vue building could be levelled and replaced with three towers.

Of the four restaurants contained in the Vue building, two have already closed, with Browns Brasseries closing in April 2024 and TGI Fridays closing in June that year.

Cote Brasserie and Miller & Carter are still open, with Miller & Carter opening a second restaurant at the Caversham Rose in October 2022.

A cinema and a single new restaurant would be provided on the ground floor.

The former Debenhams building, which has been completely closed since 2023, will be partly demolished to make way for two new towers.

All of the flats will be "build to rent", meaning there will be no opportunities for ownership, with homes being managed by Packaged Living.

Matt Burns, the council's principal planning officer, said there would be "significant public benefits" to the projects, including "substantial enhancements to public realm".

He said it would also help towards meeting the council's housing needs, "whilst providing a high standard of accommodation for future occupiers".