Reading Borough councillors approve £60m HQ move

A £60m plan to move Reading Borough Council's offices from its current home in the Civic Centre to Plaza West in Bridge Street has been approved.

Shopkeepers near the Civic Centre had expressed concern that the move would result in a loss of trade.

The council, which approved the plan on Tuesday, said it would oversee the regeneration of the civic area.

A public consultation is under way for ideas to regenerate the area once the council moves next year.

The leader of the Lib Dems in Reading, Daisy Benson, supported the move to Plaza West.

But she said: "... The council must not sign a blank cheque. With public finances under huge pressure at the moment in Reading the council needs to keep a tight rein on costs for the civic relocation project to ensure that an extra burden is not placed on local taxpayers."