New 620-home plan on site of Reading's ex-Royal Mail depot approved

The development was unanimously approved by Reading councillors on Wednesday

A 620-home development which includes a 24-storey tower on the site of a former Royal Mail depot has been approved.

The Reading Metropolitan development will be built in Caversham Road in Reading, close to its railway station.

Plans were filed in 2018 but revisions meant the application was only approved unanimously by Reading borough councillors on Wednesday.

Homes will be built in seven towers and seven townhouses. Two buildings will be used for offices and community use.

Some residents said they were opposed to the size of the development

A new community facility and a health centre are included in the plan.

But some residents said they were opposed to the scale of the scheme, proposed by Federated Hermes.

David Neale, chairman of the Bell Tower Community Association, which represents neighbours living west of Caversham Road, said the planned buildings are "completely out of scale" with those in the surrounding area.

Mr Neale said the development's size meant it "would be like walking next to a battleship," according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The site had previously been used as a temporary base by Network Rail. Planning permission was granted in 2012 for a high rise mixed-use scheme but that had lapsed.

It will be built on the former Royal Mail depot site on Caversham Road