New plans for Reading shopping mall tower blocks submitted

More than 600 flats could be built in four tower blocks above Broad Street Mall

Plans for four tower blocks, containing more than 600 flats, above a town shopping centre have been submitted.

The fresh planning application for the project at Broad Street Mall in Reading comes after years of discussion over housing on the site.

The development is a partnership between the sites owners AEW and McLaren Living.

It has been devised by AEW, which bought the site from previous owners Moorgarth in June 2022.

Plans to build 400 flats and a hotel on the site had been approved in 2019 and 2021, with AEW now submitting an updated application to Reading Borough Council.

The new proposal includes 644 flats in four tower blocks above the shopping centre.

The back of the development would be built from the basement and ground level up

Parts of the mall would require demolition to make space for the towers - with some shops and restaurants being forced to close during the work.

Construction would also lead to the loss of 290 car parking spaces - leaving 494 spaces, of which 100 would be reserved for residents living in the new towers.

An agent for the development team said the new proposals would provide a "technically deliverable scheme" that would "transform" the area by bringing "new life and vibrancy".

"The proposals also enable Broad Street Mall to continue operations, helping business to be maintained and then thrive in the new retail environment that will be created," the agent added.

Reading Borough Council's planning applications committee will make a decision on the plans at a later date.

If approved, McLaren Living hopes that the project will be completed by the summer of 2028.

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