BRISTOL & WEST Arcade proposals

[ash]

Slight change...

The plans for the old Bristol & West Arcade have reverted to a red frontage.

A welcome change in the right direction.

[OneGorman]

Indeed, but the top floor still looks odd at that angle.

[bobby1413]

Indeed, but the top floor still looks odd at that angle.

The architect has stated he couldn't find his ruler which is why it's a bit wonky

[mikejee]

Or the drawing was done by someone on Getreading, with their usual expertise

[ReadingT]

I forgot to come on here to say I got a letter from the council about the application saying they had changed to red brick frontage.

[Frank Blank]

And..........it's back on the market.

https://www.tvproperty.co.uk/news/brist ... the-market

[MickEdge]

The final quote amused me after the initial estate agent’s enthusiasm - “It will be exciting to see what will happen here. We have a fantastic (consented) scheme but we will have to see whether a buyer wants to implement it.”. So who knows, if, when or what will go up. Maybe the buyer will sit on it as an investment, before selling on. And are we “under-bedded” hotel-wise in Reading?

[flatback]

Slight change...

The plans for the old Bristol & West Arcade have reverted to a red frontage.

A welcome change in the right direction.

What a shocker ! Is someone REALLY trying to kid us that this facade is an improvement on the harmony of the existing many neo Georgian facades in that square ? What a joke ! Same mistakes being made still in Reading as in every decade.

[KeithW]

What a shocker ! Is someone REALLY trying to kid us that this facade is an improvement on the harmony of the existing many neo Georgian facades in that square ?

They're not trying to kid you, they have no interest in your views. They want whatever will make them the most money, nothing else.

Propose something outrageous and something less outrageous may be approved. The planners are far from stupid, but rules are rules, and the council can't afford to be sued should they go against the rules.

[MickEdge]

Maybe I'm a design Philistine, but what's so bad about the new frontage? After all, the existing buildings are not actual only neo-Georgian. It's hardly like Bath's Royal Crescent.

[OneGorman]

I like the red and white, but hasn’t this now been withdrawn anyway?

[Frank Blank]

New proposals in the making.

https://ukpropertyforums.com/hotel-plan ... st-arcade/

[MickEdge]

I don’t envy any town centre developer at the moment, trying to second guess what life will be like post-Corvid. If the offices are gong to be part full and the shops is there a need for another hotel? The mock up seems to anticipate identical twins working in the offices. I reckon a start next year is optimistic. Still, if the rest of the development remains the same, it will be a great improvement. I just hope it’s not more indoor golf.

[pwpriory]

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/prope ... dium=email

One of the pictures on that site shows the neo Georgian facade opposite the old Post Office which they want to knock down.
Is this REALLY ugly, even in its neglected state ? I think it's one of the better facades in Reading and STILL think it should be preserved !(compared with the sort of front they want(ed) to replace it with)

[peterson]

This is the most recent proposal:



I believe the existing frontage is more recent than its architecture suggests, and the building behind has been partly demolished during a previous abandoned redevelopment scheme.

[chris_j_wood]

I believe the existing frontage is more recent than its architecture suggests, and the building behind has been partly demolished during a previous abandoned redevelopment scheme.

Possibly. It is difficult to tell from Google Satellite View, which may well be out of date anyway. But it does raise two little mysteries. What is that blue awning?. And where on earth is the tree just to its left growing?.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.45612 ... a=!3m1!1e3

[mikejee]

Don't know what the blue rectangle is, but there is something there in 2009 , when the building is whole , in exactly the same place, though then it appears as a black rectangle - possibly a glass roof or dark courtyard. However in 2006, when the building appear somewhat different from the air, there seem to be nothing to correspond to it