Royal Mail Site - 1000 New Flats

[OneGorman]

Royal Mail final closed down and 1000 (impressive) new flats going up soon. One block of 24 stories!

This will vastly improve this area, but same old same old regarding the increased traffic on centre roads that are gridlocked at peak times.

https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/prope ... e-13634733

[Bob deBilda]

Of course, that will never happen. It is designed to outrage people so that when the real plans are submitted there will be a huge sigh of relief and they'll get away with something less bad.

I fail to see how massive cuboids of over-priced rabbit-hutches are in any way impressive.

Regards
Bob

[buseng]

Please God help me NO!

[OLDMAN]

Have to agree with that - some flats maybe but would be nice to have other things as well

[ReadingBiker]

I think given the overall size of the site there should be some scope for more imagination than the housing equivalent of a container ship, especially as being so close to the station anything there will command a premium

[Pooneil]

I note that the get reading story is from last September - and over 200 days on they haven't corrected the sub-heading "Plans for flats are retail are being worked on by developers"...

[ash]

Wish they would use the site for more town-centre uses, rather than just a majority of residential. Then again, I do understand that developers are in it for the investment. I doubt a swimming complex with flumes and diving facilities are going to make nearly as much as hundreds of apartments would.

[peterson]

Bob is right. They're already down to 800 flats, and reducing heights, although 24 storeys still proposed at eastern end.
But I agree with one hinton, I'm all for an interesting and dramatic skyline. But the design is so key. The old western tower was tall - maybe it looked good in its heyday but it didn't age well. I'm ok with a bit of status and prestige of "city-like" buildings. But of course it's more important to have new places that work well, viable, thriving ground floor activity - ideally new leisure facilities for us all to enjoy, and if it is to be residential-led then functioning new communities that contribute positively to the town. Maybe they can do both...

[ash]

Bob is right. They're already down to 800 flats, and reducing heights, although 24 storeys still proposed at eastern end.
But I agree with one hinton, I'm all for an interesting and dramatic skyline. But the design is so key. The old western tower was tall - maybe it looked good in its heyday but it didn't age well. I'm ok with a bit of status and prestige of "city-like" buildings. But of course it's more important to have new places that work well, viable, thriving ground floor activity - ideally new leisure facilities for us all to enjoy, and if it is to be residential-led then functioning new communities that contribute positively to the town. Maybe they can do both...

Absolutely

[Bam]

My first thought is how much green space has been engineered around and as part of this this development and what percentage of green space within central Reading as a whole is there, compared with London ?

[MickEdge]

I’m beginning to worry that Reading is going to end up resembling a modern version of a soviet city from the 60s. Whilst the office blocks are typically attractive, I don’t think some of the flats will stand the test of time. And I agree, there’s to little thought about providing enough green landscaping and leisure infrastructure around the buildings. The problem is a few trees and shrubs are cheap and don’t take up much space, but providing even a very small park won’t make any money for the developers, and presumably can’t be imposed on them by council planners.

[OneGorman]

These flats are a 5 minute walk to the Thames and a pedestrian bridge that takes them over to a park and huge playing fields with tennis courts. A ten minute walk to the West is Rivermean and Richfield Avenue which has a Park again on the river and another smaller park just past the Cow Lane bridges. They’re not short of large and small parks. (not to mention Kings Meadow 10 mins away as well)

[Bam]

Bearing in mind that green spaces need light and one hopes the shadows cast by huge blocks are also taken into account but I doubt.

Never understand how they handle the immense amount of sewerage and grey water on such an intensive footprint.

[Mayfield]

Same old thing, if you build ( or allow to be built ) this amount of flats, once any of them is two bed, you have to think of schools.....where is the capacity for more pupils or even space for a new one ?
Same old story...

[lizwing]

Would you really buy one of these if you had a young family though?

[Pooneil]

Would you really buy one of these if you had a young family though?

Possibly not, but I bet there are plenty of couples who buy one and then end up with a family...

[Mayfield]

Living in flats with a family seems far more common 'sur Le continent' and given Readings cosmopolitan nature I wouldn't rule it out....wouldn't be my ideal but if you have to cut your cloth, who knows ?

[lizwing]

fornthe cost of one of those flats you could probably buy a house slightly further out if you were starting a family.

[ReadingBiker]

But there was a report on the BBC the other day about how people now move less often in their lives, if we are moving less then housing needs to be more flexible

[BOY RACER]

I am really confused about this. My daughter and son in law are estate agents in Reading and they inform me that there is a surfeit of two bedroom flats in Reading for either sale or rent. So how by. Building 1000 more Who is going to rent or buy them? Unless they are taken up by the Council to put people on the housing List to occupy them. ? So why does the council not do this now? If the answer is lack of money (or as they put it lack of funding), what will change when the flats are built? Any ideas, or what do I not understand?

[Pooneil]

I am really confused about this. My daughter and son in law are estate agents in Reading and they inform me that there is a surfeit of two bedroom flats in Reading for either sale or rent. So how by. Building 1000 more Who is going to rent or buy them? Unless they are taken up by the Council to put people on the housing List to occupy them. ? So why does the council not do this now? If the answer is lack of money (or as they put it lack of funding), what will change when the flats are built? Any ideas, or what do I not understand?

I suspect that by the time all the planning shennaigans, then the demolition then the building has taken place, these flats won't be built and available until the end of 2019, by which time Crossrail will be prety much in operation, and presumably there will be a steady stream of people looking to move into Reading to commute on the Elizabeth line.

[lizwing]

Therefore probably not families. I hope they’re providing parking space.

[ash]

There's an EIA scoping report planning application on the council website (application number 180146).

According to page 3 of the EIA report, section 2.4, it specifies 150 parking spaces, although I can't yet find the exact number of apartment units in the development.

In the Draft transport assessment, further down the same document, it seems to say that not all of these 150 spaces will be for residential use, either (it says 138).

Therefore probably not families. I hope they’re providing parking space.

[piwacket]

There's an EIA scoping report planning application on the council website (application number 180146).

According to page 3 of the EIA report, section 2.4, it specifies 150 parking spaces, although I can't yet find the exact number of apartment units in the development.

In the Draft transport assessment, further down the same document, it seems to say that not all of these 150 spaces will be for residential use, either (it says 138).

Therefore probably not families. I hope they’re providing parking space.

1000, maybe 800 apartments and 138 (possible) parking spaces Hmmm!

[Mayfield]

Therefore probably not families. I hope they’re providing parking space.

Lol Liz, even commuters procreate They have baby commuters with longer arms for strap hanging

[lizwing]

Surely once you start a family you need somewhere bigger so you’d be aiming for a small house, eventually.

[Pooneil]

There's an EIA scoping report planning application on the council website (application number 180146).

According to page 3 of the EIA report, section 2.4, it specifies 150 parking spaces, although I can't yet find the exact number of apartment units in the development.

In the Draft transport assessment, further down the same document, it seems to say that not all of these 150 spaces will be for residential use, either (it says 138).

Therefore probably not families. I hope they’re providing parking space.

1000, maybe 800 apartments and 138 (possible) parking spaces Hmmm!

I don't see that much of a problem with that - given the flats are right next door to the station, they're clearly aimed at people intending to commute to London.

[Mayfield]

Surely once you start a family you need somewhere bigger so you’d be aiming for a small house, eventually.

I would personally, but lots of people don't seem to worry so much now and many just won't be able to afford the step up financially....whichever way you cut it, my feeling is that once you build two bed flats you have to be prepared for school admissions to increase in that area.

[lizwing]

I’m thinking what nightmare it would be bringing up school age children in a tiny flat with no garden

[bobby1413]

I’m thinking what nightmare it would be bringing up school age children in a tiny flat with no garden

[dave m]

Plenty of people who have kids live in flats and have no garden.

[lizwing]

Well maybe but I don’t envy them and I wouldn’t do it from choice. How. Ugh are these flats going to sell for, do we know?

[piwacket]

Well maybe but I don’t envy them and I wouldn’t do it from choice. How. Ugh are these flats going to sell for, do we know?

Is that a Freudian slip Liz

[lizwing]

Very probably Pi

[bobby1413]

Well maybe but I don’t envy them and I wouldn’t do it from choice.

You and I have obviously very different perspectives on life and probably very different experiences