Broad Street Mall

[windrush]

In many cases, if not most, in order to gain planning permission I think you have to have a certain percentage of ‘affordable’ units in any built IIRC. I believe there was a big hoo ha about social housing/affordable home residents in some posh development having to enter by the ‘tradesmans’ door wasn’t there?

That's how it is around here. Sorry to go off topic but a plan to build yet another large estate incorporating social housing on the hillside near us has halted as "following extensive research we have found that the recent flooding in the town was caused by the extra water coming from all the recent new housing already on the hillside swelling the river". Blimey, who would ever have thought of that Sherlock, no doubt somebody was paid mega bucks to discover what residents have been saying for many years!

Pete.

[Voiceoftreason?]

Pity others don’t realise that WR. Building more houses (or flats, whatever) = more kitchens and bathrooms = more water that the system, which was probably not built for the volumes, will need to carry.

[ReadingBiker]

Pity others don’t realise that WR. Building more houses (or flats, whatever) = more kitchens and bathrooms = more water that the system, which was probably not built for the volumes, will need to carry.

More the fact that more houses = more concrete = faster runoff and a quicker peak in the streams,tributaries/rivers. Open land soaks up rain and then releases it over time in a way a roads/roofs don't. Anything coming from kitchens/bathrooms goes into foul sewers not surface water drains

[Voiceoftreason?]

And when the foul sewers are over filled from the houses????

[Ollycat]

Just revisited the plans (likely to be signed off, Wednesday) on the RBC website and everything was going swimmingly until I realised the surface - under foot - is likely to comprise red brick paviors along Dusseldorf Way.

This dismal (dare I say monstrous) configuration seems to be an obsession with towns (including Reading) across this country. It's the 21 century FFS - not the 1980's and 90's

Forgive my ignorance, what's wrong with pavers? At least they can be taken up and replaced quite easily, rather than having to dig a dirty great hole, and refill it after?

[ReadingBiker]

Just revisited the plans (likely to be signed off, Wednesday) on the RBC website and everything was going swimmingly until I realised the surface - under foot - is likely to comprise red brick paviors along Dusseldorf Way.

This dismal (dare I say monstrous) configuration seems to be an obsession with towns (including Reading) across this country. It's the 21 century FFS - not the 1980's and 90's

Forgive my ignorance, what's wrong with pavers? At least they can be taken up and replaced quite easily, rather than having to dig a dirty great hole, and refill it after?

They can be BUT past experience says that after initial laying it is deemed cheaper to repair with tarmac (or equivalent) so anytime they are lifted to repair something below they are replaced with a splodge of tarmac. Example link to picture of granite sets replaced with tarmac on target junction - https://goo.gl/maps/R2oM2kpXmqQGNuwF6
They are also much slippier in the rain than tarmac or paving slabs

[mikejee]

Agreed. It should be a condition of any utility/other who wishes to dig up the pavement to properly replace them. By that I mean ensure that they are properly bedded in as well, as often, when they are replaced after being dug up, the surface underneath is not properly compacted, and ,as a result they sink. Mind you , to a lesser extent, the same applied to slabs

[lauraeva]

Two towers on top of Butt's Centre, one beside, plus a cheap social housing block.

Fourteen storeys.

So will south side of the mall be demolished in order to put in piling for these tall buildings ? No way could you build them on top of the existing mall unless you're happy with what seemed to be Grenfell type building regulations !

post edited

[lauraeva]

Also note that all these proposed shoe box flats are proposed to be built for rent, not for sale.

[OLDMAN]

Two towers on top of Butt's Centre, one beside, plus a cheap social housing block.

Fourteen storeys.

So will south side of the mall be demolished in order to put in piling for these tall buildings ? No way could you build them on top of the existing mall unless you're happy with what seemed to be Grenfell type building regulations !

I seem to remember the mall was built with solid underpinning just for the possibility to add at later dates

[dave m]

Either way- they will just push large piles through to stable ground.
When I mean push I mean construct, concrete pillars can be cast in situ and augered in the basement.
Effectively they can build a series of pillars right through the butts floors and roof that continue to the top of the new blocks.
They can build with the centre open, some tall buildings are still being built while lower floors are occupied. So long as works access is available, it's done all the time