Forbury Retail Park - Redevelopment Plans

[Souwester]

Today I received the 'Kings Meadow View' community newsletter in the post. It highlights plans to redevelop Forbury Retail Park "and will provide up to 900 homes".

[C.A.Versham]

Is there a mention of a health centre or other amenities for the new tenants? KFC goes I see which might please the food police.

[Fed-up]

The plan and the aerial view in the second to last page don't match so which one are they going to submit to RBC?

[ChipbuttyG]

New health centre? LOL.

There was supposed to be a new health centre as part of the new Battle Hospital estate, by Costa at Tesco. Now it's going to be MORE flats.

[dave m]

The Health Centre idea was abandoned by the NHS and the PCT as a cost saving exercise, shortly after a Tory Government was elected.

[ChipbuttyG]

The Health Centre idea was abandoned by the NHS and the PCT as a cost saving exercise, shortly after a Tory Government was elected.

Funding should have been in place before they were elected.

[dave m]

it was.

Health officials say they are still committed to improving services in Reading, even though plans to build a health and wellbeing centre on the site of the former Battle Hospital will no longer happen.

Plans for a health centre were revealed by developers in September 2004, along with up to 450 homes and a Tesco superstore and petrol station in West Reading.


The hospital was demolished in 2005 before work began developing the residential area and supermarket, which opened in February 2008.

At around the same time, Berkshire West Primary Care Trust (PCT) announced that the four-storey Battle Health and Wellbeing Centre would be built on the site thanks to a £1.5 million cash injection by Barratt Homes, as part of a developer deal to build more than 500 homes on the site.

However, leaders of NHS Berkshire and the local Clinical Commissioning Group last week announced they have had to rethink their decision due to financial constraints and changes around health needs.

The PCT is now talking to its partners about how to make best use of section 106 developer contributions to help improve GP practices in Reading.

Charles Waddicor, chief executive of NHS Berkshire, said: “A lot has changed since the ideas for a health and wellbeing centre were first put forward eight years ago.

“Health needs are different and other local services such as the Reading Walk-In Centre have opened.

“We are also facing the biggest financial pressure the NHS has ever faced.

“The combination of all these factors means we have to consider very carefully how we make the best use of the funding available to us. It does mean that we can’t take forward our original plans for the Battle site.


“We have to consider the multi-million pound investment that would need to be found to complete the centre and also consider the fact that frontline services would be affected by us having to fund the centre’s running costs.

“The viability of the centre was also affected by Reading Borough Council’s decision that it would no longer require part of the building to house social services staff.”

[peterson]

I went to the exhibition this week to find out a bit more. It's just all a bit unremarkable. If we're going to develop such a large swathe of town then they should take a few more risks in my view. And I had no idea about the ancient wall buried in the centre of Forbury Road. Further details in my write up: https://readingonthames.com/2022/02/17/ ... adow-view/

[mikejee]

Many people who live in The area are not so keen on loads of really tall buildings . They also might have better appreciation of the non-destruction of something 600 years old, even if not visible, for something with possibly a 60 year life ( to be then ripped, or fall, down for the erection of some other architect's vision)

[OLDMAN]

I went to the exhibition this week to find out a bit more. It's just all a bit unremarkable. If we're going to develop such a large swathe of town then they should take a few more risks in my view. And I had no idea about the ancient wall buried in the centre of Forbury Road. Further details in my write up: https://readingonthames.com/2022/02/17/ ... adow-view/

I remember in the 80's some of the Plummery Wall still existed along by Kenavon Drive but investigations during ready for the building of the DC showed it had been extensively 'repaired' over time and none of the original, hence it got removed

[chris_j_wood]

Further details in my write up: https://readingonthames.com/2022/02/17/ ... adow-view/

Wow, I got a quote in your blog. You just made my day. Thanks.

[peterson]

Further details in my write up: https://readingonthames.com/2022/02/17/ ... adow-view/

Wow, I got a quote in your blog. You just made my day. Thanks.

I just thought you'd described really well how it is possible to have a positive effect through new development! Hopefully the architects can improve their plans for Forbury Retail Park.