New 5G phone antennas and parcel post boxes

Here’s a roundup of the top five most important planning decisions made by Reading Borough Council this week.

New parcel post box at student halls

A new parcel post box can be installed at student halls near the University of Reading. The free-standing post box now has permission to be put at Wantage Hall, on Upper Redlands Road.

Royal Mail only announced plans for the first parcel postboxes last May, which people can use to post parcels in the same way as a letter. Reading already has a few, but could now soon have one more. 

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Three new phone 5G antennas and three replacements — all 5G

Three new phone antennas can be put on top of the Brock Barracks on the Oxford Road. Planning permission also allows three current antennas to be replaced. 

The six antennas will introduce 5G coverage. The Grade-II listed barracks was built in 1881 and is still used by the army today.

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New cash machine outside Waitrose

A new cash machine can be installed outside the Waitrose on the Oxford Road, in Tilehurst. The machine has permission to be placed on the side of the supermarket building, by the trolleys.

The cash machine will be open 24 hours a day, and is in a well-lit open area, in “full view of pedestrians” according to planning documents.New cash machines have to follow several standards, like lighting, security, and position.

Guest house cannot be converted to six flats

A guest house on Addington Road, near the Royal Berkshire Hospital, cannot be turned into six flats. Three of the flats would have one bedroom each, and the other flats would have six bedrooms.

Planners refused permission because the flats would be too small. Three of them would have too little floor space, and two flats would have “inadequate headroom”.

Planners said: “This would create a cramped form of accommodation for future occupiers resulting in poor quality internal environments.” 

Two-storey extension in Caversham

A two-storey extension can be built on a house in Caversham. The house, built in the 1970s, is on High Meadow, just off Upper Warren Avenue. 

The plans also include changing a rear porch, and another, single-story extension. Neighbours were told about the plans via letter, but nobody responded to council planners.