Reading School is planning to build a new boathouse after the old one was destroyed in an arson attack.

The site, on the south side of the River Thames, at the end of Cow Lane, was previously home to a wooden boathouse that was set on fire by vandals in December 2019.

All that remains of the original building are a few charred timber bearers of the floor.

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Reading Chronicle: PICTURED: The boathouse firePICTURED: The boathouse fire

Reading Chronicle: PICTURED: Smoke from the fire seen from Reading StationPICTURED: Smoke from the fire seen from Reading Station

The school has applied to Reading Borough Council (RBC) to build the new boathouse.

The site is leased by Reading School from RBC and is not accessible to the public.

It is surrounded by a chain link fence which, due to the fire and vandalism, is in poor condition.

The new boat house would have dimensions matching the original (22m long and 7.3m wide).

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Due to the arson attack, as well as the costs associated with the timber structure, the school is proposing the new building is made of a steel portal frame, clad in green plastisol sheets: steel sheets coated in coloured pvc film and insulated.

The site will be well secured, with new 2.4m high weld mesh fence to be built surrounding the site.

Reading School is a selective grammar school for boys with academy status based in east Reading, near Royal Berkshire Hospital.