Dangerous cladding at two hotels in Reading’s town centre will be removed.

The 14-storey Ibis and Novotel hotels on Friar Street have cladding which is “unsafe in the event of fire”.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) has approved building owner Accor Invest’s application to remove and replace the metal panel cladding.

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LMA Architects, which submitted the proposals on behalf of Accor Invest, said: “The flammability and the proximity of the insulated metal panels to the fire escape route and neighbouring buildings, renders the cladding unsafe in the event of a fire.”

The cladding will be replaced on all elevations from the ground level to 14th floor.

Planning officer Nathalie Weekes said: “The rationale behind the removal of the existing material has been clearly explained and the proposed material is considered acceptable in relation to the building, area, and nearby heritage assets.

“In addition, it has been shown that the proposals are acceptable in all other regards, such as amenity and transport, subject to conditions.”

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Potentially combustible cladding is being removed from sites across the town, which are mostly tall apartment blocks.

There are also four buildings in Reading which were found to have Grenfell-type cladding.

The cladding has been replaced at three of these buildings with works still needed at Hanover House, where planning permission was granted in October 2020 and works are set to finish later this year.