An old motorbike dealership in Reading could be replaced with a convenience store.

The Smith’s motorcycle and cycle dealers at 142 Whitley Wood Lane permanently closed in October 2018 and has been boarded up for years.

But it could become a convenience store that would sell alcohol from 7am to midnight each day.

That’s according to a licensing application submitted to Reading Borough Council by Pajan Singh Kaneja, who is hoping to open ‘Whitley Superstore’ in the old Smith’s unit.

Both Smith’s and the property immediately next to it, 144 Whitley Wood Lane have been boarded up for a number of years.

The neighbouring building used to serve as the Berkshire Home Brew store but that unit has long since closed as well.

Reading Chronicle: 142-144 Whitley Wood Lane in Reading. The old shops are boarded up. Credit: Google Maps142-144 Whitley Wood Lane in Reading. The old shops are boarded up. Credit: Google Maps

You can comment on the licensing application for the Whitley Superstore by emailing licensing@reading.gov.uk.

The deadline for representations is Wednesday, May 31.

In January 2022, the council’s head of planning rejected a plan to replace 142-144 Whitley Wood Lane with new retail and office facilities and 12 flats.

The head of planning judged that the replacement building would “result in an overly bulky, incongruous and visually dominant structure” when refusing the application (reference 211932).

It is understood that a planning application is not necessary to convert the old Smith’s unit into a convenience store.