FRESH plans for a burger chain hoping to take over Jackson's Corner have been put forward after issues with the appearance and noise concerns were raised.

The Fat Hippo burger chain is seeking to open a restaurant inside the historic town site at Jackson's Corner, the long dormant former department store in the town centre.

The company has restaurants in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Cardiff, and Glasgow, with hopes to bring its brand of burgers and dirty fries to Reading.

However, an initial attempt to occupy Jackson's Corner was rejected by Reading Borough Council's planning department earlier this year.

The company had put forward an application to replace the green and gold Jackson's Corner branding with Fat Hippo's black branding and an awning overhead.

But planning officer Connie Davis judged that the awning and shopfront would fail to integrate well into the rest of Jackson's Corner.

While officer Davis noted that the Jackson's Corner branding is not protected, she stated the change should be considered within the wider context of the whole building.

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Jackson's Corner was the first department store founded by Edward Jackson in 1875.

After the foundation of the flagship branch in Reading, Jackson's stores were opened in Bracknell, Caversham, Camberley, Goring, Henley and Oxford.

However, the brand eventually declined, with all the other stores mentioned closing by 1994.

Then, in December 2013, the Jackson's in Reading closed as well.

Nevertheless, due its history Jackson's Corner is considered a landmark in the London Street/Market Place Conservation Area.

Reading Chronicle: The shop front plan for the Fat Hippo burger restaurant at Unit 2 of Jacksons Corner in Reading. Credit: John Taylor ArchitectsThe shop front plan for the Fat Hippo burger restaurant at Unit 2 of Jacksons Corner in Reading. Credit: John Taylor Architects

Issues were also raised over the noise disturbance generated by a kitchen extraction unit that Fat Hippo would need, causing a disturbance for the 'luxury' apartments that have been built above.

Following the refusal in February, Fat Hippo has submitted a fresh plan for the unit including submission of a noise assessment for its proposed extraction unit by Sharps Redmore acoustics consultants.

The installation of a branded awning remains in the latest plan, with the shopfront being painted black and existing tiles to the base plinth being retained.

You can view the refused application and the new one on the council's planning portal using the references below:

  • Refused plan - 221373
  • new submission - 230574

Fat Hippo and its planning agents John Taylor Architects have been contacted for comment.