Reading site vacant for a decade set for new homes

The Alice Burrows care home has been vacant for more than 10 years, with the building being demolished back in 2012.

Now, the site in Dwyer Road, Southcote is finally set to be transformed into a council housing development.

The footprint of the care home will be replaced with new homes consisting of a mix of 15 one-bedroom flats, a five-bedroom home, and six four-bedroom homes and eight three-bedroom houses.

The Alice Burrows Care Home in Dwyer Road, Southcote, closed but pre-demolition in June 2009. Credit: Google Maps

These homes would be contained within one apartment block, a 10-home terrace, two sets of semi-detached homes and the detached five-bedroom house.

All of the new homes built will be designated as affordable through social rent rates.

The development must be approved by Reading Borough Council’s planning applications committee, as the plan was submitted by its housing department.

The new homes for the Aice Burrows site are set to be decided at a meeting of the committee on Wednesday, December 6.

The proposed site layout for the plan to replace the former Alice Burrows Care Home in Dwyer Road, Southcote with 30 homes. Credit: HTA Design LLP

Despite this being a council scheme, it has not stopped a planning officer from criticising some elements of the plan, such as the lack of open space and having a lower-than-usual amount of car parking.

For the 30 homes, 24 car parking spaces are proposed, of which two would be reserved as disabled spaces. The development will be accessed from Appleford Road.

In her report judging the scheme, planning officer Ethne Humphreys said: “The report does identify elements of harm, largely due to the lack of open space, slight shortfall in car parking spaces and insufficient space to provide a suitable standard of tree planting and landscaping within the site.

“There is a general concern that the proposals result in a degree of crampedness and overdevelopment of the site.

“This harm should therefore be considered against the benefits of the scheme.

“A clear benefit is the proposed 100 per cent affordable family-sized housing for which there is a critical need within the Borough.

“It is considered that in this instance this clearly outweighs the areas of harm identified.”

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Ultimately the scheme has been recommended for approval.

The council conducted a consultation into its Dwyer Road plan in January.

Ethne Humphreys noted that the original layout for the development was ‘not supportable’ as it would have resulted in ‘cramped’ residential spaces.

However, the council submitted an amended site layout and designs in early November.

Following approval, the council aims to begin work to build the homes next year, with a hope to have them ready for occupation in the Winter of 2025/6.