Four sites including Reading's prime shopping centre and a Tesco car park could be places where hundreds of new homes are built in the town.
Reading Borough Council is currently undergoing the long process of updating its Local Plan, a crucial document which defines where new homes and flats can be built.
At the beginning of the process last year, about 20 sites were identified as possible sites for new homes.
These were featured in an initial consultation into the partial update of the Reading Local Plan, which took place from November 2023 to this January.
READ MORE: Listed: Nine huge sites that could be turned into thousands of homes in Reading
However, during the consultation, four new sites were put forward, including the plan to turn The Oracle into a place to live for the first time in its history.
Check out the four sites which could be allocated for development below.
If each one goes ahead, more than 700 new homes would be added to the town.
There could be even more homes at a fifth site as well.
The Oracle
The project that would add apartments to The Oracle for the first time has been incorporated into the draft update of the Local Plan.
The council's planning department has identified the centre as suitable for 250-370 homes.
Planning applications for 449 flats were submitted in 2023, which were subsequently revised down to 436 flats earlier this year.
If the project goes ahead, sites within The Oracle north and south of the River Kennet would have 218 flats each.
The BT Glasshouse
The BT corporate office at 11 Basingstoke Road could become a place for 130-200 homes according to a council document.
The site stands in a prominent location at the meeting point of the Redlands and Katesgrove areas.
Tesco Extra Car Park
The Local Plan partial update also identifies the Tesco Extra car park in Portman Road, West Reading for 46-68 homes.
Plans were submitted to build a four-storey apartment block containing 80 flats at the car park more than a year ago.
The project is being undertaken by Ridgepoint Homes, with adjustments being submitted in December 2023.
Former bridge pub
The Lower Ship Inn at 20-22 Duke Street could be turned over to housing.
The pub has been closed since the mid-1980s and never reopened, despite ongoing rumours.
It is indicated that the pub could be turned into 12-18 homes.
The fifth site
The fifth site has an X-factor because A) there are already homes in the area and B) it's actually outside of Reading Borough.
The council has incorporated the remainder of the former Reading Golf Course into the list of allocated sites.
Any new homes here would be an extension of the Emmer Green Drive development of 223 homes, which was controversially approved in 2022 despite more than 4,000 objections.
The site covers land west of Kidmore End Road located outside of Reading Borough in South Oxfordshire Council's jurisdiction.
There are no indications of how many homes would be provided on the site yet, but Reading Borough would be consulted on the impacts any future development may have.
What happens next?
Details of the new sites were revealed in council documents for the Local Plan partial update.
Councillors agreed that the Local Plan update be put to a statutory consultation at the full council meeting on October 15.
A public consultation will be launched on the new sites and other elements of the update in the coming months.
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