Have your say on Reading masterplan for thousands of new homes

The Reading Local Plan is a document that governs where new homes can be built, their size, affordability and much more.

The Local Plan was adopted in 2019, but legally has to be reviewed within five years of its adoption.

Reading Borough Council has taken the opportunity to update its policies to push for more affordable and family-sized housing in the town.

Proposed measures include increasing the target for the amount of family housing needed outside of the town centre to 67 per cent, up from 50 per cent in the current plan, and introducing a minimum three-year tenancy for all new build-to-rent developments.

Explaining the changes, Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley), lead councillor for planning said: “Changes have been made from the previous version, including a substantial increase in the creation of family-sized homes by developers outside of Central Reading.

“It also continues to demand high standards from developers in terms of creating genuinely sustainable and energy efficient homes, which also help to drive down costs for struggling households."

Micky Leng (Labour, Whitley) deputy leader of Reading Borough Council and lead councillor for planning and assets. Credit: Reading Labour

As well as the council's objectives, the update gives landowners the opportunity to suggest sites for new flats and homes.

Examples of suggested sites include the John Lewis distribution centre for 215 flats, Norman Place on the south bank of the Thames for 254 flats and the Kennet Place office, which could be converted into 93 flats.

READ MORE: Nine sites in Reading that could deliver thousands of new homes and flats 

According to the current Local Plan, the council has a target of delivering 825 new homes per year to meet its housing need.

The site allocations and policies contained in the update will set the agenda for development in Reading for 17 years up to 2041.

A draft of the Local Plan partial update was approved to go to a statutory consultation at a full council meeting on October 15.

Now, that consultation has begun.

You can take part using this council webpage.

The deadline for comments is 5pm on Wednesday, December 18.

Councillor Leng said: “I’d urge residents, businesses and organisations across Reading to take some time over the coming weeks to take a look at our intended direction of travel and feed into our town’s Local Plan.”

To assist residents, the council has set up two drop-in sessions where planning officers will be on hand to answer questions.

These will take place at the civic offices in Bridge Street between 1pm and 6pm on Tuesday, November 26 and between 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday, December 11.

Once the consultation is completed, a final draft will be devised for submission to the government and reviewed by an independent planning inspector for hoped-for adoption in Spring 2025.