Spend needed on Reading council housing project kept private

Reading Borough Council has a project to build 46 new council homes and conduct upgrades to the high-rise flats at the Coley Park estate.

The aim of the project is to provide new affordable housing, a play park, car parking and a better road layout for neighbours, drivers and bus passengers at the site in Wensley Road.

However, it has proved controversial since the outset with neighbours recently complaining about overruning works, the state of the construction site and 'parking chaos'.

READ MORE: Anger over 'construction chaos' as neighbours threaten to stop paying council tax

Councillors are being asked to commit additional funds to complete the project.

But the amount that is needed is being withheld from the public, as the figure is being kept confidential.

Justifying the information being kept private, Victoria Higgins, the council's housing regeneration project manager wrote that the report 'contains financial information which, if published, would provide an unreasonable commercial advantage to future contractors and third parties'.

READ MORE: Neighbours suffering due to 'mess' at council house construction site

She went on to argue that publication of the figure could jeopardise the investment the council is making into its new-build housing programme and needs to remain confidential.

Therefore, she judged that the public interest in keeping the figure private outweighs the public interest in revealing the figure.

Improvements to the council houses in Coley are taking place in two phases, with the first being the construction of 46 council homes and public area improvements, and the second phase involving a range of internal and external works to the three tower blocks in Wensley Road.

A CGI of the Reading Borough Council development in Wensley Road, Coley, with 46 homes being built. Credit: Reading Borough Council

Neighbours in Wensley Road Paul and Suzanna Krykant said they were initially led to believe the first phase of the project would be completed in March 2023.

Now the council aims to complete it in early 2025.

The project in Coley is taking place alongside four other larger scale projects that are currently in development.

Explaining the reason for the delay, the report into the council house new build programme states: "Whilst we have been successful in our delivery, it is worth noting that the construction sector continues to face significant challenges.

"Market conditions have been significantly impacted by world events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine and Brexit.

"We have seen shortages of materials and skilled labour impacting on the delivering of new homes and costs have increased across the construction industry."

The additional spending required to complete phase one of the Coley council housing project is set to be approved at the council's policy committee meeting on Monday, November 18.

Councillors are also being asked to note the progress of the planned works for the Coley towers, with the hope of starting the project in June 2025 for completion in August 2026.