Pedestrian crossings and skate park among new plans approved

There will be improvements at seven play areas and three new pedestrian crossings, funded by a tax on property developers in Reading.

Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Policy committee approved the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) spending on Monday, June 14.

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When developments take place in Reading, as part of approving planning permission, the council asks developers to pay towards local infrastructure such as improving play areas and pedestrian crossings.

This is part of national planning law applied by all local planning authorities.

The law specifies that 15 per cent of this Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) money must be spent within the local area where development occurs.

RBC has approved spending of £1,557,000 on the following projects, which you can see more detail on here:

Park and playground improvements

Arthur Newbery Park play area improvements (£100,000)

Palmer Park play area improvements (£100,000)

PICTURED: Palmer Park

Waterloo Meadows play area improvements (£95,000)

Oxford Road Recreation Ground play area improvements (£95,000)

Skate park at John Rabson Recreation Ground (£95,000)

Shinfield Road Recreation Ground improvements (£75,000)

Dover Street play area improvements (£85,000)

Moriston Close play area improvements (£30,000)

Landscaping improvements at South Whitley Park (£15,000)

Pedestrian crossings

Norcot Road (£50,000)

Addington Road (£50,000)

PICTURED: Addington Road

Church End Lane (£50,000)

Other projects

High Street Heritage Action Zone project (£275,000)

Cleaning and maintaining war memorials and public art (£100,000)

Thames cycle path in Kings Meadow (£100,000)

Brook Street West wooden bridge area improvements (£100,000)

Graffiti removal (£75,000)

Cleaning and repairing town centre monuments and statues (£50,000)

Lining alteration at roundabout on The Meadway (£10,000)

Morpeth Close Road parking bay markings (£5,000)

Laptops for Coley Park Community Centre (£2,000)

The council held a public consultation on the plans, with 70 per cent of the 171 respondents backing the chosen schemes and spending plans.

The most expensive project is the council contributing £275,000 towards the High Street Heritage Action Zone project, which is an ongoing programme to make the high street within three town centre conservation areas a more attractive place.

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The council was awarded £806,500 of funding from Historic England to transform the high streets in three conservation areas in the town centre and agreed to add its own funds to the project.

This includes plans to improve building frontages, as well as cultural activities, and RBC has already allocated £150,000 in previous rounds of CIL funding.