The Reading West MP Alok Sharma (Conservative), minister for housing and planning in the department for communities and local government, said in a parliamentary debate on 5 September that local people hear about new housing schemes far too late.
Alok Sharma. Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament.
The Reading West MP Alok Sharma (Conservative), the minister for housing and planning in the department for communities and local government, has announced a government proposal to ban charging fees to tenants who rent accommodation.
The consultation on Reading’s new local plan will end at 5pm on Wednesday 14 June.
Reading Borough Council (RBC) are consulting on the draft local plan which sets out the planning framework for Reading until 2036. The plan includes general policies on planning principles such as sustainability, green space and heritage as well as area plans.
By John Dearing.
Early in 1980 I wanted to move from Maidenhead to Reading, where houses were cheaper. I contacted an estate agent and one Saturday in May I collected details of four properties, three of which were in Katesgrove. After the usual laborious process of house purchase, I moved to Sherman Road in October 1980. By 2015 more than half my life had been spent at this address.
Reading Borough Council (RBC) have proposed to enter into a development agreement with H20 Urban and the Canal and River Trust to build a 100 berth marina, hotel and pub on the A33 side of the Kennet opposite Waterloo Meadows, according to the Katesgrove Labour group.
Councillors Richard Davies, Rachel Eden, Rose Williams and the mayor, Councillor Mohammed Ayub
Katesgrove councillor Rose Williams was among the attendees at the launch event for the opening of Phoebe Cusden House on 31 March. The supported living accommodation at Whitley Rise, Basingstoke Road is owned and managed by Reading Borough Council (RBC).
Reading Borough Council (RBC) have approved a development to provide accommodation for people with special needs, including learning disabilities or autism, on the corner of Northumberland Avenue and Warwick Road.
Planning officers were asked at the October Planning Applications committee to consider ways in which the better management of HMOs could be ensured. On Wednesday 8 February the committee will consider a report from planning officers.
Developers who wish to demolish the Woodley Arms and replace it by a block of student flats have appealed to the Planning Inspectorate against Reading Borough Council’s refusal to allow planning permission. This is the second appeal in relation to development on this site.
The apparently relentless drive to convert the area’s pubs, offices and vacant lots into flats and HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) continued apace this year. Some proposals, including the demolition of the After Dark Club and the Woodley Arms, were rejected, whilst others, such as the new residential care home near the Rising Sun Arts Centre, will proceed. The saving of the South Street Arts Centre was a major success in keeping Katesgrove at the front of Reading’s arts scene.
The application to demolish Katesgrove’s After Dark Club and replace it with 10 apartments was rejected at Reading Borough Council’s planning applications committee on Wednesday 7 December.
Draughts, rising fuel costs, no heating or inefficient heating systems; what is it that makes us shiver our way through the winter up on Katesgrove Hill?
Reading residents who are on a low income and over 60 years old, or have very young children, or a disability or health problem could qualify for help from the council’s Winter Watch scheme.
Sophia James, one of Katesgrove’s councillors and chair of the housing, neighbourhoods and leisure committee, asked a question at Wednesday 18 October’s council meeting about the council’s housing register.
Plans to convert 35 Christchurch Road from 12 HMO units (house in multiple occupation) to 11 self-contained flats were accepted at the planning applications committee on 12 October.
In 1638 Charles I gave a charter to Reading [ref 1] which included measures to prevent building small properties and the subdivision of homes into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).
Finally, the last leg of the tour brings us back to Whitley Street and the Whitley Pump.
Christchurch Vicarage (209) and Somerleaze (210) – Extract from 1877 OS Map
On both corners of Vicarage Road with Christchurch Road are two of the oldest buildings in the conservation area, both of which are now used by Abbey Junior School.
ACORN Reading will be holding a #RentersRising event at the Wycliffe Baptist Church, 233 Kings Rd, RG1 4LS on Saturday 15 October to start building a tenants’ rights organisation.
