80 flats planned for Tesco car park in Reading

Plans have been submitted to build 80 flats in the car park of Tesco Extra in Reading’s Portman Road.

Ridgepoint Homes has applied to Reading Borough Council to build the scheme of one and two-bedroom flats, 30 per cent of them affordable, on 1.4 acres which takes in area of scrubland and a large chunk of the northern end of the supermarket car park.

The L-shaped block will fit between the existing service road and the petrol station with the smaller length facing Portman Road (see images below). Each flat will have a balcony and one parking space. There will be a total of 40 cycle parking spaces.

Ridgepoint states in its application: “The scheme proposals seek to make more efficient and effective use of this brownfield site which is now surplus to requirements for the Tesco store to contribute towards the housing supply in Reading.”

The supermarket, which opened in 2007, was built on part of the former Battle Hospital site.

Along with High Wycombe-based Ridgepoint, the team on the project includes i-Transport as transport consultant and WJ Macleod as architect.

Visit: http://planning.reading.gov.uk/fastweb_PL/detail.asp?AltRef=231041