The campaign to save the former Adwest building in Woodley seems to have grown from nothing – but the result could be something special.
It’s unfortunate for the developer that a decrepit old factory that appeared to pose little obstruction to a decent, new (and much in demand) scheme, happened to be the last of its kind, locally.
But while it is tempting to think there are more important things in the world than seeking to preserve it, Reading has a shining example of what can be done if a little creativity and imagination is used on a seemingly unloved building.
Officers at Reading Borough Council couldn’t believe their luck when a developer offered to bring a new lease of life to a derelict swimming pool at King’s Meadow a few years ago.
It had been used for around 70 years before being left to decay for another 40. It was during those 40 years, a plan to demolish it for a hotel prompted the successful battle to have it listed. The result – eventually – was Thames Lido, a brilliant health and dining facility, now used in promotional literature about the town.
The Grade ll listing left the council with no idea what it could do with an Edwardian open air pool which was impossibly expensive to bring back into use but offered few other options. It was a Bristol-based team of entrepreneurs, who had done something similar there, who came to the rescue.
Wokingham Borough Council’s Cllr Shirley Boyt plans to ask residents for their ideas on what to do with the Adwest building if the listing campaign progresses. Plenty of people are fighting for its preservation. Now they need to get thinking.
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As the world leaders fly in for COP26, breaking every rule they are imposing on the rest of the world, there would seem to be a divide opening up.
Seemingly, emissions don’t destroy the world if you’re a political leader – or even a Prime Minister’s wife. As the politics of the climate change movement start to directly impact the lives and pockets of everyone, there could, before too long, become a new political force made up from those who will suffer the most.
Everyday people are going to see little benefit from losing their affordable forms of transport, spending tens of thousands on their homes and changing their diets while those who enforce those policies can afford to ignore their own rules.
It brings to mind a phrase heard recently: “When they say ‘we’ they mean ‘you’.”
The path to net zero could be a painful one.
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