How Reading town centre could look twenty years from now

The number of homes in the centre of a major town is expected to more than double by 2041.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) says more than two thirds of them will be flats in major developments such as Station Hill, the Minster Quarter and the Oracle and Broad Street Malls.

Just under half of those currently living in the town centre are aged 20 to 39. More than half were born outside the UK.

RBC says while this brings energy into Reading, increased housing density risks putting pressure on already busy facilities. It’s drawn up a vision of how it wants the town centre to look twenty years from now to create a stronger sense of community for those who live there.

Seven principles underpin this vision.

Amongst them, providing community spaces and expanding the capacity of health services around all these new homes.

Trying to make the town centre easier to travel through without using a car, by expanding cycling hubs near the station and improving crossings over the Inner Distribution Road (IDR.)

There’s a lot of talk about how to make the town centre more climate resilient too.

Introducing low-carbon heat solutions, such as at the Hexagon Theatre with huge new ground source heat pumps, and accelerating the shift to lower emission travel like the bus lane project on London Road.

SO WHAT COULD THIS ALL LOOK LIKE?

To give just a few examples, there’ll be more shaded seating on Broad Street and Friar Street with more trees lining pedestrianised areas. New blocks of flats will need to have communal gardens on their roofs and space on the ground floor for clubs and classes.