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News Archive - Week Beginning 20th September 2009
The editors say: The unsurprising agreement that Sir John Madejski’s company can develop the station area leaves us thinking ... more shops? Restaurants? Offices? Doesn't that all presume rather a lot about post-recession Reading? There's enough dead property already.
Caversham People
Volunteers from the Caversham property management firm Babcock have been nominated for a ‘Pride of Reading’ award for their volunteer work in spending a day weeding and planting at the MAPP Community Centre garden in Katesgrove – giving the garden a makeover. (Get Reading 23/09/09 p5)
Festivals
This year’s Caversham Festival, which had been scheduled to take place at Westfield Green on the Gosbrook Road on Saturday, 26th September has been cancelled as there were not enough local volunteers to organise the event. The Caversham Horticultural Society, which had intended to display at the event, instead held its traditional autumn show at Caversham Primary School. According to the ‘Chronicle’, it sounds as if the autumn show was a great success – with a lot of people deciding to join the society. (Reading Chronicle 24/09/09 pp16,23, Get Reading 25/09/09 p5 )
Open Space – Kings Meadow
The RBC Cabinet is to take a final decision on the evening of Monday, September 28th with regards who will be chosen to redevelop the Kings Meadow baths. The developer Askett Hawk wants to turn the Grade II-listed building into a hotel, spa and offices whereas community group the Kings Meadow Campaign has plans to turn it into a swimming pool and winter ice rink. (Reading Chronicle 24/09/09 p5)
Planning
The RBC at its planning meeting on Wednesday, 23rd September granted planning permission for Sir John Madejski’s property company Sackville Developments to take forward its revised plans for redeveloping the area around Reading Station. The £400m Station Hill scheme will include shops, restaurants – and tall landmark office towers. The scheme had undergone a major redesign after the original plans were rejected owing to the height of the tallest buildings. A letter in the ‘Chronicle’ from Paul Bardos and others criticises the decision to grant planning permission to the scheme, and asks: ‘why is it that other multi-storey structures like the Sky Hotel development (Station Road) were rejected when this project, many times greater in scale, is pushed forward as the opportunity of a lifetime?’ (Reading Chronicle 24/09/09 p15, Get Reading 25/09/09 pp1,3)
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