March 4, 2019
Moorgarth Group has submitted a planning application to Reading Borough Council for a major residential development at its Broad Street Mall shopping and leisure destination.
The plans are aimed at revitalising the western end of Reading town centre by creating a vibrant and attractive new quarter that complements other ambitious proposals for the civic centre area.
The Moorgarth scheme will create almost 500 new homes above the existing centre in three towers at the southern side of Broad Street Mall and two other residential blocks. There will be affordable housing within the scheme.
The existing distinctive car park wall will be retained while the Hosier St/Dusseldorf Way frontage is transformed with new retail or F&B units in South Court, adjacent to a new hotel for which separate plans have been submitted to the council.
Around Broad Street Mall, there will also be landscaping improvements to enhance the public realm.
Moorgarth’s managing director Gary Lewis said: “Our vision for Broad Street Mall is for an exciting and vibrant destination that will provide one of the finest urban living environments outside the capital.”
Subject to gaining the necessary planning approval, it is expected that the phased-work could start on the development next year.
The 400,000 sq ft shopping and leisure destination has undergone a comprehensive refurbishment since it was acquired by Moorgarth in 2015.
Broad Street Mall has celebrated a series of new lettings in recent months, including a lease renewal by New Look and a 9,000 sq ft letting to new entrant Iceland, which chose to relocate to the centre from elsewhere in Reading town centre. The Mall boasts an annual footfall of 7 million visitors .
