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Development in Reading is something of a talking point.
On the one hand, you have the obvious need for housing and government pressure to build those houses.
The borough’s urban nature means there is very little land for estates packed with family homes.
As a result, the really big developments planned for around the town centre are packed with flats.
Some, like the plan for the Royal Mail depot in Caversham Road, have a smattering of “town houses”.
But the majority are flats, which inevitably get called “rabbit hutches” and “the slums of the future.”
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Whether that turns out to be correct remains to be seen, but development is always a controversial subject.
What the development has led to is regeneration on some of the town’s most run down areas.
In the past few years, Reading has seen the loss of eyesores like Kings Point in King’s Road, the empty Toys R Us and Homebase stores in Kenavon Drive and the derelict Iceland and Wickes stores in Weldale Street – a run down area that is set for a mini-regeneration.
The derelict Friars Walk shopping centre is also no more.
It’s fair to say a pretty good job is being done of tidying up these areas.
However, there are some areas that still need work.
Here are nine Reading eyesores that we think either need some major love or knocking down.
The Coley flats
(Image: Berkshire Live – Grahame Larter)
A curious situation exists in Coley.
The current, Reading Borough Council owned flats are infested with rats and are causing major issues for both people living there and visitors to the area.
Reading Borough Council is set to provide new homes in the area, which were met by major opposition.
The current tower blocks are not ideal for 2020 and ideally need a lot of work done to them or knocking down and replacing.
This is would be a major project and would present a big headache for the council in terms of cost and disruption for all the people living there.
Nothing is in the pipeline just yet but these old buildings don’t last forever and the major rat problem is in need of solving.
The Meadway Precinct
The picture above was taken by a man from Reading who took his newborn daughter to the precinct as one of her first trips out.
Luckily, she won’t remember it.
The precinct in Tilehurst opened in 1967, and has remained largely unchanged since that time.
Over the years it has become more and more run down.
A plan to revamp the area was given permission in 2017.
However, new plans emerged earlier this year which propose 266 new homes, as well as a smaller shopping area, as well as 392 parking spaces.
The plans say: “The centre is primarily retail currently and is a typical “parade” scheme of its time, tired and in need of upgrading.”
This is entirely correct.
The plans were submitted in February, so, in theory, should come before the council’s Planning Committee fairly soon.
Here’s what it looked like when it opened in 1967.
The Meadway Leisure Centre
(Image: Get Reading)
Swimming pools and leisure centres are another controversial subject in Reading.
The row over the council’s closure of Arthur Hill and Reading Central pools rumbles on, but there’s no doubt there is a distinct lack of swimming pools in Reading at this moment in time.
Whether the new pools at Rivermead and Palmer Park materialise any time soon we’ll have to wait and see.
One of the remaining centres is the Meadway Leisure Centre in Tilehurst.
It’s another old building, that in an ideal world, the council would probably replace.
It’s an old-fashioned leisure centre that is likely to become not fit for purposes in the next decade or so.
You’d not be surprised if a plan to rebuild and replace it materialised in the relatively near future, but it’s also likely no-one at the council would go near closing another leisure centre with no replacement, so don’t expect anything soon.
Union Street AKA “Smelly Alley”
(Image: Berkshire Live – Grahame Larter)
Poor old Smelly Alley.
A few years ago it was a thriving street with a greengrocer, butcher and fishmonger.
Now, all of those businesses are gone, and the street is now largely mobile phone repair shops and empty units.
With a bit of work, it could be a nice place for quirky local businesses.
The acquisition of the Grumpy Goat is a good start, and could lead to others following and a revamp of the street.
This office in Friar Street
(Image: Google Maps)
We’re not sure if this massive office off Merchants Place is occupied, but it isn’t very nice.
It’s a bit of throwback to the old days and reminds a bit of the dreaded Kings Point.
No-one would shed a tear if it was knocked down though.
Nando’s can definitely stay though.
Reading Gas Works social club
(Image: Get Reading)
This building has a nice riverside location by the River Kennet, but has been empty for more than 20 years.
It was put up for sale back in 2013 but remains undeveloped and unloved.
Reading Magistrates’ Court and Reading police station, Castle Street
These are the homes of law and order in Reading and are right next door to each other.
They are both pretty ugly buildings.
The police station will eventually close when Thames Valley Police moves to its new Reading HQ in the south of the town.
The future of the magistrates court is not yet known, although going in there is like going back in time.
Both buildings are part of a grand plan by the council which will eventually see the whole run-down area around Hosier Street revamped.
It remains to be seen whether the grotty old court survives that, and whether Reading will still have a magistrates court at all in the future.
Which brings us to……
The Hexagon, Queen’s Walk
The Hexagon is a rather fun place for a night of theatre.
It’s by no means the all-singing, all-dancing (excuse the pun) entertainment venue a town like Reading needs, but it’s still a charming venue.
However, it can’t last forever and it probably not fit for purpose.
But the council has stated the six-sided theatre will stay open until its replacement is found.
The venue has been closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March.
8 Tessa Road, Reading
This is the former home of BerkshireLive in its previous incarnation as the Reading Evening Post and Reading Post.
At its peak it housed a few hundreds staff and a print room where national and local papers were printed.
It was never a thing of beauty, and needed a lot of work done to it before we moved out in 2014.
