Go-ahead for 205 riverside flats in Staines

Bellway’s plans for 205 riverside apartments on a council car park in Staines have been approved. The application was submitted in December and approved this month for the mix of one, two and three bedroom apartments on the site in Bridge Street. It will have a restaurant with glass frontage and panoramic views of the river, 140 parking spaces, a gym and communal garden for residents. Cllr Nick Gething, cabinet member for planning and economic development, said: "This announcement marks an

Rumours and movers: The Stable, Sheeplands and Black & Decker

The Stable A restaurant which specialises in pizza, pies and cider has applied for permission to make alterations to one of Reading’s most historic buildings. Dorset-based The Stable plans to open a restaurant at Seven Bridges House in Bridge Street which was originally the head office of the former Simonds Brewery on the current site of The Oracle. Listed building permission has been sought to make the internal alterations. The building, which had been used as offices by The Oracle owners

Reading UK 2050 goes public

Businesses were urged to get behind the Reading UK 2050 vision on Thursday (March 17) as the project made its first public launch. After almost three years of discussions and workshops, a team led by Barton Willmore, has now gone public with a weekend of town centre displays and consultation. Around 100 attended the launch at Haslams offices in Friar Street where Nigel Horton-Baker, executive director of Reading UK CIC described the six areas the vision has focused on – Station Hill, Abbey

"We need a message that is strong and true"

A new message to promote Slough is being developed and more than 100 guests got the first indications of what it will be at a key conference in the town. The council and developers came together for the town’s second Economic Growth Conference on Tuesday (March 15) and delegates at the half-day event heard, not only about the scale of regeneration, but how Slough – in one respect at least – is already regarded as a city. Chief executive of Slough Borough Council, Ruth Bagley revealed ‘a new

Council agrees deal with Abstract Securities for Basing View

Councillors have agreed a deal to let Abstract Securities build a speculative new 60,000 sq ft office building at Basing View. Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet agreed on Tuesday (March 15) to sell a 999 year peppercorn lease on a site it owns in the town centre business zone to Abstract to build the BREEAM Excellent-rated five-storey building. The site has already been cleared for development by the council, which has also made a bid for support to the Enterprise M3 Local

Disappointment over Chancellor's rate reform

Commercial property consultants Vail Williams has responded to today’s (Wednesday's) Budget saying while the Chancellor offers some relief to small businesses, he failed to mention the widely anticipated reforms to business rates from April 2017. Simon Moffatt, Lead Partner - Business Rates Consultancy at Vail Williams said: “At face value, the announcement on the new threshold for the Small Business Rates Relief (SBRR) is welcome news, although for many small businesses it’s probably too

Aldi store and Costa drive-through planned for Suttons Business Park

A new Aldi and drive-through Costa are on the cards as part of a planned redevelopment of buildings on the eastern edge of Suttons Business Park. Owner Standard Life Investments wants to demolish vacant warehouse and office buildings close to the A4 London Road at Earley and build the supermarket and drive-through along with four modern industrial/warehouse buildings. The plans will be submitted in two applications. The first, to go in in April, is for four modern warehouse/industrial

Businesses urged to support Western Rail Link to Heathrow

Firms of all kinds are being asked to show support for a direct rail service to Heathrow T5 via Slough through a new tunnel off the Great Western main line. Network Rail has launched a six-week consultation process on its preferred route for the Western Rail Link to Heathrow (WRLtH), (networkrail.co.uk/westernraillinktoheathrow) and now Thames Valley Berkshire LEP is asking business to get behind the proposals. Network Rail says the benefits of the scheme, first evaluated in 2009, show it will

Slough prepares for £450m uplift

Rarely in Slough’s short history has the chance to boost its image been so great. Developers have noticed the town’s proximity to London and Heathrow airport makes it probably the biggest beneficiary of Crossrail and the proposed western rail link to the airport. Combined with the capital's sky-high property prices and rents and possible Heathrow expansion, Slough is witnessing a massive uplift including the £450 million Heart of Slough project and many other private schemes. There are 34

Rumours and movers: Segro and 9 Greyfriars

​Clean Linen Services Slough Trading Estate owner Segro has completed letting the first phase of its Buckingham Avenue development. Clean Linen Services has taken 43,000 sq ft it will use as the main hub for its processes in the London and South East area. The unit will be used to wash over one million pieces of linen each week. It’s one of three buildings totalling 71,000 sq ft where the other tenants are Pantos Logistics, Korea's largest logistics company and PWS Distributors. The second phase