Tenants move in to council’s £110m housing development plan

READING Borough Council has seen a number of new tenants move into affordable housing as it continues with its homebuilding strategy.

It is aiming to deliver 400 new homes.

Seven affordable homes in Southcote, Whitley, and Church wards have seen new residents, with a further site in Caversham nearing completion.

The homes form part of the council’s plans to build on disused land and derelict areas, with “infill” sites seeing imaginative use of small pockets of land, including an old Scout hut.

The plans will see more than £110 million of investment aimed at reducing the housing waiting list and provide accommodation for key workers.

More than 100 of the

400 planned are due to be completed by the end of 2023.

They also include a further 62 homes which were approved to be built on the former cite of Central Pool in Battle Street.

Homes vary from two-bed houses, four-bed properties with garden space, and accessible bungalows.

All new homes are being built to Passivhaus principles to reduce carbon footprint and keep bills down, including triple glazing, air source heat pumps, and solar panels.

Reading Borough Council’s lead member for housing Cllr Ellie Emberson said: “I’m really proud of our Housing team for their diligence in finding pockets of disused land and turning them into homes of such high quality that mean everything to those who move in.

“We have ambitious plans to build more council homes on our bigger remaining sites, but each pocket of land that we can turn from a negative to a positive improves the look of its local area and means so much to yet another Reading household.”