John Lewis ‘risks leaving Reading with bland and boring flats'
Heritage campaigners said a plot of land on the ring road in Reading 'deserves better' than John Lewis's designs for the new housing development, which is due to replace its vacant warehouse.
The partnership recently revised its plans for the flagship rental home scheme in hopes of getting approval.
The Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee said John Lewis had been given an opportunity to create buildings which were better than the 'usual bland and boring flat developments that are expected in Reading'.
It said John Lewis should have come up with a 'more innovative and exceptional design' that would 'surprise passers-by'. The 170-home scheme includes blocks which are up to eight storeys high and largely use 'red brick tones'.
Despite its concerns, the conservation group said it had withdrawn its opposition to the scheme after initially lodging an objection last year.
It comes as the partnership presses to get approval for the development within the coming months, having already had to push back its opening by a year.
John Lewis first submitted its planning application last summer, but faced opposition from local groups including police and the umbrella NHS organisation for the area.
Last month, the company submitted revised plans for the development, including cutting down the number of rental homes to 170 from 215.
At the time, it said the changes followed local feedback to its initial designs, adding it was 'very important to us that we deliver the best possible scheme and one that benefits the community'.
However, the revisions to the proposals have delayed its expected opening date.
John Lewis is now expecting people to move into the Reading homes in 2029, rather than 2028 as initially planned. It said it was expecting councillors to decide on the scheme in late 2025 and to start construction next year.
Planning frustration
It comes amid frustration from developers over Britain's planning system, which threaten to stand in the way of Government efforts to boost the number of new homes.
The Home Builders Federation said fewer projects were getting planning approval.
In June, data suggested the number of new home building sites given planning approval in England had dropped to its lowest level on record. In the year to the end of March, the number of units approved fell to 233,695, a 5pc drop on the previous 12-month period.
The Home Builders Federation said the figures were 'disastrous', adding: 'There seems little chance of us building the homes we know are desperately needed.'
The warning followed a vow from Labour to 'turn the tide on the housing crisis', with the Housing Secretary having pledged to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the current parliament.
The Government said it would speed up planning by clamping down on objections to projects. Sir Keir Starmer earlier this year said: 'We're putting an end to this challenge culture by taking on the Nimbys and a broken system that has slowed down our progress as a nation.'
A spokesman for John Lewis said: 'We're proud of our plans to transform a disused industrial site into new rental housing and a green space for residents and the local community.
'The architecture has taken cues from the local conservation area so we're pleased that the Committee no longer objects to our plans and acknowledges that we have 'worked hard to engage with members of the local community and respond to their feedback.''
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