New Stadium Plan Set for Approval, Spectators Still Waiting for the Game

A major redevelopment project around Reading Select Car Leasing Stadium could soon move forward, with Reading Borough Council expected to consider the enabling works required for the scheme. Known as the Royal Elm Park project, the development includes plans for 600 apartments, a 246 bedroom hotel, an ice rink and a convention centre. The wider project received planning permission in 2017, but further approval is required for works needed to prepare the site. One of the main issue is the site previous use as a landfill. The land was used for waste disposal between 1972 and 1985 before becoming surface-level parking following the stadium opening in 1998. Because of the site history, measure are required to ensure that potential risks from waste and ground gases are properly managed before further construction can proceed. Last year, the Reading FC Property Company received approval to modify conditions relating to contaminated land, allowing the first phase of the development to move ahead. That phase include the construction of a multi storey car park. The company has now applied for further changes to the wording of the contaminated-land conditions. The proposed amendments would allow additional works to proceed while requiring land management and remedial measures to continue until the council is satisfied that waste and gas related risks no longer present a hazard. The proposed condition also require ground gas risk to be assessed in accordance with relevant British standard. In addition, the Reading FC Property Company would be required to contribute towards ongoing land-management monitoring until the council determines that the associated hazards have been addressed. The development therefore faces a key planning decision, with environmental and safety requirements forming an important part of the approval process. Given the legal nature of the proposed change, the matter is expected to be considered by Reading Borough Council planning applications committee at a forth coming meeting. If approved, the change could remove an important regulatory hurdle and allow the wider Royal Elm Park redevelopment to progress, although the project will remain subject to the necessary environmental safe guard and planning conditions.