6 ... continued


Reading’s future game- changers: 1 Thames Valley Science Park


In March, the University of Reading opened the doors of its flagship Gateway building, the first part of the Thames Valley Science Park’s 47- acre south of the town development site beside the M4 at Shinfield. The Gateway provides 70,000 square feet of flexible office and laboratory space for technology-led companies, ranging from early-stage start-ups to global research and development centres.


TVSP will eventually deliver approximately 800,000 sq ft of flexible scientific-friendly space in a collaborative campus style setting – plus a potential 5,000 new jobs.


A £30m cancer treatment centre is currently under construction by Proton Partners International and scheduled to open later this year.


As it progresses, TVSP will become one of the biggest dedicated science parks in the South East and a natural international focal point for aspiring science-related businesses.


2 Royal Elm Park and Green Park station


Yet to be built but approved by Reading Borough Council, the huge Royal Elm Park scheme involves the transformation of undeveloped land into a mixed-use development with Madejski Stadium at its heart. It will provide 618 apartments and serviced flats, a world-class convention centre holding 6,000 people, an ice rink, a hotel, and potentially more than 1,000 new jobs.


Nearby Green Park, established as a major business park and now rapidly gaining an attractive lakeside village courtesy of the Berkeley Group, is set to add its own railway station to the town’s excellent rail links. Foundation work has begun and it may well be completed in time for passengers to meet the first London train from the Elizabeth Line.


3 The Elizabeth Line and Station Hill


The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) will arrive in Reading by December 2019 providing another valuable two-way Thames Valley commuting service – four an hour at peak times – importantly running through central London to Canary Wharf and beyond.


Passengers arriving at Reading’s showpiece rail station may also soon walk out onto the town’s completed Station Hill area.


Last month (June), Lincoln MGT, a joint venture between Lincoln Property Company and MGT Investment Management backed by Baupost, bought the 6.5-acre Station Hill development site – one of the South East’s largest development opportunities – for a believed £70m from Sackville Developments Reading (SDRL), a JV between Stanhope and Benson Elliot.


This prime regeneration site already has outline planning permission for combined office and residential development


Troy Javaher, MD of European Operations at LPC, stated: “We understand the strategic importance of this development to Reading’s continued evolution and we look forward to working with the council


and stakeholders to bring forward an outstanding mixed-use development in the near future.”


4 Cow Lane bridge and a riverside Park & Ride


Perhaps only a Reading resident would list these developments as game- changing. But, the decades overdue removal of the one-way system bottleneck at Cow Lane railway bridge, west of Reading will be replaced this year with a modern twin-lane roadway. Plus the recent approval of a new Park ’n Ride from the Thames Valley Business Park in eastern Reading, running alongside the Thames into the town centre, may well significantly alleviate the town’s east-west transportation.


5 Heathrow expansion and WRLtH


Arguably, the biggest positive change to Reading’s future economic ‘skyline’ will take place well outside the town – the expansion of Heathrow, agreed at Cabinet-level early in June, and hailed as an important milestone in building a global Britain.


Thames Valley Berkshire LEP and Enterprise M3 both welcomed the news of ministerial final proposals backing a third Heathrow runway, enabling a 70% estimated capacity increase.


“As the most productive sub-region in the country, Thames Valley Berkshire’s connectivity is very much its USP and is crucial to maintaining the area’s and UK’s competitive advantage,” commented LEP chief executive, Tim Smith.


Heathrow’s midway positioning along the M4 corridor between Reading and London provides ideal global business travel access and freight handling for the Thames Valley.


More than 200 of the top 300 companies in the UK are headquartered within a 30-mile radius of Heathrow. Reading – close enough to our country’s capital, and also some capital countryside – is home to many of them.


Good news on Heathrow’s expansion is very supportive for the proposed Western Rail Link to Heathrow (WRLtH) – a new 6.5km railway route from the main line near Slough direct to London Heathrow Airport that will significantly speed up journeys to Britain’s main international airport. Without a London Paddington connection, journeys from Reading are expected to take under 30 minutes.


Reading’s changing skyline


This heading is not a poor pun on Heathrow or Reading’s cloud-based technology advances but references the


businessmag.co.uk READING NUMBER 1 CITY UPDATE – JULY/AUGUST 2018


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20