Reading FC plans £200m mixed-use scheme

Reading Football Club has unveiled plans for a £200m mixed-use scheme on land next to its stadium.

The Royal Elm Park development proposed by Reading Football Club Prop Co Ltd, a partly-owned subsidiary of Reading Football Club, includes plans for a convention centre, an ice rink and a 250-bed hotel.

The development also includes proposals for 630 new homes, 2,000 sq m of leisure and retail space, a large public square, a multi-storey car park, as well as various transport measures including a new transport hub and shuttle bus service to work in conjunction with Crossrail and the new Green Park railway station.

The developers hope to submit a planning application by the end of the year with a view to starting construction in 2016.

Around 1,000 jobs are expected to be created during construction on the development, with a further 1,000 new full-time equivalent jobs post construction.

Speaking to BBC Radio Berkshire this morning, Reading FC chief executive Nigel Howe said: “This sort of development is about engaging this part of Reading and the stadium in more activities, bringing people to this part of Reading just as similar developments have done in larger towns and cities across the country.

“With the support we need from local government, we have grasped the opportunity to put forward a proposal – with the aim of getting the local community more and more involved in Reading Football Club and the Madejski Stadium complex, whilst simultaneously helping the club to become more financially sustainable in the future.”