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555 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1HL

PL/26/0202Full planning permissionRefused
Full

Refused on 28 April 2026

Council decision: RefuseDelegated (officer decision)2 reasons for refusal

Approximate location: the centre of the postcode, not the exact property.

Proposal

Change of use of part of the ground floor from commercial use (Use Class E) to residential use (Use Class C3) with single storey side extension following demolition of existing side projection together with other alterations to create a 5 bedroom family dwelling.

Received
13 February 2026
Decision level
Delegated (officer decision)
Ward
Norcot Ward
  1. Received13 Feb
  2. Validated3 Mar
  3. Consult.10 Apr
  4. Target10 Apr
  5. Decided28 Apr

Decided in 56 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for demolition at 555 OXFORD ROAD, READING, RG30 1HL. Reading has handled 449 applications of this type. This one was decided in 74 days, 3 weeks longer than Reading's typical decision time. The site is in 2 listed buildings nearby. There are no previous applications recorded at this address. In the past year there have been 36 applications across Norcot Ward. We hold 270 applications in total for the RG30 postcode area.

89% of full applications at Reading Borough Council were approved. Across all application types, the council typically decides in about 8 weeks (median).

Based on decided applications received in the last 3 years.See what's approved near your address

Why it was refused

  1. The proposal by way of the loss of a centre use at ground floor within a district centre which would be harmful to the vitality and viability of the centre and contrary to policy RL3 of the Reading Local Plan and paragraphs 90, 128 of the NPPF 2024.
  2. The proposed development fails to demonstrate all habitable rooms would receive adequate natural light and outlook and the proposal fails to provide adequate outdoor amenity for a five-bedroom dwelling creating unacceptable living condition, contrary to Policies CC8 and H10 of the Reading Borough Local Plan 2019.

From the council's decision notice.

Application details

Postcode
RG30 1HL
Application type
Full planning permission
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Date validated
3 March 2026
Consultation expiry
10 April 2026
Consultation end
10 April 2026
Target decision date
10 April 2026
Application expires
28 April 2026

Planning decision

Statutory period
56 days

Additional information

Planning Portal ID
PP-14584878
Documents
54

Site constraints

Checking the site
2/3
Council recordsAppealsFlood risk

Designations at the address point. Ones next to the site may also apply.

  • Flood zone 1: Low probability (rivers and sea)

Not published by this council, so not checked: Article 4 directions. Ask the council if these matter.

Possibly incomplete for this council: tree preservation orders.

Also checked, none recorded (22)

flood storage areas, conservation areas, listed buildings, green belt, scheduled monuments, World Heritage Sites, World Heritage Site buffer zones, registered parks and gardens, registered battlefields, Heritage at Risk entries, nutrient neutrality catchments, national parks, National Landscapes, SSSIs, Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Ramsar sites, ancient woodland, national nature reserves, local nature reserves, heritage coasts and brownfield registers.

A guide only, from official open data; it is not a planning search. Flood zones cover rivers and sea, not surface water.

Data © Crown copyright and others · sources and licences

Contains public sector information from planning.data.gov.uk (MHCLG and local planning authorities), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Historic England 2026. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. The Historic England GIS Data contained in this material was obtained on 2026-11-03. The most publicly available up to date Historic England GIS Data can be obtained from HistoricEngland.org.uk.

© Natural England copyright. Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

© Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved. Flood Map for Planning, Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Source: Reading

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