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Reading Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading, RG1 3BQ

PL/26/0785Full planning permissionApproved
Full

Approved on 10 August 2026

Council decision: Approve with ConditionsDelegated (officer decision)5 conditions

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

Proposal

Installation of temporary security hoarding, mesh screens and associated security measures to the Central Library, Abbey Square, Reading, to secure the vacant building against unauthorised access, vandalism and anti-social behaviour pending determination of its future use. No change of use is proposed.

Received
15 June 2026
Decision level
Delegated (officer decision)
Ward
Abbey Ward
  1. Received15 Jun
  2. Validated15 Jun
  3. Consult.8 Jul
  4. Target8 Jul
  5. Decided10 Aug

Decided in 56 days (council typically 56)

About this application

This is a full planning application for a change of use at READING CENTRAL LIBRARY, ABBEY SQUARE, READING, RG1 3BQ. Reading has handled 449 applications of this type. This one was decided in 56 days. The site is in 5 listed buildings nearby. There has been 1 other application at this address. In the past year there have been 114 applications across Abbey Ward. We hold 481 applications in total for the RG1 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

Application details

Postcode
RG1 3BQ
Application type
Full planning permission
Scale / size
Small

Planning application dates

Date validated
15 June 2026
Consultation expiry
8 July 2026
Consultation end
8 July 2026
Target decision date
8 July 2026
Application expires
10 August 2026

Planning decision

Statutory period
56 days

Additional information

Documents
11

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.

Associated applications

  1. 2026
    1 Sep

    Application for Approval of Details Reserved by Condition 5 (Decorative Artwork Proposal for Timber Hoarding)…

    PendingDischarge of conditionsPL/26/1176
  2. 2026
    15 Jun

    Installation of temporary security hoarding, mesh screens and associated security measures to the Central…

    This applicationApprovedFullPL/26/0785

Source: Reading

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