Reading

There is a pressing need for more lower-cost and affordable housing, with research indicating that England needs 340,000 new homes a year until 2031 to tackle the housing shortage, including 90,000 for social rent. This need is particularly acute in urban areas, where 68% of the world population will be living by 2050.

By investing in housing, Bridges is helping to tackle this fundamental shortage of supply, while also enabling local employment and positive regeneration of these areas. At the same time, we look to incorporate leading environmental and sustainable features into the construction and building design, to support the decarbonisation of the built environment.

Redevelopment of a 41,081 sq.ft. vacant office, originally built in in the 1990s, minutes away from Reading Rail Station. The site enjpoys a prominent location along the Thames Path, with scenic views of the river to the north. The plan is to redevelop the site and deliver a significant number of BTR and affordable homes, alongside commercial spaces and improved public realm facing the river.

Great effort has gone into designing a scheme that minimises the environmental impact of the development. The proposals include a highly efficient building envelope and systems and on-site renewable energy generation. The scheme is targeting EPC A and Home Quality Mark Level 4, while wellbeing will be assessed via Fitwel (with an aspiration to achieve 3 stars). There is a strong focus on reducing the embodied and whole life-cycle carbon emissions of the building to a level well below industry benchmarks. A whole life carbon assessment has been commissioned to facilitate this.