A historic former hardware store could be demolished, with council officers backing development plans.

Plans for 44 flats at the old Drews Ironmongers building on 71-73 Caversham Road have been recommended for approval by Reading Borough Council (RBC) planning officers.

A local community organisation has launched a petition to save the cherished building, with more than 600 people signing it within the first 24 hours.

You can view the petition here.

The Bell Tower Community Association (BTCA) said: “As well as destroying a valuable locally listed building, the proposed development would create a block nearly twice as tall as any surrounding building and severely compromise the character of the low-rise Victorian housing nearby.

“How could a council add a complex of buildings to its local list of heritage assets and less than a year later recommend demolition?”

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The plan will be voted on at next Wednesday’s Planning Applications committee meeting.

Along with the hundreds signing the BTCA petition, the Reading Conservation Area Advisory Committee and Caversham and District Residents Association have also opposed the plans.

The former Drews site, including 71-73 Caversham Road and the smaller Malthouse and Brewery buildings on Northfield Road, were all locally listed by the council in February.

Unlike nationally listed buildings, buildings on the local list do not have statutory protection, but the interest of the building must be considered during the planning process.

While 71-73 Caversham Road would be demolished and developed on, The Malthouse and Brewery buildings will remain in place as offices under the plans.

Supporting the plan “on balance”, RBC planning officer Brian Conlon said the “overwhelmingly positive” economic, social and natural environmental benefits would justify the loss of the locally listed building.

These include:

  • Boosting the housing supply, including five affordable housing flats and a total 34 per cent affordable contribution
  • Improved sustainability
  • Contribution to employment in the area

Drews the Ironmongers stopped trading in December 2018, after running for 87 years.

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The buildings were originally built for the purposes of malting in the 19th century and contain features notable to the area and the industry such as patterned brickwork and decorative arches.

The original owner, Henry Pendlebury Dowson, was a notable local businessman and maltster who owned two other malthouses in Reading.