The Vision

Interactive Map

Vision

Flint Street will provide a welcoming gateway into Reading town centre, celebrating the area’s heritage while supporting everyday movement and community life. Flint Street is envisioned as a high-quality urban environment that integrates historic character with contemporary principles of sustainability, creating an attractive and inclusive place to meet, pass through, and spend time, clearly marking the Minster Quarter from the South West, and into the heart of the town.

The development will be a net zero, residential-led mixed-use scheme delivering around 200 new build-to-rent homes, with 30% provided as affordable homes. Redeveloping the former Thames Valley Police HQ site creates an exciting opportunity to improve pedestrian connections to the town centre, introduce more than 2,000 square metres of active ground-floor uses such as shops and community spaces, and provide new public open spaces for everyone to enjoy. The scheme will be largely car-free, with a small number of Blue Badge spaces, and will include dedicated cycle parking to support sustainable travel.

To view the emerging proposals and to find out how you can have your say, click here.

About

Site owners S2 Estates have appointed architects JTP to create a new Vision for the former Thames Valley Police HQ site in advance of submitting a detailed planning application in spring 2026.

The Site

The site is bordered by Reading Magistrates’ Court to the east, the A329 to the west, Castle Street to the south, and land allocated for future development to the north. The main public realm sits at street level, accessible from Castle Street and tying into the wider pedestrian network. The area below the podium will predominantly be used for servicing, accessed via a lower-level service road from Castle Street. The site benefits from strong pedestrian connections, including Cusden Walk, San Francisco Libre Walk, and a well-used informal path along the northern edge that links to a signalised crossing at the south-west corner. Mature trees buffer the south-west boundary, while views open towards Reading Minster Church from the rear of the site.

Planning Background

The site is located within Reading’s West Side Major Opportunity Area. In 2018, Reading Borough Council set out its plans for the Minster Quarter which is located within the Opportunity Area. Key points of the Minster Quarter Development framework include:

Reconnecting with Reading’s Historic Town Centre
New direct pedestrian routes
Unified public realm

Have Your Say

On Saturday 7 March, the local community were invited to the Flint Street Public Exhibition at Reading Minster to view and comment on the proposals for the former Thames Valley Police HQ site in advance of the planning application submission.

For anyone unable to attend the in-person exhibition, the proposals can be viewed from the downloads section below.

Following the public exhibition, the design team will review all feedback received and make revisions where appropriate. The final proposals will then be submitted to Reading Borough Council as part of a detailed planning application.

We would like to hear your thoughts and ideas. You can share your feedback in the following ways:

• At the exhibition: Complete a comment form
• Online: Visit the interactive map at flintstreetreading.jtpengages.co.uk or click the picture of the map
• Email: community@jtp.co.uk
• Post: Freepost JTP (no stamp required)
• Phone: Freephone 0800 012 6730

The deadline for comments is Monday 16 March 2026.