The owner of Waitrose has submitted proposals to build 215 rental homes on a disused industrial site in Reading.

The John Lewis Partnership has sent a planning application to regenerate a brownfield site in Reading Borough, in an aim to transform the former distribution warehouse into rental housing.

The retail giant‘s application will be registered on the Reading Council’s page in the coming weeks, with a planning committee anticipated early next year. If approved, construction is expected to start in early 2026 with the first residents to move into the complex by 2028.

The proposed regeneration will see more than £80m invested to create 215 homes, as well as 6,000sq ft of internal amenity space made out of communal areas, such as fitness facilities, home-working and socialising spaces and two external gardens.

The car-free site will be made out of one, two and three-bedroom homes located next to the A329 and opposite the oracle shopping centre in Reading, providing tenants less than an hour transport to London.

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The Waitrose owner said that it intends to prioritise residents already living and working in Reading, with its new project to provide 10% affordable homes at Reading Local Housing Allowance levels and aim to pour millions into the local economy.

John Lewis Partnership director of build-to-rent Katherine Russell said: “We have worked closely with Reading Council’s planning officers, local residents and organisations to propose a scheme that will benefit residents and the wider community by transforming a disused industrial site into a thriving rental community.

“By revitalising brownfield land we have a fantastic opportunity to provide a significant number of homes which can help alleviate some of the growing pressure on Reading’s housing market.

“These will be homes not only developed by us, but managed by us, meaning we can offer quality service and a guarantee that homes will not be sold off, as so often happens in the rental market.”

The retailer’s new proposals comes as its second venture into the residential sector. In July, it received the greenlight to transform a Waitrose site in Bromley to a new residential community of 353 energy efficient rental homes, after its initial application was appealed.