John Lewis plans £80m transformation of Reading depot into flats

The John Lewis Partnership has submitted a planning application to build hundreds of flats on the site of one of its old delivery depots in Reading, further underscoring its ambition to become a major landlord.

If the proposals are approved by Reading borough council, the partnership will spend £80 million knocking down the existing distribution warehouse, which closed down two years ago, and build 215 rental flats in its place.

With the chairman Dame Sharon White leaving in February, there had been suspicions that the retailer may start revise its plans to build and rent out homes under the John Lewis brand.

However, the planning application submission in Reading demonstrates that the John Lewis Partnership remains intent on establishing itself as one of the country’s biggest landlords over the coming years.

“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,” Katherine Russell, director of build-to-rent at the partnership, said.

“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 215 homes are expected to be a mixture of one, two and three-bedroom flats. There are plans for a gym and co-working spaces, two new gardens and improved public areas.

The current warehouse was built in the Nineties but has been out of use since 2021 when John Lewis moved the customer collection point to its Reading store.

The move to become a landlord began five years ago, when White outlined the group’s aim of making 40 per cent of its annual profits from ventures outside of retail by 2030.

That target has since been ditched, and earlier this year the partnership vowed to focus “unashamedly” on investing in its core retail business, although the desire to diversify remains.

The partnership wants to build 10,000 rental homes, mostly on excess land that it already owns. Last month it secured planning permission to build 353 rental flats above the Waitrose shop in Bromley, south London. Its other prospective redevelopment site at the Waitrose store in Ealing, west London, has been hit by repeated delays. The partnership has gone to appeal in an attempt to speed up the planning process.

Despite awarding permission for its Bromley plans, councillors were critical of the lack of car parking and affordable housing, two issues that could return in Reading.

Given the warehouse site’s proximity to the centre of Reading and train stations, the retailer has committed to delivering a “car-free” development, while only 10 per cent of the flats will be offered at “affordable” rents.

If approved by Reading borough council, building works are expected to begin in early 2026, with the first residents moving in in 2028.