LINCOLN MGT’S £850m STATION HILL DEVELOPMENT GRANTED PLANNING PERMISSION FOR NEXT RESIDENTIAL PHASE

Proposals for the next phase at Station Hill, which will provide a further 600 high-quality private and affordable homes alongside active retail and leisure uses, have been granted planning permission by Reading Borough Council (RBC).

Brought forward by Lincoln MGT, the joint venture between Lincoln Property Company (‘Lincoln’) and MGT Investment Management (‘MGT’) and developer of the wider Station Hill estate, the consented proposal will also provide an extension of the public realm known as Station Hill Gardens as its focus. This will expand the existing landscaped public spaces at Station Hill Square and Friars Walk and create a new east/west pedestrianised route from Greyfriars Road to Garrard Street, linking the station and town and helping to further strengthen connections and support cultural programming for the area.

Once delivered, the scheme will add to the thriving neighbourhood already established at Station Hill, which currently comprises: the award-winning 598-home BTR development Ebb&Flow; ONE Station Hill, the BCO-award-winning best-in-class office building now occupied by key tenants including PwC, PepsiCo, NewFlex, Kenvue and Centrica; and an activated public realm which is home to Flight Club, Notes, Angelo’s, Siren Brew, and 1650 Coffee, and making Station Hill a destination in its own right.

Alex Aitchison, UK Managing Director at Lincoln Property Company, and on behalf of the Lincoln MGT JV, said: “The team are delighted Reading Borough Council has recognised the importance of the continued redevelopment of the Station Hill area by granting permission on our next key stage of our proposals. Station Hill is already a thriving neighbourhood which is making a valuable contribution to the economy of Reading and the wider region. The scheme creates hundreds of private and affordable new homes for people in the area as well as delivering a range of additional amenities and enhanced public realm. Station Hill is the front door to Reading and is setting a new benchmark for the Reading and the wider Thames Valley as one of the UK’s fastest growing urban centres in recent years.”

The new scheme – designed by international architectural firm Gensler – includes the following features:

• A strong design emphasis placed on active frontages and generous public realm at podium and street level
• Robust brick façades expressed in light, red and darker tones which draw upon Reading’s heritage and its long-standing association with industrial and civic architecture, while shaping a contemporary response in keeping with the rest of the Station Hill estate
• A balance of urban intensity with legibility, based on a massing strategy that steps and articulates to define streets, squares and gardens while contributing positively to the wider Reading skyline
• A proportion of affordable homes which are providing a range of unit sizes, ensuring that the affordable provision reflects the wider scheme, supporting a balanced and inclusive residential community
• A diverse range of communal spaces — including resident lounges, co-working environments, meeting rooms and wellness facilities — integrated across the buildings to support varied patterns of occupation throughout the day. These spaces are designed as calm, light-filled environments with high-quality materials and strong visual connections to the surrounding public realm and landscape
• Over 320 cycle spaces, a figure aligned with current RBC policy and offered within secure internal bike rooms across the development
• The addition of more public realm seeking a greater proportion of green space compared to hard paving, with the ‘Seed’ sculpture repositioned at its focus, and providing a dedicated play area for children as well as a south-facing lawn and a social terrace where people can meet and relax

John Badman, Residential Leader Europe at Gensler, said: “The approval of Phase 3A is a pivotal moment for Station Hill and a fantastic achievement for our team. Building on the success of ONE Station Hill, our BCO award-winning workplace, we’ve focused on how great design can have a real and lasting impact on the experience of a place and the people who use it every day. Drawing inspiration from Reading’s rich tradition of brick architecture, the design creates a contemporary new neighbourhood where architecture, landscape, community and public life come together. We’re incredibly proud to be playing our collective part in shaping Station Hill as the gateway to Reading.”

The residential offer has been designed as part of the wider Station Hill experience, framing new streets while responding to Reading’s distinctive character and material heritage. The high-quality homes offer generous, shared amenities including lounges, co-working spaces, wellness facilities and roof terraces to encourage social interaction and support modern ways of working and living.

A public consultation on the proposals was undertaken during the second half of 2025, including an exhibition at ONE Station Hill which ran between 7 and 24 November and attracted strong interest from the local community in Reading and across the wider Thames Valley region.