Moves by the planning enforcement team at Reading Borough Council to get the owners of the long-closed Happy Prospect pub to secure the building against further vandalism and arson have been strongly supported by the ward’s Labour Councillors.
Southcote Councillor Pete Ruhemann says: “The Council has been getting complaints about the state of the Happy Prospect since at least 2007, has been pressing the owners for action, and has boarded the place up itself on several occasions. Officers are now warning the owners that unless they act soon the Council will issue a formal ‘section 215’ notice requiring the appearance of the building to be improved and access to it secured, and I hope the owners now take note.
“Sadly,” he says, “plans for flats for the disabled to be built on that site, with a contribution towards community facilities for the estate, have been just another casualty of the Conservative/LibDem Coalition cutting back on investment in social housing. Funds that were planned to be used are just no longer available and we’re having to look for other options. Which puts an onus on securing the building urgently before any more serious damage takes place.”
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