Huntley Wharf celebrates major milestone with the formal opening of Riverside Square
Building works continue at pace at L&Q at Huntley Wharf in Reading, with another major milestone, the delivery of the public open space, at the development.
Elkie Russell, Managing Director, Berkeley Homes (Oxford & Chiltern) comments “We are delighted with the progress achieved at Huntley Wharf and see our vision to create a striking new riverside scheme become a reality.
“We were honoured to be joined by our development partners, L&Q, in welcoming The Mayor, Councillor Tony Paige, members of Reading Borough Council, representatives from REDA, and our valued Huntley Wharf residents, to celebrate the opening of the new Riverside Square. It provides access to a previously inaccessible stretch of riverside, creating an attractive public realm for the local community to enjoy.”
Landscaping plays a key part of the design at L&Q at Huntley Wharf, incorporating a number of positive changes which will benefit the local residents. Newly created green streets provide a place to meet and play through the provision of natural play equipment; whilst the podium gardens provide an alternative tranquil space for residents to relax alongside nature.
The Mayor comments: “It was my privilege to be invited by Berkeley Homes to formally open the new Riverside Square at Huntley Wharf. I am proud to say that I have been involved in the project from the start. Huntley Wharf is an excellent example of a developer working in successful partnership with a local authority to deliver a high quality, attractive and diverse development, which I am confident will stand the test of time.
“Open space and water, I believe, are important elements that contribute to creating a well-designed scheme. I was therefore delighted to see the wonderful water fountains form the main feature in the square, making it an attractive and formidable riverside development.
“With the restoration of the river frontage now complete, it will make a big difference to have access to the whole of the river when we host Waterfest next summer.”
Elkie concluded: “The site has had many former uses including being part of the renowned Huntley and Palmers Biscuit Factory, as well as in more recent times becoming a Home Base and Toys R Us store. We purposely designed Huntley Wharf to honour the heritage and legacy of the iconic biscuit factory, for future generations to enjoy.
“Construction began in July 2019 and our first residents moved onto the site in April 2022. The site will soon deliver 765 homes, so far, we have completed around 400 new homes and delivered all 230 affordable homes which have been handed over to our joint venture partner, L&Q. The scheme will also be home to our new commercial partners; MonkeyMoos Daycare and Tesco’s. To complete the vision for Riverside Square, we are looking for commercial partners for our last two available, river facing units.”