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A planning application will shortly be submitted to develop the Bath Road Reservoir site in Reading.
The area contains two underground reservoirs and a grade II listed water tower but has been out of use for some time and is now covered in vegetation.
Thames Water which owns the site has faced resistance from Save the Bath Road Reservoir Group, which wants the area preserved as a natural habitat.
As a result, Thames Water has reduced the number of dwellings its wants to build and reduced the maximum height of the structures.
Explaining the decision to turn the disused facility into a housing complex, Alec Arrol, Thames Water's development planning manager, said: "The reservoir has come to the end of its useful life and our investment elsewhere in the network means it is no longer needed.
"With dangerous and deep structures which will continue to deteriorate, the site cannot be left as it is."
Author: Editor Gavin Pearson (gpearson@acenet.co.uk or 0207 202 0255)
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