Abattoirs Road Pods to Close: Residents Out by August 2027

The rough sleeper pods on Abattoirs Road in central Reading are to close, with every resident moved out by the end of August 2027. The site will then be cleared and restored by 31 March 2028.

Councillors gave the council’s own housing service a final temporary planning permission on 7 October. The minutes of the Planning Applications Committee, published on 28 October, record the decision.

The site, known as the Caversham Road Pods, should already have shut. Its original five-year permission required the pods to go by 17 September 2026.

What the site is

The scheme has 40 sleeping units and three support units, built on council land off Caversham Road, beside the railway (postcode RG1 7BL). Permission was first granted in September 2021. The pods are staffed 24 hours a day by the support provider, Launchpad Reading.

The council’s Policy Committee decided on 13 July 2026 that the pods should be decommissioned. The planning officers’ report says a review of the service found “significant operational challenges” with housing large numbers of people in one place. The council now favours smaller, more varied accommodation.

Why it is still open

The report says the council could not empty the site by September. Residents have tenancies, and ending them takes formal legal steps.

Officers were blunt about it. “It is acknowledged that the site should have been closed by the date set in the current permission,” the report says. “This has not been done.” It calls the breach of the original condition “regrettable”, and says the legal process arguably “should have begun sooner”.

The new permission is for a managed closure, not for the pods to carry on.

The closure timetable

The report sets out these milestones:

• No new referrals are being taken now
• Notice to quit served on residents not already under notice by the end of 2026
• Notice served on Launchpad, the support provider, by December 2026
• All residents out by 31 August 2027 (the planning condition says 1 September)
• Pods removed and site restored by 31 March 2028

Occupancy has already fallen from 40 residents to 27, the report says, and more move-ons are planned. A management and decommissioning plan is required within a month of the permission.

The neighbours’ objections

The decision was deferred in September after two objections arrived from residents of neighbouring Malcolm Place. They described:

• people trespassing to reach the pods and entering their building’s communal areas
• threatening and intimidating behaviour
• theft, drug use and drug litter
• noise late at night and in the early hours

They argued that a site set up as a temporary response during the Covid-19 pandemic was turning into a long-term one.

The officers’ report accepts that anti-social behaviour and crime have caused “a significant level of harm” to neighbours over the site’s life. It says some incidents have involved residents, their visitors and associates, though not every incident nearby can be traced to the site.

Thames Valley Police told planners it did not object to a phased closure. It said an immediate closure would risk simply moving residents and their vulnerabilities elsewhere. The force said it had increased patrols after “a series of serious violent offences at the Pods last year”, and that reported drug dealing and complaints had fallen in recent weeks. Officers noted that this was too recent to call a trend.

What has changed on site

The council lists measures taken in response, including:

• higher fencing, anti-climb paint and extra floodlighting
• more CCTV, including mobile cameras for blind spots
• the fob entry removed, so visitors must use an intercom
• new locks on empty pods
• overnight security at times of higher risk

How councillors voted

The minutes record that permission was authorised subject to the conditions officers recommended. They do not record the vote.

Councillor Yeo, the council’s lead councillor for housing, declared a prejudicial interest, having already formed a view on the application. Councillor Yeo made a statement as lead councillor, then left the room and took no part in the debate or decision.

What it means for you

• If you live near Abattoirs Road, the site is due to be empty by the end of August 2027. Problems can still be reported to Thames Valley Police on 101, or 999 in an emergency.
• If you are worried about someone sleeping rough, you can alert local outreach services through StreetLink.
• The land will not stay empty for ever. The council says clearing it prepares it for future redevelopment. No plans for the site have been published.

Reading’s homelessness services are also funded by public donations through Tap for Reading. Planning decisions across the borough are listed on our Reading planning applications page.