Food Centre Signage Rejected Over Spelling Issues

Signage for a food store with two different spellings of the word ‘centre’ in Reading has been rejected.

Signage for a food shop in Reading using two different spellings of the word 'centre' has been rejected.

The Turkish Halal Food Centre on Whitley Street in Katesgrove opened in summer 2024 and sells butchered halal meat, fresh produce and groceries.

Its advertising shows both spellings: the east-facing façade (visible from Whitley Street and people approaching from Christchurch Road) reads 'Turkish Halal Food Centre', while the north-facing side visible to people entering the store and travelling up the hill reads 'Turkish Halal Food Center'.

The signage went up after the Greggs on the site closed in February 2024. The building was formerly the Wellington Arms pub, which shut in 2012.

Although not a listed building, it sits inside the Christchurch Conservation Area, where special rules protect the character of buildings.

The shop owner applied for retrospective permission for the signs, but Reading Borough Council's planning department refused the application. Officer Gary Miles described it as an 'unattractive and obtrusive feature in the street'.

An appeal to the government's planning inspectorate, submitted last August, was dismissed by the appointed inspector and the dismissal was noted at a planning applications committee meeting on 7 January.

Councillor Kathryn McCann (Green, Redlands) pointed out the spelling oddity during the meeting. She said: "There is actually a typo on that sign that doesn't help, the centre is spelt differently on each side, one has the American spelling and one side has the UK spelling, which doesn't help the aesthetic in general."

Cllr Karen Rowland (Labour, Abbey) welcomed the decision and urged businesses to follow the council's shopfront supplementary planning document (SPD). She said: "We want a good-looking town, we want our retailers to do well in a town which looks good and inviting.

"The SPD especially notes and lays out that when you are in a conservation area that are even more things you need to think about, because this is in a really beautiful building, so it's quite a shame that people aren't paying attention to that, and I was just encourage retailers to note when they are in a conservation area, because they may not know or think about it, but it is important."

The appeal was dismissed last month. You can view the refused application on the council's planning portal using reference PL/25/0866.

This decision is separate from a permitted appeal for a digital screen replacing sheet advertising above the store entrance, which was approved last August.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter