Another prestigious development has been drawn for Reading Town Centre. A 29-storey four-star Radisson SAS Hotel with 17 lavish penthouse suites, which will cost £30 million to build, will be a striking addition to the miriad of artists' drawings of a ficticious Reading skyline. It is destined to be replaced by a less ambitious scheme which may actually stand a chance of being built.

Graham Parker, of The Rumours, said: "It will be a place where pop stars will want to come to stay. 29 storeys is a long way for a telly to fall. It will also be attractive for politicians wanting to get away from it all by taking a 20 minute journey into a crowded town centre where no-one will spot them." However, one facility the hotel will not be providing is a car park for its guests. Mr Parker said: "It’s a town centre location within 100 yards of the biggest and most oversubscribed taxi rank in town. In any case, our sort of customer can afford the fines for parking on double yellow lines and ignoring the bus lane cameras. It'll be such a boost to the town's finances."