The owner of John Lewis has submitted plans for the £80m development of 215 rental flats on the site of its unused Reading distribution centre – a tenth of which will be affordable. The John Lewis Partnership (JLP), which owns Waitrose supermarkets as well as its eponymous department stores, said the site would feature two garden spaces, including one for children, and shared communal spaces for fitness, home working and socialising. If plans are approved, construction is expected to start in 2026 and residents could move in by 2028. The vast majority of the funds invested in the project will come from John Lewis’s partner, the finance group Abrdn. Katherine Russell, director of build-to-rent for JLP, said: “We have worked closely with Reading council’s planning officers, local residents and organisations to propose a scheme that will benefit residents and the wider community by transforming a disused industrial site into a thriving rental community. “By revitalising brownfield land we have a fantastic opportunity to provide a significant number of homes which can help alleviate some of the growing pressure on Reading’s housing market. “These will be homes not only developed by us, but managed by us, meaning we can offer quality service and a guarantee that homes will not be sold off, as so often happens in the rental market.” The move to develop the site opposite Reading’s Oracle shopping centre is part of the group’s aim to diversify its income beyond retail into renting homes and offering financial services. In 2021, John Lewis pledged to build and rent out about 5,000 homes and manage another 5,000 as part of bold plans to generate 40% of profits from outside retail by 2030. Earlier this year, the 40% target was ditched. The group’s chair, Sharon White, blamed the economic climate. JLP was recently granted planning permission to transform a Waitrose site in Bromley, south London, into more than 300 homes for rent. The group is appealing to the Planning Inspectorate as some local opposition has dragged negotiations with the council on a plan to build more than 400 homes – including one 19-storey block – above another supermarket site in west Ealing. The latest commitment comes just a few weeks before the arrival of John Lewis’s new chair, Jason Tarry, the former Tesco executive who is expected to put extra focus on turning around retail performance. Tarry arrives just as the group begins to rev up expansion after several years of cost cutting. Waitrose recently announced plans for 100 new convenience stores and four full-size supermarkets over the next five years. The boss of the department store arm, Peter Ruis, is also expected to announce his plans for the future ahead of JLP’s half-year results next week.