Ikea has gained planning permission to open its 19th UK store in Reading, the first to be built in the UK for three years.
The home furnishing giant is likely to open the store within the next two years after acquiring permission to build on the Pincents Lane Retail Park from West Berkshire Council.
The store will be the first to open in the UK and Ireland since Dublin in July 2009 and Southampton in February of the same year.
The 38,000 sqm store will include a market hall, showroom and warehouse as well as restaurant, nursery, staff facilities and customer service areas.
The store will offer 1,259 parking spaces and will create 400 jobs in store as well as 1,5000 construction roles.
The store will include a number of environment-friendly measures including solar heating, photovoltaic panels, biomass generation and rain water harvesting.
Ikea UK acting country manager Carole Reddish said: “We considered the various comments raised by local residents to ensure that the final store design met the needs of both IKEA and the surrounding community. We look forward to continuing working closely with the people of Calcot to develop our store.”
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