Powered land · Reading, England
1.44 ha brownfield site at Reading Prison, Forbury Road, Reading
A brownfield site of 1.44 ha in Reading, England, on the brownfield land register as previously developed land. It lies 0.74 km from the Reading Town BSP substation (Southern Electric Power Distribution plc), which has 52.7 MVA of demand headroom and none for generation.
Owner, grid capacity and planning status on request.We do not publish owners. Ask us and we look up the registered owner of this site at the land register, the headroom and connection queue at the nearest substation and its planning history, and find out whether the site is available.
Request owner, grid and planningFacts
Every value links to its source. Licences and last-checked dates are per row.
| Fact | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Area | 1.44 ha (the area its register gives) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Site from | Brownfield land register (England) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Address | Reading Prison, Forbury Road, Reading | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Status | Undeveloped (not-permissioned) | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Owner type | Public (owned-by-a-public-authority) | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Register reference | BL1025 (planning authority Reading Borough Council) | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Register entry | Brownfield site: Reading Prison, Forbury Road, Reading | planning.data.gov.uk · record · Open Government Licence v3.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Location | Reading, England | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Coordinates | 51.4564, -0.9641 (the register's point for the site) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Nearest substation | Reading Town BSP (0.74 km, register point to the substation's mapped point) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Substation voltage | 132 kV (levels 132, 33 kV) | SSEN Distribution data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Substation operator | Southern Electric Power Distribution plc | SSEN Distribution data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Demand headroom at the substation | 52.7 MVA | SSEN Distribution data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Generation headroom at the substation | 0 MW | SSEN Distribution data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Congestion (offtake) at the substation | None (green on the heat map) | SSEN Distribution data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Congestion (feed-in) at the substation | Full (red on the heat map, limited by upstream thermal capacity) | SSEN Distribution data portal · CC BY 4.0 · checked 24 Oct 2026 |
| Large generation within 10 km | 50 MW of gas (1 plant of 50 MW or more in operation) | Rare Context powered-land sites · ODbL 1.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
| Water stress | High (40–80%) (score 3.4 of 5, withdrawals 52.2% of renewable supply) | WRI Aqueduct 4.0 · CC BY 4.0 · checked 25 Oct 2026 |
The register gives a point and an area, not an outline: the distance runs from that point, so the site's edge can be closer to the substation.
How it compares
#13 of 35 sites in Reading and #518 of 6,229 in the United Kingdom by site score. Larger than 20% of the sites in Reading. Closer to its substation than 31% of them.
| Part | This site | Points | Of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area | 1.44 ha | 0 | 30 |
| Distance to the substation | 0.74 km | 18.9 | 30 |
| Demand headroom at the substation | 52.7 MVA | 40 | 40 |
| Site score | 59 | 100 |
How the site score works in the United Kingdom · Search sites in Reading
Nearby sites on the same substation
7 other sites have Reading Town BSP as nearest substation and would compete for its capacity.
- 1.51 ha brownfield site at Brunel Arcade and Apex Plaza, Forbury Road, Reading0.36 km · score 65
- 46 ha site near Reading Town BSP substation, South Oxfordshire1.31 km · score 63
- 1.62 ha brownfield site at Napier Court, Napier Road, Reading0.52 km · score 62
- 3.97 ha brownfield site at Forbury Retail Park, Forbury Road, Reading0.72 km · score 59
- 2.8 ha brownfield site at Kenavon Drive, Reading0.88 km · score 57
- 2.07 ha brownfield site at Forbury Business Park & Kenavon Drive, Reading1.03 km · score 55
- 28 ha site near Reading Town BSP substation, South Oxfordshire1.89 km · score 49
- Sites in Reading35
- Sites in the United Kingdom6,352
- Reading Town BSPsubstation
Data on this page
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. DUKES 5.11: Power stations in the United Kingdom, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Supported by National Energy SO Open Data. NESO GIS boundaries for GB DNO licence areas, NESO Open Data Licence.
- Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. ONS Open Geography: Local Authority Districts, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. planning.data.gov.uk, Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Rare Context. Rare Context powered-land sites, ODbL 1.0.
- SSEN Distribution. SSEN Distribution data portal, CC BY 4.0.
- Kuzma, S., M.F.P. Bierkens, S. Lakshman, T. Luo, L. Saccoccia, E. H. Sutanudjaja, and R. Van Beek. 2023. Aqueduct 4.0: Updated Decision-Relevant Global Water Risk Indicators. Technical Note. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. doi.org/10.46830/writn.23.00061. WRI Aqueduct 4.0, CC BY 4.0.