Union Street in Reading town centre, perhaps better known as Smelly Alley, has hosted many businesses over the centuries. Given the moniker because of the fishmongers that used to be based there, it was also the site of an open sewer hundreds of years ago. But Becky Ottery is planning to move her Eclectic Games business from Union Street to Duke Street, where she said the visitors were more likely to be interested in her shop, than in what has become "Tech Alley". "It's changed in character and therefore the flow of people through it has changed. You used to have the families doing all their fresh veg shopping," she said.

Source: The Times August 13, 2025 04:45 UTC