Eight flat extension in Maidenhead High Street refused

A plan to build eight new flats in Maidenhead High Street via a two-storey extension have been squashed by the Borough.

Developers applied to erect a roof extension and new building at the rear of 40-42 High Street to create eight residential units.

There would also have been alterations to front elevation and fenestration, new bin store and associated works.

The site is vacant and was last used as a base for the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Last September, it was reported that the betting shop Ladbrokes was hoping to take over the commercial unit at the front.

The proposal sought ‘to make effective use’ of a brownfield site by adding ‘high-quality accommodation,’ developers wrote in their planning statement.

Flats would have been made up of five one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom. None were proposed to be affordable.

The building was previously occupied by RBS, with the main public area at ground floor and two storeys of office space above.

All the internal floors have been stripped out and are now open plan.

The proposal, as submitted falls below the threshold of 10 dwellings for the provision of affordable housing – however ‘it is demonstrably part of a larger developable area above the 10-dwelling threshold.’

Therefore, the absence of affordable housing is contrary to the policies set out in the Borough Local Plan (BLP).

Moreover, the designs would result in some harm to the character and appearance of the Maidenhead Conservation Area, because of their height, design size, scale, massing and materials.

It would also suffer from overlooking, loss of privacy, ‘overbearing presence’ of adjacent buildings on site; noise disturbance; and lack of private and communal amenity space.

As such, the flats ‘would fail to provide an acceptable quality of residential accommodation.’

There is also an absence of a completed agreement for contributions to offset carbon emissions. This means it wouldn't be carbon-neutral, which is against the Borough's climate goals.

To see all planning documents, enter reference 22/02341/FULL into the Royal Borough’s planning portal.