Maidenhead Golf Course: Cala Homes unveils more details on new Elizabeth Quarter

Developers behind controversial proposals to build 1,500 homes on Maidenhead Golf Club gave residents a first glimpse of their detailed plans for the site this week.

Cala Homes wants to submit an application for the first phase of the eight-stage project in the summer, and is hoping its plans will be approved in the autumn before spades hit the ground in early 2027.

On Tuesday, it held a public consultation at St Mary’s Church in High Street, where hundreds of residents provided feedback which, the developer said, will feed into its final application.

Cala already has outline approval to build on the site, but these plans will offer much more detail on the first 230 homes to built.

These would be one and two-bed flats and two, three and four-bed houses in the south-eastern area of the site, accessed via Harvest Hill Road.

The developer is hoping the first occupants could move into these homes in autumn 2028, but the full project is not due to be completed until about 2040.

Houses

The homes proposed for phase one will predominantly be two storeys in height, rising to 2.5 and three storeys.

They will run along the so-called ‘green spine’ of the project – a nature area which runs from the north to the south of the development. There will be one parking space for one-bed homes, two spaces for two and three-bed homes and three spaces available for four-bed homes.

Future phases will see taller buildings up to six storeys high in the northern neighbourhood, while the buildings around a ‘central park’ public open space and local centre ‘may be four or five storeys’.

A total of 30 per cent of the 1,500 homes will be affordable.

Services

Much of the criticism of the development has focused on the pressure the development will create on public services and traffic.

Once construction is well underway, CALA has said it will submit plans for a Southern Local Centre which will feature a new medical facility/doctors’ surgery of up to 10,000 sq ft.

Charles Raikes, senior project manager for Cala Homes, said the developer will be engaging with the NHS to develop final designs.

A new 6,000 sq ft community centre would eventually be built, while there would be a 4,000 sq ft supermarket – enough to house a Tesco Express, Sainbury’s Local or similar convenience store.

The final 2,000 sq ft of space could accommodate businesses such as a café or a hairdresser.

A four-form entry primary school and a seven-form entry secondary school will be built much later in the development, but these will be delivered by the council, rather than the developer.

Traffic

The eastern access for drivers into the phase one area of the site from Harvest Hill Road originally featured a roundabout.

However, this has now been amended to propose a T-junction instead.

The reasons behind this include the reduced number of houses in the scheme from the 2,000 originally proposed.

A T-junction ‘uses less land so less vegetation would need to be removed’, Mr Raikes said. A construction traffic management plan (CTMP) will form part of the phase one proposals to ‘mitigate any impacts associated with the construction process’.

Environment

The golf course project has been heavily criticised by environmental campaigners over the loss of green space and the impact on trees and wildlife.

The Maidenhead Great Park group has long opposed the project.

Reacting to the plans, Tina Quadrino, chair of the campaign group, said it is ‘very concerned about the number of trees that will be cut down’ and the impact on wildlife.

There is also concern about local infrastructure and how ‘local roads and sewers will cope’.

Cala has claimed it is committed to delivering 10 per cent biodiversity net gain throughout the proposed development.

Plans for the ‘green spine’ will be included in another application in the spring.

Developers say it will provide a three-metre wide cycleway and two, two-metre wide footways, linking Harvest Hill Road and Shoppenhangers Road.

The application will feature aspects such as a pedestrian and cycle-only connection to Harvest Hill Road.

Concerns over trees and impact on wildlife and the ancient woodland of Rushington Copse have voiced by many over the years.

Cala said the retained land will include all of the ancient woodland and a 25m buffer zone will also be in place.

‘New and improved’ habitats will also be created within the development.

A spokesperson for Cala said: “We remain committed to working with the community and statutory consultees through the planning process to deliver a vibrant new neighbourhood at Elizabeth Quarter.”

It said it will liaise with statutory consultees to ‘understand and support their implementation of and requirements relating to traffic management and utilities infrastructure’.

Visit: www.elizabethquarter.co.uk/