Greenlight for 315 Windsor homes with no affordable housing

Plans for 315 new homes in Windsor have been approved amid worries over zero affordable housing and blocks of flats up to seven storeys tall.

Windsor and Ascot Development Management Committee councillors narrowly approved Elysian Residences’ Alma Road scheme after a marathon near four-hour debate on Thursday (April 3).

The 67 Alma Road site, a former office park, has sat derelict since 2009 despite having planning permission for more than 200 homes and an office block approved at appeal in 2019.

What are the plans?

Elysian Residences applied to the council to build 315 homes at 67 Alma Road in July 2024.

Of these homes, 197 are residential and 118 are assisted living housing, and these would be built across six blocks between three and seven-storeys tall.

None of these would be classed as affordable because, according to a council planning officer’s report, the residual land value is at an almost £30million slump.

Parking for 93 cars across the site is proposed, spread over the ground floor and a basement car park, along with 296 bike storage spaces.

Residential and assisted living accommodation provides from one-bedroom to three-bedrooms properties.

Elysian Residences is a specialist accommodation provider for people aged 65 and over; most occupants of its homes live independently with 24-hour access to support.

The Alma Road development will include a gym, swimming pool, library, café and restaurant.  

More than £13million in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments from the developer are expected to be received by the council to help fund improvements across RBWM.

Council planning officers recommended the plans be approved.

What did councillors say?

The Windsor and Ascot Development Management Committee debated for nearly four hours, with concerns ranging from parking to the affordable housing contribution.

Councillor Carole Da Costa (Clewer and Dedworth West, Independent Alliance) proposed a motion to reject the plans.

She said the buildings' tall design along with lacking affordable housing and parking provision, combined to give a reason for refusal.

“We’ve got our main issue, which is the height and scale, but we’ve also got other contributing factors which is what tilts the balance for me,” Cllr Da Costa said.  

“If it was just one of those things individually that would not tilt the balance, but it’s the piling up of those elements.”

Cllr Julian Sharpe (Con, Sunninghill and Ascot) had earlier also critiqued the affordable housing contribution from the site.

Cllr Julian Tisi (Lib Dem, Eton and Castle) though, acknowledging Cllr Da Costa’s concerns, proposed a motion to approve the plans.

‘I have to weigh this overall,’ he said, adding: ‘this is a town centre site and it’s a rare brownfield site, and yes it’s not ideally the housing we need, but it is housing and… I’m satisfied that there is a need’.

The site has been derelict for years (image: Google).

Cllr Karen Davies (Clewer East, Lib Dem), cabinet member for biodiversity, said approving the plans would provide £1.5million income to fund environmental improvements in the borough.

“I don’t like the housing type,” she added. “But there’s nothing else that’s come forward in 14 years and this site’s been empty in all that time.”

Meeting chair, Cllr Neil Knowles (Old Windsor, ORWA) said the panel was faced with a ‘black and white’ choice.

Five councillors voted to approve the plans, while four abstained.

What happens next?

Planning permission was granted subject to conditions which must be approved between council officers and Elysian Residences within six months.

These include financial contributions worth £80,000 towards playground equipment, allotment provision and CCTV.

As well as restricting the residential homes for buy to rent only, improving cycling crossing in Alma Road and a commitment for the developer to enforce a parking management plan.