Nicholsons Centre: Areli chief executive reflects on 'last piece in the jigsaw' for Maidenhead's regeneration

One of the key figures behind the major overhaul of the Nicholsons Centre says the time has now come for the ‘last piece in the jigsaw’ in the town’s regeneration.

Areli Developments has unveiled its revised plans for the stalled redevelopment of the ageing shopping centre.

The developer and investors Tikehau Capital first secured planning permission for the project in March 2021.

But it has since been held up by a litany of issues including rising building costs and legal challenges over compulsory purchase orders for the site.

Fresh plans have now been submitted to Windsor and Maidenhead council which include a reduction in height of one of the scheme’s towering apartment buildings, from 25 to 20 storeys, and extra homes to replace office space.

Rob Tincknell, chief executive of Areli, spoke to the Advertiser this week about the challenges the developer has faced in making the ambitious scheme a reality.

He said: “At the moment, there’s a reason why there are no active town centre regenerations projects on anywhere in the UK of any scale – it’s because they’re really hard.

“It’s really, really difficult to make these projects work. When you get battered with COVID, interest rate rises, building regulation changes, massive rises in build costs and then of course the challenges with the CPO, it’s made it very difficult.

“We’ve never given up, we’ve worked extremely hard and we’ve overcome all of those things.”

Areli chief executive Rob Tincknell pictured at a previous consultation for the Nicholsons Quarter

The latest version of the plans have seen a shift towards more homes with a total of 856 properties now planned compared to the original 675.

Areli chose to replace one of its three planned office buildings with housing – citing a ‘post-pandemic shift in working patterns’.

Mr Tincknell said: “I think Maidenhead remains a very strong and popular place for offices and that’s why we’re maintaining two of the three buildings that we have.

“We believe in those very firmly. The one we had was super large and an extremely difficult task in the current market.”

No affordable housing is currently proposed within the major housing project and Mr Tincknell said this was due to the ‘challenging’ financial viability of the scheme.

“Viability is unbelievably challenging, it’s really, really challenging to make this scheme happen at all – let alone putting affordable housing in,” he said.

“We are committed to putting affordable housing in if it’s possible but at the moment the viability doesn’t allow for that.”

A review mechanism is planned which could see affordable homes introduced in the future if the project secures more income.

A new multi-storey car park is planned although the number of spaces has been reduced to 452 – almost half the original 885 proposed.

This only includes 100 spaces for shoppers – a move which has been criticised by community groups including the Maidenhead Civic Society.

Mr Tincknell said: “I think the council had to look at this. They’ve got a lot of challenges at the moment and is it wise to go and build another new 700-space car park to replace the one on The Broadway?”

He said there would be ‘some flexibility’ regarding the number of spaces, and there are ‘other locations’ in the town where people are able to park.

Areli is planning 55 shops, restaurants, bars and cafes across its major regeneration scheme with a number of these focused around a new public square named Sir Nicholas Winton Square.

The Areli chief executive, who also spearheaded the multi-million pound regeneration of London’s Battersea Power Station, said shoppers can expect an emphasis on local, independent businesses as well as some bigger brands.

“We already have a database we’ve collected over the last five years of local traders who have expressed an interest, from jewellery shops through to breweries and coffee shops,” Mr Tincknell said.

“You want to have a sprinkling of bigger brands but there will very much be an emphasis on local tenants.”

He added: “We’re not thinking about yesterday and how we used to live, we’re thinking about tomorrow and the way we are going to live which is with more interesting, fun places where you can sit, have a coffee and meet friends in a safe, secure and nice environment.”

Areli is hoping the revised plans could be decided upon by the council in September with work on the major regeneration project starting in early 2026.

Mr Tincknell said: “These things are not easy and it’s taken a massive amount of energy, not just from us but local people who have given up their time to guide our plans in the right direction.

“This is literally the last piece of the jigsaw and we’re ready to go.”