Slough High Street 274 flats 'exclusively for key workers', developer says

More details of a major plan for 274 flats in Slough High Street have been revealed by its developers.

The flats, built over three blocks up to 15 storeys tall, have been marketed as ‘purpose-built for key workers’ and in particular NHS workers at Wexham Park Hospital.

Just two car parking spaces are planned at the site, with an emphasis placed on cycling and public transport instead.

A spokesperson for developers Cedarstone Capital Partners and Pinnacle AS said the ‘high quality’ flats would ‘directly support NHS staff and key workers’.

The plans were first advertised in The Express’ Public Notices late last month, but details were unavailable at the time of publication.

A design and access statement, now available on Slough Borough Council’s planning portal, said the flats would include 250 studio flats with communal kitchen and lounge facilities.

The remainder would be accessible living accommodation with wheelchair access.

These would be built over one 15-storey tower block in the middle of the site, one six-storey block facing High Street, and another four-storey block facing Herschel Street.

Buildings at the site, including the shop Thrift Bazaar, would be demolished to make way for the new flats if Slough council approves the scheme.

A landscaped ‘community amenity space’ is positioned between the central block and the High Street facing block, the later of which will include a retail unit, the plans said.

A transport statement said the development would be ‘car free’ with two blue badge car parking spaces being the only spaces accommodated for at the site itself.

It said: “The proposed development will provide accommodation for key workers in Slough, including for Wexham Park Hospital employees, which is located 2 miles to the north of the site.

“The site is a car-free scheme. There are a wealth of sustainable travel options to access the hospital.”

The design and access statement said there were alternative car parking facilities near the site.

However, there would be 148 spaces for cycle storage, including seven two-tiered bike racks, and a ‘dedicated cycle entrance’ to the site via Herschel Street.

The design and access statement also outlined the ‘vision’ of the developers for the site.

It claimed, of the 3.5million NHS workers nationwide, ‘many are struggling to live in decent housing, causing huge problems for the NHS in terms of staff recruitment, retention and wellbeing’.

The solution, it said, was to ‘provide high quality, purpose-built, co-living schemes for key workers, at fair rents which they can afford’.

Flats at the Slough High Street site ‘will be available exclusively to key workers’, it said.

A spokesperson for the developers said: “We’re proud to be delivering proposals for high-quality, purpose-built keyworker accommodation in such a central and accessible location.

“By working closely with local stakeholders, should the scheme be approved, it will directly support NHS staff and key workers who are vital to the wellbeing of the local community – while also contributing to the regeneration of Slough town centre.”

The plans can be viewed in Slough Borough Council’s planning portal under reference P/02683/022.