SIX community groups could be moved to another facility as the Royal Borough Council eyes up building 30 affordable homes near Maidenhead town centre.
Users of facilities in Holmanleaze may be relocated into a ‘purpose-built’ centre that could be built on greenfield land at nearby Blackamoor Lane to free up space for new homes delivered by the local authority’s property company.
The sites affected include:
- The Ivy Leaf Club
- Beehive Playgroup
- Maidenhead 9th Scouts Group
- Maidenhead 19th Scouts Group
- The Jehovah’s Witness
- Air Training Corp
READ MORE: Leaked documents reveal multiple Maidenhead community centres could be axed
The papers, called community facilities review, were meant to be discussed cabinet meeting on Thursday, September 30 and were published at 3pm on the day of the meeting but the item was withdrawn last minute by council leader Andrew Johnson (Con: Hurley & Walthams).
Last year, a leaked report seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service described the buildings as being in a “poor state of repair and in need of substantial maintenance”.
According to the report, initial consultation has taken place with the leaseholders to understand the facilities’ current usage and to make sure the proposed relocation will meet their needs. Consultation will be ongoing with the affected parties.
The owners will need to surrender their leases – some of which have expired, while others have 25 years remaining – to the council.
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If plans go ahead, the council’s property company and their developer partner, Countryside, could deliver 30 affordable homes where the small huts are located, which is adjacent to the Maidenhead Mosque, by 2025.
Developers Countryside could bring forward a scheme to build homes on the Ivy Leaf Club site.
According to the report, this will help with the borough’s affordable housing supply and will require capital expenditure of up £5.63m for the plans to reach fruition.
A decision was meant to be made at cabinet, but Cllr Johnson announced at the last minute they were withdrawing the paper for it to go to overview and scrutiny for review and recommendations instead.
He said: “I would certainly value scrutiny’s input into that process and value their thoughts on how we can deliver not only additional housing but crucially better facilities for some of our community groups.”
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