A JAPANESE tech giant is saying sayonara to its former European headquarters as demolition works begin.

Cranes have started dismantling the large office building in Whitebrook Park, 68 Lower Cookham Road, Maidenhead, which was occupied by Hitachi for more than 30 years.

A planning application to demolish the building was approved in April by Royal Borough planning officers.

READ MORE: Hitachi set to demolish Maidenhead office buildings

In a planning statement, Hitachi said: “The demolition of the existing office building is proposed due to the costs of maintaining the building, the low level of occupancy, the added impacts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of interest in the site despite being comprehensively marketed for four years.”

Residents and former employees paid their tribute online to the razed office block.

Permission to demolish the building was granted earlier this year

Permission to demolish the building was granted earlier this year

Hitachis Maidenhead building could be knocked down if the tech company gets its way

Hitachi's Maidenhead building could be knocked down if the tech company gets its way

One local wrote: “I used to have a job interview there. I quite liked the style of this building”. Another posted: “No way… my late father was the site manager there for many years before he retired around 1999-ish. He loved his time there.”

A former employee, who worked there for 18 years, called it an “end of an era”, while another ex-worker said it was “sad times” as she had “lots of good memories”.

READ MORE: Hitachi's HQ in Maidenhead won't be converted into 88 flats

Developers made two attempts to redevelop the site into new flats. Previously, Royal Borough planning officers rejected a scheme for nearly 100 homes on the site in December 2019 over flood risks and a lack of an evacuation route for the homeowners.

Last month, developers tried again to convert the site into 88 flats with 120 car parking spaces. But planning officers took issue that some of the flats won’t be nationally compliant in terms of space and issues around a flood evacuation plan were not resolved.