DEVELOPERS of major housing and employment schemes in South West Maidenhead are ‘looking to’ submit planning applications this year.
Three online sessions are to be held this week on community needs, connectivity, and sustainability and the environment for the South West Maidenhead site to help inform create a site-specific supplementary planning document (SPD) to provide further guidance and information on future planning applications.
The site as a whole is earmarked for 2,600 homes, with 30 per cent being affordable, along with new primary and secondary schools, a local centre, employment space, green space for public access, and improved walking and cycling connectivity.
Within the plan, the 132-acre Maidenhead golf course and land south of Harvest Hill Road are earmarked for housing (AL13), employment is placed on the Triangle Site, which is land south of the A308M (AL14), and Braywick Park is earmarked to be a public park, a special needs school, a wildlife zone, and a sports hub (AL15).
The sites were earmarked in the now adopted borough local plan, which sets out where thousands of new homes will be built in order to meet the borough’s future population and economic growth until 2033.
Ian Manktelow, principal planning policy officer said the SPD will provide a framework to ensure comprehensive infrastructure is secured for the area with help from residents and other stakeholders.
This means it will look at how to make the site fit the community’s needs, provide good connectivity for walkers and cyclists, and make the site as sustainable and environment-friendly as possible. It will also provide ‘flesh on the bones’ on what is already in the local plan.
Even though the local plan is now adopted, each site is still subject to individual planning applications that will be determined by councillors.
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Mr Manktelow said: “There is a number of potential developers on the AL13 site. Cala Homes probably have the biggest part of the site but there are a number of others.
“I think some of the others are probably looking to bring forward schemes at some point during this year.
“Timing is ultimately up to them but that is why it’s important that we get this SPD in place and engage with developers as well as engaging with the community, so developers understand our aspirations for the site and our expectations from them.
“Some of them of which is set down in the local plan with detailed policies but also developing that thinking.”
Even though the council is engaging with the public to help inform the draft SPD, a developer can theoretically still submit a planning application – but the head of planning Adrien Waite believes “that won’t happen.”
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He said: “There is a real priority and need to get this document done as quickly as possible so we and the community at large have the opportunity to shape the development because they will not wait forever if it’s not done, which is why there is a real priority for us in getting this done so people can contribute to the process and be heard.”
Officers are hoping to draft the SPD sometime in May or June. A six-week public consultation will commence in July to inform the next process and a final document will be made in the autumn time.
The online events will be held on the following dates:
- Community Needs – Wednesday 30 March 2022, 6.30pm
- Connectivity – Wednesday 6 April 2022, 6.30pm
- Sustainability and the Environment – Wednesday 13 April 2022, 7.15pm
Links for joining the live sessions will be added from March 28 to the council’s website at www.rbwm.gov.uk/SWMaidenhead-SPD.
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