The major developments Slough, Windsor, and Maidenhead are anticipating in the New Year

Throughout 2021, thousands of planning decisions or applications to local authorities in Slough, Windsor, and Maidenhead have been made.

Out of that vast catalogue, we have picked out the best applications to keep an eye on for each respective area as we enter into the New Year.

Redevelopment of Queensmere shopping centre

What the redeveloped Slough town centre could look like

Arguably one of if not the biggest planning applications to happen to Slough of this decade will be determined sometime in the New Year after developer British Land submitted the scheme last month.

Dukes House, Wellington House, 141, 143, 145, and 165 High Street will also be redeveloped as the first phase of major plans to transform Slough town centre.

If approved, up to 1,600 new homes, 550 car parking spaces, 12,000 sqm for retail and leisure, 40,000 sqm of office space, and space for a potential live music venue or cinema could be built.

Demolition of the 1970s Queensmere shopping centre could start in 2023 and the first phase of the development, including a “vibrant” town square and up to 600 homes, could be completed by 2026.

READ MORE: Slough: What will a redeveloped Queensmere shopping centre look like?

Once completed by 2036, the new town centre could attract 3,200 people to live and work in Slough, 700 jobs will be supported onsite – 25 per cent could be for local people – and around £20m will be generated in gross salaries onsite.

The height of the buildings will start from six-storeys and will gradually step up to 12-storeys as you move further into the revamped town centre. The highest buildings will be in the centre, reaching a jaw-dropping 18-storeys.

The plans also boast new ‘green neighbourhood streets’ throughout the town, including new landscaping and trees as well as public space.

The Observatory shopping centre will be redeveloped next once Queensmere is done.

Wates development in West Windsor

Layout of the Wates development in West Windsor

A planning application is expected sometime next year for the developer Wates to build hundreds of homes on greenspace land north and south of the A308 by Oakley Green Road.

In the plans, Wates hopes to erect 450 homes – 40 per cent of which will be affordable – a special education needs school for about 150 pupils, public open space, sports pitches, and community facilities in West Windsor.

Once the borough local plan is adopted, the land, known as AL21, will be taken out of the greenbelt – which has ‘very special circumstances’ protection.

Following concerns from a public consultation, which was undertaken by Wates, concerns over traffic on the A308, Dedworth Road, and Old Maidenhead Road were raised.

To help with access from the north to the south of the site, a new signal-controlled crossing on the A308 near Oakley Green Road will be considered. Wates believed an increase in vehicle movements is expected but is “unlikely” to result in severe harm to the highways.

READ MORE: What did residents say about 450-homes plan in West Windsor?

The developer also said the site will have a ’10 per cent biodiversity net gain’ with the introduction of public spaces to reduce its impact on the greenbelt.

Allotments, community orchards, benches, bins, outdoor play areas, a ‘network’ of footpaths and cycleways, and a toucan pedestrian crossing in the middle of the developed site are also being considered.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting in October 2021, Cllr Carole Da Costa (WWRA: Clewer & Dedworth East), said: “This is one of the biggest developments that Dedworth will have seen in a generation and certainly in my time living here.

“This is very early days, and this piece of land has just come to cabinet now. This is the point in which we start moving forward and ensuring our residents in the two neighbouring wards will hear and be encouraged to engage as much as possible moving forward.”

If outline plans are approved, the first wave of homes will be delivered by early/mid-2024.

St Cloud Way

CG of the St Cloud Way flats

Despite being dubbed a “prison village”, the ruling Conservatives sitting on the Maidenhead planning panel gave the scheme to build 434 homes at the Magnet leisure centre in Holmanleaze the go-ahead.

It will be turned into five buildings, ranging from four to 11-storeys, and will hold a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom homes.

The scheme, which is a joint venture between the council and developer Countryside will see 349 market homes and 87 affordable homes built – split into 33 affordable rent and 54 shared ownership.

Throughout the planning process, the scheme has been subject to controversy where a petition objecting to the plans garnered over 1,700 signatures.

READ MORE: Maidenhead: 434 flats plan at former Magnet leisure centre approved

Petitioner Sajid Khan, who is the Mosque’s secretary, feared the distance of the apartment block from the place of worship isn’t far enough and would “overpower” the Islamic trust. He was also concerned over the increase in traffic on the narrow Holmanleaze.

But Tory councillors believed it was a “good project” for Maidenhead and approved the scheme.

Now that development was given the panel’s blessing, subject to conditions and Covid regulations, works could start in the spring of next year. Construction could finish in 2025.