All councils have to produce a Borough Local Plan (BLP) showing how they will accommodate new development in their area. RBWM’s BLP is now in its final stages, awaiting the Planning Inspector’s verdict on whether it is sound and legal. It covers the period 2013-2033. More information on the BLP can be found here: Draft Borough local plan | Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (rbwm.gov.uk)
Why are so many new homes planned for Maidenhead?
Under the BLP, nearly three-quarters of all new dwellings for the whole borough, including Windsor and Ascot, will be built in Maidenhead. The Council has argued that Maidenhead is the only suitable place for tall buildings in the borough (1). This will undoubtedly mean a huge change to the character of Maidenhead over the coming years.
Who decides how many new homes should be built?
Housing numbers are based on the housing Objectively Assessed Need (OAN). To work out the OAN, RBWM is using projected household growth figures from 2012, although more recent projections show much lower growth. If RBWM used the latest 2018 figures, far fewer dwellings would need to be built.
RBWM has worked out an OAN of 14,240, but the BLP has provision for 15,948 new homes, over 15 per cent more. RBWM has said any extra homes “could contribute towards the unmet housing needs of Slough Borough” (2). From January 2013 to March 2019, 3,286 new dwellings were completed in the Borough, and planning permission had been given for a further 2,574(3) – a total of 5,860 new homes, just 522 short of what the 2018 projection suggests we need to build up to 2033. Over 57 per cent of the dwellings proposed in the Plan would be built on the Green Belt.
How does Maidenhead Golf Course and South West Maidenhead fit into the BLP?
Maidenhead Golf Course and the land between the A308M and Harvest Hill Road/Manor Lane make up site AL13, ‘Desborough, Harvest Hill Road, South West Maidenhead’. There are 2000 homes, two new schools, and other community buildings planned for Maidenhead Golf Course. And a further 600 new homes are planned for the land adjoining Manor Lane and Harvest Hill Road. Additionally, Site AL14, the Triangle site (the land between the A308M and the M4) is designated for general industrial and warehousing, further eroding the gap between Maidenhead and Holyport, and adding traffic onto local roads. Until the adoption of the BLP all of this land is designated Green Belt. Sixty-five per cent of new homes for the whole Royal Borough will be built in Maidenhead town centre and South West Maidenhead. 1,425 new homes are planned on other Green Belt sites in or near Maidenhead, including land at Bray Lake, Cookham, Woodlands Park, Spencer’s Farm, Breadcroft Lane, Monkey Island Lane and Summerleaze Road.
RBWM has said building on Maidenhead Golf Course will provide much needed affordable homes and family houses. Surely that’s a good thing?
Forty per cent of the homes built on Maidenhead Golf Course will be ‘affordable’, that means the majority, 60 per cent, will be for sale or rent at full market value. With 2,000 new homes, plus two new schools, a community centre, and roads planned, this will be a high density development. And the Council has not said what proportion of dwellings will be houses.
What about the many trees on the Golf Course?
RBWM has so far resisted all calls to protect trees on the Golf Course. A petition in 2019 calling for TPOs to be placed on Golf Course trees was signed by 1,249 people, but the Council voted not to protect any of the trees. There are so many mature trees and hedges around the Golf Course it simply would not be possible to build as planned without felling a significant number. This destruction of habitat will mean most of the wildlife that currently lives on the golf course will have to try to find new homes. This won’t be easy as the greenspace and green belt of our town has already been signficantly eroded in recent years, including around a third of the greenspace at Braywick.
Why have Maidenhead Golf Club decided they no longer need their course?
They haven’t! RBWM, who own the freehold, have threatened to compulsorily purchase their lease if they do not agree to sell it. The freehold of the land occupied by Maidenhead Golf Club was purchased by a previous Maidenhead Council in the 1950s – to protect it from development!
(1) MM13 6.14, 6.15 Policy QP3a Building Height and Tall Buildings
(2) RBWM_026 Council’s response to the Inspector’s letter on the 2018 Household Projection
(3) FOI752156