The Royal Borough’s Cabinet has agreed a planning document giving greater control over the number, location, height and design of any future tall buildings in the area – helping the council resist inappropriate plans that don’t meet high standards.
Adoption of the Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) follows a public consultation. In light of feedback, the document has been strengthened to improve clarity, tighten controls and reduce the maximum recommended heights in some locations.
The SPD does not allocate sites for development, grant planning permission or encourage tall buildings. Rather it identifies a limited number of locations where taller buildings could be suitable, together with site-specific recommendations on height and design principles to achieve high architectural quality.
The Borough Local Plan is clear that large parts of the borough are unsuitable for tall buildings due to heritage, landscape and townscape character. The SPD states that most new development within established settlements will generally be expected to mirror or relate closely to the height of existing buildings, to protect the borough’s scale and character.
Following public consultation, the SPD has been strengthened. This includes more detailed analysis of existing context heights, and making clear there are no opportunities for a tall building at Cookham train station, or at Sunningdale.
The opportunity for a potential tall building at Maidenhead station quarter has been reduced from 13 storeys to 8-10 residential storeys, while any future proposals for the Nicholsons site should be limited to 16 storeys in the event the approved 25-storey scheme is ultimately not built.
Councillor Adam Bermange, Cabinet member for planning, legal and asset management, said: “The SPD gives us greater control in assessing planning applications for suitability and is certainly not about encouraging tall buildings, nor allocating sites. We expect most new development within established settlements will continue to broadly mirror the height of surrounding buildings, protecting the borough’s scale and character.
“The borough is growing so it’s right to anticipate there will be more pressure for building upwards. Therefore, this SPD is necessary to put in place additional guidance and limitations, helping the council and developers ensure any future proposed tall buildings will have to achieve architectural excellence and be located in one of the very limited number of places that may be suitable.
“Ideally I would have liked the heights to be even lower but an SPD is purely a supplementary planning document. It cannot set new policy or change the Borough Local Plan, which at some sites allocates higher densities of housing which can lead to taller buildings. However the SPD does empower the council to resist any inappropriate tall building proposals that don’t meet the high standards expected.
“I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the consultation, and for everyone’s patience as we did further work, in response to this feedback, to strengthen and improve the final document.”
This Cabinet decision is subject to the standard call-in period.