A SLOUGH town centre building which hosts Poundland and JD Sports could be demolished for 63 flats and two retail units.

Councillors on the planning committee will be meeting face-to-face for the first time since the pandemic began in March 2020 on May 26.

One of the applications they will be considering for approval or refusal, is plans to demolish the existing three-storey building at 190-192 High Street for ground-floor retail and 63 flats above.

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The mix of housing consists of 45 one-beds, 15 two-beds, and three three-beds. Planning officers say they consider the number of three-beds to be “positive” as these are less common in town centre developments.

Ordinarily, 19 units would be required as affordable housing, however, according to the applicants Slough Property 2 Limited, no affordable housing is included due to it not being ‘viable’.

190 High Street, Slough

190 High Street, Slough

The applicant has agreed to a ‘review mechanism’ that would allow for a reappraisal of the site in the future to determine if affordable housing can be secured if the viability changes.

The existing building will be replaced by two blocks ranging from six-storeys to ten-storeys with a bridge connecting the buildings together on the fifth floor.

In terms of parking, only five spaces are proposed within the site, which highway officers consider to be ‘acceptable’ given it’s in the town centre and future residents are in close proximity to public transport.

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The development will also provide 62 residential cycle parking spaces and two commercial cycle spaces for the ground-floor retail.

A majority of future occupiers will have private balconies and terraces and all residents can access the rooftop garden.

Officers recommended to councillors on the committee they delegate the application to the planning manager subject to the developers making minor tweaks to the plans and completing their section 106 agreement.

*The Observer reported the plans proposed 61 with a housing mix of 34 one-beds, 20 two-beds, and seven three-bedroom apartments. However, planning officers said their report was in error and should read 63 flats with a housing mix of 45 one-beds, 15 two-beds, and three three-beds.