A DEVELOPER’S second attempt to add more flats to a converted office building has been foiled by planning officers amid strong objections.
This is just one of the many applications submitted to local authorities in Slough, Windsor, and Maidenhead in the past seven days.
To view more details for each application, go to the respective council’s planning portal with the reference number attached.
An underused car park could be developed into flats at 18-24 Stoke Road, Slough (P/06271/023).
Developer Shall Do Stoke Road Ltd wants to construct a three-storey building that holds seven apartments behind the converted office block Abbey House.
If approved, the building will be developed in an underused car park. The developer said the spaces are no longer required because of Abbey House’s conversion to residential.
The housing mix includes two one-beds, three two-beds, and two three-bedrooms.
Slough planning officers are yet to decide on the application.
A developer’s second stab at extending a converted office block fails at 17 Marlow Road, Maidenhead (23/00556/PT20AA).
Applicant Barker Homes (Maidenhead) Ltd failed to secure prior approval, which would effectively bypass the planning process if the council didn’t object, following strong objections from residents.
It wanted to construct a two-storey extension at InVentiv Health, Thames House – which has permission to be converted into 40 apartments – to create an additional 27 flats, which consist of studio, one-beds, and two-beds.
Previous plans to create a two-storey extension that holds 33 apartments were refused due to the loss of natural daylight.
Just like the previous plans, a tsunami of objections came in from residents, who called the extension “overpowering”.
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One resident wrote: “I am really concerned about the proposed planning for additional residential flats & two extra floors, at the office block on 17 Marlow Road. This will severely impact on light to all flats in our properties, and this will be overbearing.
“Moreover, there is no privacy as potential homeowners will be directly looking into our property. This infringes on my and others lack of privacy.”
Even St Mary’s ward councillor Donna Stimson called in the application for the Maidenhead development management panel to decide if planning officers were minded to approve.
But like before, planning officers refused this scheme due to concerns over a lack of natural daylight, some of the flats not complying with the nationally describe space, and the extension being ‘out of keeping’ with the area.
A developer tries again to extend a converted office block at 59-63 Farnham Road, Slough (F/11168/017).
SVL1 Ltd has put another bid forward to add a two-storey extension on the former Phoenix One office building to add a further 36 apartments.
The developer already secured permission to convert the building into 56 flats, which are made up of one and two-beds, but was refused planning permission to add a two-storey extension to create 36 additional flats.
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Planning officers refused the previous prior approval request due to insufficient information surrounding the development’s impact on the local highway and that some of the flats were below the nationally described space.
But the developer now believes they have relieved concerns and has tried again to see if it’s enough for officers to approve the scheme.
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