Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal & Asset Management

To note the report and:

i)               Approve the adoption of the Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document, as set out in Appendix B.

ii)              Delegate authority to the Assistant Director of Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management for minor changes to the Supplementary Planning Document to be made prior to publication.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Approved the adoption of the Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document, as set out in Appendix B.

ii)              Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management for minor changes to the Supplementary Planning Document to be made prior to publication.

Councillor Bermange introduced the report to the Cabinet and made it clear that the BLP had been inherited from the previous administration and that the Cabinet did not agree with many aspects of it, however they acknowledged that they needed to work with what they had before them. He praised the Planning Policy team for their work in making some significant changes and improvements from the first draft of the proposed Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). This included a reduction in the heights of tall buildings that had originally been drafted. This also ensured that the plans for Cookham station were altered.

The Chair asked three questions to Councillor Bermange that had been asked to him by many residents during the election.

1.              Would the three tower blocks in Maidenhead be allowed now under the new guidance of the SPD? Councillor Bermange replied by saying that it would be a lot more difficult for that now and unlikely.

2.              What would now happen with the 25 storey Nicholsons building that was approved under the previous administration? Councillor Bermange replied with saying that a more appropriate 16-storey would be recommended, subject to planning consent. 

3.              Was the proposal made by the previous administration to build roughly a 15-storey tower by Maidenhead station now off the agenda? Councillor Bermange replied by saying that the site showed that it was not appropriate to have more than 8 or 10-stories here.

AGREED: That Cabinet noted the report and:

i)               Approved the adoption of the Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document, as set out in Appendix B.

ii)             Delegated authority to the Assistant Director of Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Legal and Asset Management for minor changes to the Supplementary Planning Document to be made prior to publication.