Cabinet considered the draft Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document due to go to consultation.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways and Transport informed that there was a requirement within the adopted Borough Local Plan for the preparation of a new Building Height and Tall Building Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) to support Policy QP3a.  The draft Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document has been prepared to provide clear, detailed and specific design guidance to support both Council decision making on development applications and the adopted Borough Local Plan.

Paragraph 6.14.11 of the BLP, stats the SPD will “identify locations that present opportunities for tall buildings in the Borough, together with site-specific recommendations on building height. It will provide additional detailed guidance on location, height and design of tall buildings and set application requirements for tall buildings.”

The first stage in the preparation of the document was the publication of the draft SPD.  A final version of the Building Height and Tall Buildings SPD will be prepared taking into account the responses from the Regulation 13 consultation. This final document will then be brought to Members later in 2022 to consider its adoption by Cabinet.  Along with other SPD’s and Neighborhood Plans this document when adopted will be material consideration in planning decisions.

The Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Parks & Countryside and Maidenhead said he was delighted that this SPD was now going out for consultation.  Tall building were always controversial but this offered clear guidance across the borough and also nine specific areas within Maidenhead showing where height was acceptable and where it was not.

The Cabinet Member for Climate Action and Sustainability said that this was a key document for the borough and mentioned a recent planning committee where it would have been useful to have the clear guidance that this SPD would provide.

Mr Hill addressed Cabinet and said that increasing height in the town center makes a lot of sense, however building will increase the use of carbon and the increased height of Maidenhead.  He asked if climate change should feature more in this SPD.  He also made reference to a proposed 13 story building by Maidenhead Station that had been ruled out by the planning inspector and asked if it was still planned to be built.  There was also no mention of fire safety re Grenfell Tower and also no mention about water usage and question if the appropriate bodies had been consulted. There would also be concern with increased density and increasing temperatures given recent heatwaves.  

The Chairman informed that this was a proposed consultation on the SPD and not site specific developments.  The mentioned agencies would be part of the consultation.  From place making it was desirable to have increased density around key transport hubs and that this would also decrease the need to build on desirable areas.  It made better sense to use brown field sites.  With regards to safety this would be covered by the Building Safety Act 2022.

Resolved unanimously:  that Cabinet notes the report and:

i. Approves the publication of the draft Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document for public consultation, along with supporting evidence base studies; and

ii. Delegates authority to the Head of Planning in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Planning, Parking, Highways and Transport, to approve and publish any minor changes to the draft Building Height and Tall Buildings Supplementary Planning Document, prior to its publication.