To receive a report from Hub Residential on The Landing site.

Harry Gilham, Instinctive Partners, Victoria Manston, Development Director at HUB Residential, and Jennifer Macro, Development Manager at HUB Residential, introduced the item.

Victoria Manston gave a presentation on Building C, part of the One Maidenhead project (formerly The Landing) since 2018, forming part of Phase 2 of the development. The building was located on the corner of King Street and Queen Street in Maidenhead.

Victoria Manston introduced HUB as a developer focused on creating high quality living spaces for communities, working with the world’s leading architectural practices.

Victoria Manston gave some background to Building C. The site was granted consent in 2019 for a 7-storey office building with floor flexible floorspace for cafes, restaurant or shops at ground floor. HUB sought to redesign Building C with the objectives being:

• Deliver a local landmark building that acted as a gateway to the wider town centre;
• Create a sustainable office building that would be net zero carbon and utilised innovative construction methods, including a timber structure (the first of its kind in Maidenhead and the wider Thames Valley);
• Respect the local context which included providing active ground floor uses and new public realm areas;
• Use a refined material palette and ensure the building was future-proofed.

Jennifer Macro explained the key considerations of the project:

• Aligning with RBWM’s new Local Plan and Sustainability Statement:
  • Seeking to meet BREEAM Outstanding (the top sustainability certification) and WELL Platinum (health and wellbeing of the tenants);
  • Utilising a timber frame and façade system that was easily demountable and suitable for re-use.
• Tying in with the urban fabric of the surrounding area:
  • Taking into consideration of the mix of historic and modern architecture;
  • Looking at proposals for a stone/ brick building utilising a simple material palette that will increase natural daylight and heating.
• Completing the masterplan and developing a vacant site in the town centre:
  • Proposals were lower than the consented office scheme by circa 4 metres;
  • Drops down in height considerably from Phase 1 by circa 10 storeys.
• Addressing the need for high-quality Grade A office space in Maidenhead and providing ground floor active uses and public realm.

Victoria Manston then illustrated some conceptual images for the building, both internal and external viewpoints. She also illustrated the comparison between the consented and proposed schemes, namely the reduction in height. She informed that HUB were exploring on how to bring the timber on the outside of the building while complying with the building regulations.

Victoria Manston then displayed the bird’s eye view design proposals to the building floors.

• The ground floor would have cafes, restaurants and nurseries;
• The upper floors would have maximum efficiency and flexibility;
• The fifth floor would have an external podium garden where tenants could enjoy the views of Maidenhead.
• The public realms (which was mostly delivered under Phase 1) would have tables and chairs as well as a mix of trees and plants (a mix of hard and soft landscaping spaces).

Victoria Manston then listed the benefits to Building C:

• Up to 335 new jobs created during the construction phase and up to 620 new jobs created once completed.
• Increase in grade A office space in the town centre, helping to attract quality businesses to Maidenhead.
• Projected business rates of £700,000 each year.
• Support economic growth in Maidenhead as the new office space will lead to more customers visiting and spending money in town centre shops, restaurants, and other businesses helping them recover from the recent slowdown in the economy.
• The establishment of a high-quality design and landmark building in a currently vacant space would improve the street scene and positively contribute to the town centre’s ongoing regeneration.
• A wider pedestrianised area with new tree and shrub planting which would provide a more attractive access way into the wider site and the town centre.

Harry Gilham gave an overview of the planning and consultation programme. As part of the consultation, HUB met with local politicians – namely the Chair (Councillor G. Singh), Councillors Douglas, Werner, Reynolds, Buckley and Bermange – to discuss the proposals. Future meetings were set up with Theresa May (MP for Maidenhead) and Councillor Moriarty.

Harry Gilham informed that newsletters were sent out to residents in late-June 2023 to inform them of the proposals and inviting them to a public exhibition consultation event on Wednesday 5^th July at High Street Methodist Church on King Street. The key feedback was:

• Supportive of the design approach, notably the reduction in height against the original scheme,
• Supportive of the sustainability approach,
• Keen to see improvements to the town centre,
• Some discussions on car parking in Maidenhead, particularly as Nicholson’s car park had shut down.

Harry Gilham stated that HUB were seeking to submit the planning application in late Summer 2023 and start the project in early 2024.

Andrew Ingram asked about the reduction in height of the building. Victoria Manston answered that HUB did not want to deliver a scheme that was greater in terms of the quantum, which was already approved, and that feedback from residents stated they would prefer a reduction in height when feasible. In addition, buildings with timber had to be built at a certain height.

Andrew Ingram asked about the different visual illustrations of the outside view of the buildings. Victoria Manston replied that some feedback from the original consultation stated that residents wanted the building to feel like an intimate space. By changing the building shape, namely cutting the corners of the building, a space within the centre of the public realm would be created that which would then be more sheltered and welcoming for people to enjoy it.

Councillor Martin asked how much of the footprint had increased by percentage compared to the previous plan. Victoria Manston replied that the size of the building was the same and had not affected the green space.

Councillor Martin then asked if the existing consultation was still online. Victoria Manston confirmed this, with all the exhibition boards being uploaded as well. She offered to share the website link.

ACTION: HUB to share the website link to the existing consultation on Building C.

Councillor Reynolds asked a couple of questions. He firstly asked if the project would lead to any changes to King Street, such as any upgrades to the public realm. Victoria Manston replied that the Council was planning to put forward their own plans for King Street, Broadway and Queen Street, led by the RBWM Transport Officer. Because of this, HUB were not going make any changes as these were being delivered already. However, HUB would make some improvements within the red line around the building, such as new pavement areas and soft and hard landscaping.

Councillor Reynolds then asked what the retailers would be. Victoria Manston replied that there had been a lot of interest from retailers, but they usually would like to see the premises first before signing off anything.

Councillor Moriarty asked to what extent did the change in work patterns caused by the Covid pandemic affected planning, namely if it affected demand for office space. He also asked how much of the current state of the local town centre provision would impact demand and how occupying this would drive demand. Victoria Manston replied that the quality and attractiveness of the space was a method to attract employees back to the office, particularly as it stood out from the rest of the town centre. In addition, employees in general were returning to the office.

Harry Gilham added that the new residential buildings being built nearby would attract a new population to the town centre which would then be a catalyst for new shops and restaurants. He also cited research from Wimbledon Town Centre that town centre restaurant and shops were viable and sustainable due office workers going for their lunch or to do some shopping.