Nicholsons plans go before council
Town centre: Landmark meeting for £500m redevelopment
Major plans to redevelop the Nicholsons Centre were set to go before a council planning committee last night (Wednesday).
Proposals for the town centre shopping complex have been in the pipeline for several years, and councillors were set to pick through the hybrid plans from developer Areli Real Estate.
A hybrid planning application is one that seeks outline planning permission for one part, and full planning permission for another part of the same site.
The £500million plans would see the Nicholsons Centre torn down and replaced with a new complex, combining new streets and zones with retail, offices and more than 650 apartments. The overall development will be dubbed ‘Nicholson Quarter’.
Councillors have been recommended by planning officers to authorise the head of planning to grant planning permission, subject to a series of conditions, which include the developers securing infrastructure to support the project.
Across the development,
there will be 1,319 car parking spaces, including
700 public spaces in the new multi-storey car park, but just 104 spaces for 364 residential units – which equates to a ‘0.28 space per dwelling’.
There will be 116 parking spaces for the 307 retirement living apartments, equalling one third of a space per dwelling.
Planning officers say within the application: “The proposed parking arrangements should be seen in the light of the location and the need to promote sustainable forms of transport.”
The tallest buildings could reach up to 25 storeys high.
French asset management group Tikehau Capital has partnered with Areli to develop the Nicholsons, which the former bought in February 2019.
Plans were submitted to the council in June last year, but were altered a few months later to include a smaller multi-storey car park and other building modifications.
The latest update was in December, when Areli partner Rob Tincknell hosted a Zoom webinar to update residents and stakeholders on developments.
The completion of the new centre is not expected until the mid-2020s, if approved.
To view the plans in full, visit bit.ly/3sOzyLJ
Visit maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk for a report on last night’s meeting.