Push to finish shop and flats
Maidenhead: High Street development moving ‘at pace’
By Kieran Bell kieranb@baylismedia.co.uk @KieranB_BM
A new Maidenhead town centre development comprising 12 flats and a retail unit is ‘motoring on’ with a planned completion date of September.
The scheme – at 94-96 High Street – will be called Rize Court and occupy the former Alzheimers Dementia Support unit next to Barclays bank.
A three-storey building containing 12 one-bedroom apartments and a commercial space on the ground floor will be built by the applicant, MAM Maidenhead Ltd.
The project has faced delays since it was initially approved by the Royal Borough back in March 2018, but is now on track to be finished by the autumn, according to project manager Kevin Holder.
Details about which firm will take over the retail unit have not been finalised, although developers say that the intended occupant will not be a food or drink outlet.
It is also hoped that the apartments will be available via the Government’s Help to Buy scheme, although this has not yet been signed off. No car parking is proposed, but there will be space available for cycle storage and a communal outdoor space available for residents of the flats.
“We are motoring on at pace and looking at completion in September, if not before,” Kevin told the Advertiser.
“We have got a ground unit which is under offer but has not been finalised, and 12 apartments above which we are now about to head to market with.
“We want to hit the market now because we hope that by the end of the summer these units will be gone and we have beat the rush.”
On the lack of car parking, Kevin added: “These are one-bed flats, so will be for young professionals, not families. They are for young people who need somewhere where they can walk to the station and get to London or Reading.
“It is regenerating the area; the commercial market is not dead but it is not exactly thriving.”
The project manager said that Maidenhead was a desirable location for such projects due to its good access links to nearby cities via both rail and road.
“We faced some delays but we managed to get through that and we are motoring,” Kevin added.
To view the application, search for reference 17/03465/FULL on the Royal Borough’s planning portal.