Concern over the look of new blocks of flats

Maidenhead is undergoing a period of substantial growth with a number of large residential and mixed-use schemes either consented, in construction or coming through the planning system.

Four of these schemes are being developed by the joint venture (JV) between RBWM Property Company and Countryside.

The first of these schemes, ‘Watermark’, is well underway and the community is now able to see the types of developments the JV is delivering.

Having been in the property industry for over 25 years, primarily acquiring and disposing of residential-led development opportunities, I am very concerned, as a resident, worker and business owner in Maidenhead, of the architectural quality that is being delivered.

From a number of people I have spoken to who echo my feelings, the initial developments at ‘Watermark’ are being described as ‘like prison blocks’ with overbearing, oppressive buildings devoid of any attractive architectural merit.

The result of this, is that the apartments in the blocks are proving very difficult to sell and today many of the apartments remain vacant.

Some may attribute this to other issues, but fundamentally people will choose to live in an attractive building rather than an unattractive one.

The slow rate of sale will now have an impact on the expected timing of the share of capital receipts to RBWM Property Company and will lead to inevitable price reductions on the apartments.

There is, however, a short period of time to correct this.

There are numerous examples where attractive architectural styles have been proven to improve rates of sale and sale values of residential property.

For example, studies have shown that buildings with Georgian architectural design achieve around 12 per cent higher sales values, on a like-for-like basis, than any other architectural design.

With the imminent commencement of works on the second development being delivered by the JV partnership at St Cloud Way, it is essential that we take the opportunity to review what has been developed and improve the architectural styling of the buildings being delivered.

Alternatively, we run the risk of delivering more oppressive, unattractive buildings that have been over value engineering by cost consultants providing homes that people do not want to live in, offer a poor return to RBWM Property Company and create a dull, depressing public realm.

To be clear, I am not concerned with the number of units, height of buildings, parking ratios etc on the schemes.

I am solely concerned about the impact of their external appearance on the community and town.

More attractive designs really will make a huge difference to our quality of living and working in Maidenhead.

As the key stakeholder in the JV partnership, RBWM Property Company has the responsibility and opportunity to review and improve the designs coming forward in these developments.

It is very important that we do so and I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues with RBWM Property Company.

We do no have a lot of time to potentially alter the future appearance of Maidenhead for many years to come and avoid it becoming a cluster of ‘prison like’ apartment blocks, but I hope, with your assistance, that we can try and ensure we build a town we can all be proud of.

JOLYON BURGESS Head of land and new homes for Oakwood Estates Queen Street

Maidenhead