Work is moving along on homes
Slough: Development will be ‘premier building in town’
Work is progressing on a new block of flats which will see 238 new homes delivered in Slough town centre.
The Aspire scheme, in Herschel Street, is a housing project brought forward by Click Properties whose managing director Aaron Emmett has links to the ill-fated Nova House.
Mr Emmett worked as a sales director for Timeless Property Services and effectively operated as an estate agent for Nova House before it failed a Government cladding safety test in 2017 in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
The private seven-storey block, in Buckingham Gardens, was later taken over by Slough Borough Council to repair the dangerous cladding at a multi-million pound cost.
Click Properties secured planning permission for the
nine-storey Aspire scheme in 2018 and Mr Emmett told the Express the development will be ‘the premier building in the town’.
He said: “We’re exceeding building control in every aspect we can, the acoustic value of the building is higher than building regulations require us to be and all fire safety is over and above.
“There’s sprinklers in all the rooms and it surpasses current building regulations and the entire building makeup is non-combustible.
“There isn’t a development in Slough at this moment in time that offers more than this building.”
A topping-out ceremony took place at the new apartment block on Tuesday, September 21 to mark the completion of the building’s roof.
The Aspire project has been built by construction firm Mid Group and Mr Emmett said he is the only person with links to the Nova House scheme.
He added that he had no involvement in the construction of Nova House, overseen by Timeless Building Services, but said the focus within the construction industry is now firmly on delivering schemes with non-combustible cladding.
“To say (Grenfell) hasn’t changed the way the construction industry thinks would be not true.
“The real focus nowadays has been on non-combustible cladding and that’s absolutely the right thing for the world and industry to gravitate to.”
The Aspire scheme will feature 50 affordable homes, 47 ground floor parking spaces and rooftop gardens looking out towards Windsor.
It also includes a climateconscious boiler and heating system in every apartment and is expected to be completed by June next year.
Mr Emmett added: “I think the town has got fantastic prospects and really believe that otherwise I wouldn’t be building here.”