Golf course 1,500 homes plan set for approval

Plans to build 1,500 homes on a golf course could be approved later.

Property developer Cala Homes wants permission to build the new neighbourhood on Maidenhead Golf Course.

Almost 200 letters objecting to the plans have been submitted to the council with some warning the development would be "catastrophic".

Council planners said the site was allocated for housing in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's local plan which sets out where development should take place, and which was approved by the planning inspectorate.

The development is at the heart of a troubled and contested land sale agreement between the borough council and the developer.

Planning officers are recommending that councillors vote to approve the plans.

Many objections fear the loss of a "green lung" for Maidenhead and warn of potential new flooding risks.

One said: "Recent flooding has shown the delicate balance between increasing rain events and drainage.

"The removal of the huge sponge the golf course represents will undoubtedly increase the flooding risk in Maidenhead."

Another objection said development in Maidenhead was "destroying the look" of the town.

It said: "The design of the houses in Cala Homes' application looks frankly depressing and unimaginative.

"And five and six-storey blocks of flats on the golf course site would be the final nail in the coffin."

Council planners note the site was allocated for housing in the Royal Borough's local plan which sets out where development should take place, and which was approved by the planning inspectorate.

They said the proposal was consistent with the council's development policies and that because of a shortfall of identified housing land, they cou,d only recommend refusal if the harms of the development were both "significant" and "demonstrable".

The officers' report said: "Officers acknowledge that a multitude of letters of objection received throughout the consultation period which raise alternative views to the policies contained within the development plan.

"It is not uncommon for schemes of this size and nature to generate such interest but the quantum of responses is not a determinative factor and rather the material planning considerations raised."

They said several benefits, such as an increased housing supply and new community facilities, shops and a health centre, added "significant weight in favour of the development".

Council flood officers have also reviewed the plans and said they were confident the proposed drainage scheme was sufficient.

The application is for outline planning permission – meaning that if approved, further approval would be needed for specifics, such as road layout, design and landscaping.

Councillors are set to vote on whether to give it outline planning permission at a meeting of the Windsor development management committee on Thursday.

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