Car park could be demolished to make way for 104 flats

A Slough multi-storey car park could be demolished to make way for a major 104 flats redevelopment – but no affordable housing is planned.

In April, Slough Borough Council decided to sell Hatfield Car Park, in Hatfield Road, which has 581 spaces across six storeys.

The multi-storey car park was considered to be a ‘surplus’ after a review of all Slough Town Centre car parks.

Elstree Land, the applicant, is now looking to redevelop the site into 104 flats to help with Slough’s housing shortfall after the car park is demolished.

Pre-application meetings with the council took place from April to June.

Residents were also informed about the redevelopment through a brochure sent out in November this year, but no comments or objections were submitted.

On Hatfield Road, other office buildings have been converted into apartments, such as the Skyline Apartments and the Thames Central development.

This has created a ‘dense built-up’ area, according to the application.

A planning statement submitted by Savills as part of the application said the current car park is ‘redundant’ and ‘not making the best use of the site’.

Under Slough Borough Council’s requirements, all new residential developments with 15 or more dwellings need to include between 30 and 40 per cent of social rent units, alongside other affordable housing.

But the planning statement said: “The current housing market faces many challenges, from rising interest rates and built costs, and suppressed sales values.

“As a result, it is challenging to provide affordable housing on site.”

It added that the possibility of adding affordable units will be ‘carefully considered’ if they become viable for the development.

The flat blocks will be between four and six storeys high, with a mix of one to three-bedroom apartments. Most of these, 56 per cent, will be two-beds.

In a design and access statement, DHA Architecture said: “[These proposals] will revitalise a brownfield site into a high-quality, contemporary residential development in the heart of Slough Town Centre.”

A courtyard will sit at the centre of the development to ‘promote social interaction’, with hedging and street tree planting also proposed.

During the pre-application meetings, the council’s highways team said that a high-quality development needs ‘a realistic level of parking whilst delivering different sustainable options.

A total of 31 car parking spaces, with EV charging points, as well as 104 cycle spaces, are included as part of the plans as a result.

The design and access statement said the site is within walking distance to shops, with ‘strong connections to public transport’.

It added that the redevelopment will create a ‘convenient’ environment for walking or using the nearby railway and bus station links.

Enter P/00186/004 into Slough Borough Council’s planning portal to view the full plans.