Slough garage could be replaced by nine flats

Paddington Planning is proposing to knock down the existing car repair and MOT test centre to make way for new homes.

The proposed flats in Bower Way in Slough, will be part of a three-storey building, with car parking spaces and cycle storage also planned for the future residents.

Currently, the site has a motor repair and MOT testing centre which will be demolished if the plans are given the go-ahead.

The residential building replacing it would have one, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with communal spaces.

The three-bedroom apartment planned would have space for five people.

An outdoor private garden is proposed for two of the nine flats while the units on the upper floors will have outdoor terraces.

Eight car parking spaces are planned for the future residents, with the communal entrance into the building via Bower Way to be kept.

The planning statement said the flats are near to bus stops and Burnham Railway Station which ‘reduces the reliance on private car ownership’.

The applicant ‘encourages’ future residents to use other modes of transport.

Slough Borough Council refused two planning applications, both for 11 flats, at the same site in June and October 2021.

Concerns were raised about the original plans leading to ‘an overly bulky and prominent addition’ to the street.

Neighbours at Holly Court, near the proposed site, would have also experienced ‘significant adverse harm’ from the size of the building, the council said.

Since then, the plans were subsequently scaled down to only nine flats.

The planning statement said the new proposals will ‘honour the character of the existing site.’

It added: “Given the council’s shortfall in deliverable housing sites, the proposal to create nine self-contained residential flats should be supported.”

Homes and apartments in the UK also have to meet the nationally described space standards (NDDS).

Each of the nine flats will ‘meet or exceed’ the minimum size requirements according to the design and planning statement.