Developer and RBWM close in on final agreements for Maidenhead golf course scheme

Cala Homes 'is in the final stages' of legal agreements with RBWM about what it will build on Maidenhead Golf Course - set for up to 1,500 new homes and related facilities.

Once finalised, these bind the developer to whatever is agreed about affordable housing, schools, healthcare and management of spaces like Rushington Copse.

These legal agreements are still in draft form and potentially subject to any last tweaks.

Affordable housing

At least 30 per cent of the homes must be affordable housing. Cala Homes cannot allow more than half of the private homes in any phase to be lived in until all the affordable homes have been finished.

Affordable homes must match the agreed types of affordable housing, which at the moment is:

• 45 per cent social rent
• 35 per cent affordable rent
• 20 per cent shared ownership.

Environment

If Rushington Copse is not included as part of the shared land, the developer must arrange for it to be transferred to another organisation, so it can be looked after at no cost to the council.

If the council believes Rushington Copse is not being properly maintained, they may take enforcement action and recover costs.

Community

‘The Southern Local Centre’ within the development must include:

• a food shop of at least 380sqm
• retail and/or takeaway space totalling at least 200sqm
• healthcare facilities of at least 950sqm
• a community hub of at least 557sqm.

Travel

A full travel plan must demonstrate measures to manage travel to and from the site. It must help residents use alternatives to cars.

Cala Homes must survey travel habits and report this for five years. If they fail to, the council can step in, and then the developer must repay the council’s costs – up to £75,000 in total.

For each phase of the development, Cala Homes must pay a small fee (£14) for every approved home and use this money to monitor traffic at the Braywick Park Roundabout and the Braywick Leisure Centre junction.

Highway works being delivered by the council but funded by the developer include:

• Harvest Hill Road walk/cycle route
• New/improved connections to Braywick Park and Ockwells Park
• Norreys Drive/Shoppenhangers Road junction improvements
• Holyport Road junction improvements
• Braywick Road/Harvest Hill Road junction improvements
• Public transport to support the area
• Sustainable travel connections to the Triangle site.

Infrastructure

The developer must pay the council a contribution to help fund sports pitches, the planned primary school, and highway works.

The amount is £69.50 for every square metre of residential floorspace.

This rate considers that the developer is providing the healthcare facilities and community hub itself, rather than paying a contribution for them.

Education

A state-funded primary school with four classes per year group will be built by the council.

It must include nursery and early-years spaces, be usable by the community outside school hours, and be designed so that a special educational needs unit could be added.

A state-funded secondary school with seven classes per year group may be built, with these same design terms.

The new secondary will be paid for using money collected through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) from developments across the area.

Health

Healthcare facilities must be fitted out to NHS standards so the chosen NHS healthcare provider can start operating right away.

The council must try to secure an agreement with an NHS provider to use the healthcare space before 30 per cent of homes in the southern neighbourhood are occupied.