Planning round-up: New academy approved as housing and heritage plans decided

These are the latest planning applications for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

Approved: The council approved plans for a new training academy at Sunningdale Golf Club.

Sunningdale Golf Club was first founded in 1900 and has two 18-hole golf courses across the site.

The club is now looking to add a training academy, which will provide a ‘state-of-the-art facility’.

A design and access statement submitted as part of the application by Lewandowsky Architects said: “This investment [into the academy] should be seen as an already invaluable asset within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.”

The academy will include indoor and outdoor practice swing rooms, a putting green room, an office, as well as fitness and screening rooms.

Twelve existing practice bays will also have a covered structure installed so that these can be used in different weather conditions.

Enter 23/03173/FULL into rbwm.gov.uk to view the full plans.

Pending: A fresh set of plans have been submitted to turn an office building in Moorbridge Road into flats.

The four-storey building, based at 72-80 Moorbridge Road, has been the subject of a number of applications for new housing over the past 18 months.

In August 2024, the applicant, RAW Group Sub 1 Ltd, submitted a prior approval application to the council seeking to convert the office space into 36 flats.

But the council refused these original plans because planning officers believed nationally described space standards (NDSS) were not met.

Scaled down plans were submitted in September this year for 27 flats but these were also rejected.

The council said this was because not all the flats would get ‘adequate natural light’. It added that the proposals included changes to the exterior of the building, which falls beyond the remit of a prior approval application.

The ‘prior approval’ process allows developers to convert offices into flats without a full planning application, as long as they meet a nationally set checklist of requirements.

A new application has now been lodged with the council for 28 flats that will be able to accommodate up to 46 residents if the plans are approved.

The mix of apartments proposed include studio flats as well as one and two-bed apartments.

The planning statement said the revised plans ‘meet or exceed’ national space standards (NSPs) for all the flats.

Enter 25/03167/CLAMA into rbwm.gov.uk to view the full plans.

Refused: The council rejected proposals for conservation works to be carried out at Bisham Abbey.

Serco Group, the applicant, was looking to repair and conserve some ‘vulnerable elements’ of Bisham Abbey, including its windows, chimneys, stonework and masonry.

The Grade I listed manor house in Bisham’s conservation area dates back to the 13th century.

Today, Bisham Abbey operates as a national sports centre managed on behalf of Sports England, but is also used for weddings and conferences.

A design and access statement submitted on behalf of the applicant by Martin Ashley Architects said: “The works … focus on areas where material decay, previous inappropriate repairs or structural issues require intervention.”

But the Royal Borough turned down the proposals.

Council planning officers said the application required a bat survey and failed to demonstrate the proposals would not have an adverse ecological impact on protected species and local biodiversity.

Enter 25/02374/LBC into rbwm.gov.uk to view the full plans.