Plan to replace cladding at Maidenhead Travelodge building

Plans to replace cladding on the Travelodge building in Maidenhead town centre have been submitted to the Royal Borough.

The application, by Charterhouse Property Group, looks to carry out a range of works to remove and replace the existing cladding, brickwork and render system at 99 King Street.

It comes after a fire assessment found the building exterior was a ‘medium risk’.

The chain hotel has been at the site for 15 years and is set over six floors, with a reception on the ground floor.

The site also includes a Sainsbury’s store and Gascoigne Pees Estate Agents.

The building features a timber frame construction upwards from the first floor, and the current exterior finish includes a mixture of brickwork, cladding, spandrel panels and render.

The fire risk appraisal of external walls (FRAEW), carried out in March, found that the building is a ‘medium risk’.

It highlighted that there were elements of the external walls which contributed to this risk level, including the presence of ‘combustible ACM cladding’ and the ‘poor installation or lack of’ fire/cavity barriers to the building’s façade, across all wall types.

Buildings across the country have had their cladding replaced in recent years in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed 72 lives in 2017.

The proposed works look to limit or remove the items identified in the appraisal as having a ‘negative effect on the fire safety to the external walls of the building’.

The plans include replacing all the polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulation.

The replacement of PIR insulation needs to be carried out to meet current ‘building fire regulations while maintaining the current external façade aesthetic’, the design and access statement said.

Other works would include adding fire barriers where they are missing and removing the traditional brickwork and replacing it with a brick slip system.

Brick slips are sections of brick that are used as an alternative to cladding and provide a traditional brick effect.

The existing cladding panels would also be removed and replaced with a Swisspearl rainscreen system.

The current cavity render system (used on framed buildings to create a space between cladding and the structure) will be replaced with a new render system.

The design and access statement added: “The remediation strategy enables the building to remain operational throughout construction, minimising the disruption for the current businesses operating within the building.

“The internal layout, doors and window arrangements will remain unchanged by the external works.

“The scale of the building, parapet and stair core section will remain unchanged.

“The proposal will not affect the existing hard landscaping curtilage adjacent to buildings.

“The cladding replacement will closely match the existing materials to retain the original character and form of the current buildings.

“The specifications are in accordance with current fire safety regulations and guidance, ensuring a non-combustible external wall system that meets the performance requirements set out in the building regulations.

The works would not ‘alter existing site access arrangements’.

“All current connections to and from the main road and surrounding streets will remain as they are.

“There will be no impact on local transport links as a result of the scheme,” the design and access statement said.

Travelodge was contacted for further comment. The application can be found by typing in the reference number 25/03186/FULL into the Royal Borough’s planning portal.