New 11-storey block of flats to the rear of Slough High Street proposed

A new 11-storey block of flats could go up adjacent to Slough High Street if the council gives its approval.

A full planning application has been lodged for the redevelopment of the car park to the rear of number 198, Slough High Street. This is approximately to the back of Admiral Casino.

The current car park is set off and accessible via Herschel Street. It serves surrounding buildings with 26 parking spaces.

Modage Ltd, a Harrow-based real estate company, has put in an application on this site for an 11-storey residential block.

It would comprise 28 flats with associated parking, a gate, cycle provision and waste storage.

The 28 flats would be made up of six studio flats, a single one-bed flat for a lone person; nine one-bedroom flats for two people; and 13 two-bed flats for three people.

The site has an overall area of about 463sqm. The proposal will have a ground floor footprint of 266sqm.

As for the parking spaces, these will drop from 26 down to just five visitor parking spaces, implying no parking spaces for residents of the block.

Five car parking spaces is ‘sufficient’ for this development according to Transport and Highway Guidance, claims the applicant and its representatives, The White House Design Ltd (Slough-based architects).

“The proposal will encourage residents to use greener modes of transport such as public transport, cycling and walking and reduce the use of cars in the area, which will overall reduce emissions,” they wrote.

Design-wise, there is set to be a communal area on each floor to the right-hand side, making for about three flats on each floor.

This is set to be a ‘generous and comfortable accommodation and amenity space,’ claim the applicants.

Building a block of flats here fits with Slough policies for intensification of town-centre accommodation, the aim of which is to reduce the need to build on the greenbelt or other more open areas.

Working off this in support of its application, the applicants wrote that this application helped with this concentration of development.

“The design of development on Herschel Street will add to the number of dwellings and… would provide new homes in the centre and heart of Slough,” they wrote.

“We believe the design should be a welcomed addition to Herschel Street, an ever-growing street scene.”

See all plans using reference P/20369/000 in Slough council’s planning portal.