The ‘triangle’ of Broadway, King Street and Queen Street - proposed for redevelopment by ING Real Estate - represents one of the most significant opportunities for revitalising the town centre in many years. Now a detailed draft planning brief for the site is out for a six-week public consultation and the council is keen to hear what local people think.

The brief - called a supplementary planning document and prepared by the Royal Borough in association with the Partnership for the Rejuvenation of Maidenhead (PRoM) - makes it clear that any development should provide:

•       an improved range and quality of shopping

•       better access for visitors coming from the station

•       attractive public spaces that improve the town centre environment

•       a greater mix of uses, such as restaurants, cafés, flats and offices to extend town centre use into the evenings

•       town centre car parking.

Cllr Alison Knight, lead member for planning, said: “The triangle site is a crucial part of the town and we must be very clear about how it should be developed. We have a great opportunity to regenerate this area with new shops, businesses and town centre housing, as well as aiming for major improvements to the links from Maidenhead station.

“We are delighted that ING has expressed such a positive interest in taking forward a scheme with such potential for the town but the planning brief is a generic document that would apply to any developer and we need to make sure that it covers everything we want to see for such a key site.

“Now that the brief is out for consultation we want as many people as possible to give us their views.”

Consultation

The consultation is open until Friday September 26. A full version of the draft planning brief and associated documents are now available at www.rbwm.gov.uk <http://www.rbwm.gov.uk>

An exhibition, staffed by council planning policy officers, will be staged on:

•       Thursday September 4 at the Town Hall, St Ives Road (10am - 5pm)

•       Saturday September 6 in the Nicholsons Shopping Centre (10am - 2pm).

Questionnaires will be available at the exhibition and the council is also encouraging residents to respond online at <http://consultation.limehouse.co.uk/index.do?identifier=rbwm>

Following the consultation, a report will go to cabinet in the autumn for final approval and adoption of the planning brief.