Major plans for 1,500 homes on Maidenhead Golf Course set to be debated next month

The much-anticipated council debate on 1,500 homes planned for Maidenhead Golf Course will take place next month.

Plans to build 1,500 homes on the golf course have been in the planning system for a full year, since January 2024.

The council has faced criticism from opposition Conservative councillors over ‘delays’ in resolving the future of the golf course site.

Now an Extraordinary Maidenhead Development Management Committee is set for Thursday, February 13, starting at 6pm.

An extraordinary council meeting is usually held when there is a matter to be debated that cannot wait until the next ordinary scheduled meeting. This can include a high-profile or complex planning application that requires timely attention.

This week, another extraordinary meeting was set for Tuesday, January 14 – which was the expected date of the golf course discussion.

Maidenhead Great Park (MGP) campaign group had planned a demonstration outside Maidenhead Town Hall accordingly yesterday evening, and cancelled it when the golf course did not appear on the meeting agenda.

Instead, the extraordinary meeting yesterday examined an application for a seven-storey building fronting West Street which would provide 57 flats and an undercroft car park.

The Royal Borough has since confirmed that the council is intending to add the golf course discussion to the agenda for the Maidenhead Development Management Meeting scheduled for February 13.

This may still be subject to change.

Given this new information, Debbie Ludford, member of MGP campaign group, said she expects the group will once again arrange ‘some kind of presence’ outside the town hall to demonstrate their continued staunch opposition to the plans.

“We always say to people that they can still object [to this application] if you want to,” said Debbie.

In addition, the group is still planning on holding a community consultation on February 22 (10am to 4pm) at Larchfield Community Centre over its ambition to purchase the golf course land as an Asset of Community Value.

As ever, in advance of the February 13 development panel, officers of RBWM's planning team will make recommendations as to which way they think the panel should go - whether to approve or refuse the plans.

These recommendations, and other papers, usually appear in the public domain approximately a week before. In this case, they are expected by Friday, February 7, and can be viewed in full in RBWM’s meeting calendar.

The outline plan for 1,500 by Cala Homes also includes a primary and secondary school, a local centre with small-scale café, retail, and commercial spaces and public open spaces with landscaping.

There were 434 documents logged in RBWM’s planning portal associated with these proposals at the time of publication, including 186 objection letters.

See all plans with reference 24/00091/OUT on the portal at: publicaccess.rbwm.gov.uk/online-applications