Plans for major 101-home development in Ascot town centre approved

A major development which will see 101 new homes built in the centre of Ascot was approved last night (Thursday) – despite one councillor describing it as having ‘absolutely no soul’.

Objectors packed into a Windsor and Ascot development committee meeting at York House to hear councillors debate controversial proposals to redevelop land south of the High Street and next to Ascot Fire Station.

The development would also include a piazza, commercial and community space, and would retain a parkland area.

A planning application seeking permission to build 132 homes on the site was first submitted in 2022.

But last year the plans were withdrawn, and London Square Developments Ltd submitted scaled-down proposals in April this year.

At last night’s meeting, the plans were met with objections from both councillors and residents.

They included concerns that a proposed 318sqm community building was ‘simply too small’ for Ascot’s rejuvenation, and the type of homes on offer.

The majority of the 101 homes will be flats in three-and-a-half storey apartment blocks, with 29 houses also proposed. The development would include 40 social rented flats.

In a written submission to the panel, Councillor Sally Coneron (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill) backed objectors and reminded the committee that a public consultation was only carried out for the original 132 homes application rather than the altered plans.

Cllr Coneron said: “What this area desperately needs is homes that young families can actually afford to buy.

“Families are being priced out of their local housing market.”

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Rosalind Graham argued the scaled-down scheme will be a ‘catalyst for positive change’ in Ascot.

Mrs Graham said: “At the heart of the scheme is a commitment to community, character and connection.

“It’s about creating a vibrant, green, inclusive heart for Ascot.”

But registered speaker Councillor Julian Sharpe (Con, Ascot and Sunninghill) said the scheme will deliver ‘more housing estates and absolutely no soul’.

Cllr Sharpe said: “Ascot was supposed to get a vibrant centre.

“Instead, we’ve got a housing scheme dressed up as ‘regeneration’ with a community space so squeezed it might as well be a broom cupboard… and retail and parking so minimal you’ll need binoculars to spot it.

“What is left is a plan that delivers more homes, less heart.”

Cllr Sharpe said that people aren’t against more homes.

But he added that a Cala Homes development and another 230 homes on the former Heatherwood Hospital site were already approved.

Councillors on the committee also raised concerns about the limited parking, and the possibility of overspill on to the High Street.

The proposals promise 135 parking spaces, including garages for some of the future homes.

Cllr Mark Wilson (Lib Dem, Eton and Castle) said: “There is quite a risk that there will be overspill from both residents and visitors to the site.

“It just feels like the developer is trying to be too greedy, trying to squeeze too much in.”

Cllr Neil Knowles (Ind, Old Windsor), the committee’s chair, agreed that parking was also one of his ‘main concerns’.

Cllr Knowles: “This [application] has been hanging around like the Ghost of Christmas Past.

“I have reservations about parking. I know what Ascot High Street is like at the best of times.”

James Cross, major projects team manager, said a parking management plan is one of the conditions for the application.

Under planning rules, local authorities must demonstrate they can deliver enough housing over a five-year period to meet their targets.

If they cannot, the ‘tilted balance’ comes into play, meaning the presumption is in favour of approving a planning application unless the harm it causes would ‘significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits’.

Councillor Gurch Singh (Lib Dem, St Mary’s) said: [The borough] doesn’t have a five-year housing land supply which means that the balance is in favour of the development to go through.”

Councillors ultimately voted in favour of the plans, with four votes for and two against, but a condition for CCTV and security around parking was added.

The application has to meet a total of 32 conditions.