169 homes approved for former bus station site

Plans to allow 169 homes on the site of the former Bracknell Bus Station have been approved after a delay to allow more car parking off-site.

Bracknell Forest Cambium Partnership, a joint venture between Bracknell Forest Council and Countryside, proposed four blocks of between six and 17 storeys on the narrow 0.53-hectare site in Market Way.

Three of the blocks (A, B & C) will have a total 848 sq m of flexible commercial space on the ground floor with residential above while six-storey Block D will be 2,699 sq m of commercial space.

The application was due to go before Bracknell Forest Council’s advisory planning committee on January 20 but was deferred to February 24 due to concerns of committee chairman Cllr Colin Dudley that the proposed 92 spaces for the residential element was insufficient.

The delay allowed a further 46 parking spaces for residential and commercial elements of the scheme to be secured in town centre car parks.

The hybrid application includes full permission for Blocks A, B and C with outline permission for Block D, the tallest. Blocks B & C will adjoin one another. A breakdown shows 55 one bedroom flats, 105 with two and nine with three. Twenty-five per cent will be affordable.

Cllr Dudley told the February 24 meeting: “I am now happy with this application and an awful lot of work has been done with the officers over the last month. I think this is a good application and it really does comply with town centre living.”

The project team includes Child Graddon Lewis as architect and Montagu Evans as planning consultant.

The advisory committee has been set up as a way to allow online meetings to continue while councillors don’t wish to meet in person. If its decision goes against the recommendation a further meeting, consisting of a quorum of five members, will be held.

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