Councillors in Slough will be asked to approve the acquisition of a section of land formerly part of the AkzoNobel site.

The borough council’s cabinet is set to approve the purchase of the southern section of the scheme which has permission for up to 1,000 homes.

The northern element has permission for an industrial scheme. It was sold by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) to Panattoni before the developer was granted consent for the scheme in August 2020.

The cost, which has not been disclosed, which will be met through borrowing and use of the council’s capital budget.

Cllr James Swindlehurst, leader of the council and lead member for regeneration, said: “It has sometimes been frustrating that major developments in the town are only in our hands as a planning application with little or no real control over the final outcome.

“By buying this land, we are in control over the destiny of the site, can direct it to provide the most benefit to local residents and ensure it joins with other regeneration in the centre square mile to both align with and complement our overall strategy for this part of our town

“Providing high-quality homes across the social, affordable and private housing sectors is a strategic priority for us as the council

“With the proposal including at least 25 per cent affordable housing we want to provide local quality homes for local people, with control over the public areas to provide a holistic and improved environment.

“We have aspirations for an even greater proportion of the site to be social and affordable housing and to make this a flagship scheme for our emerging sustainability and transport strategies and will be continuing this work once we have secured the site.

“For these reasons I will be recommending this purchase to the cabinet.”

The meeting is at 6.30pm on Monday, January 18.

Image shows the entire site with the residential element in yellow at the bottom.

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