View from the riverbank: Another Slough news day

Back to School

After many years, the property sector can, at last, see the TVU (Thames Valley University) site as a development, rather than a mirage.

Now tagged as the North West Quadrant – which, of course, begs questions about the other quadrants and their location in Slough – it’s another of the town’s cracking central sites and is located in a prime Thames Valley location.

The scale and ambition is impressive and the involvement of Muse Developments, part of the mighty Morgan Sindall Group empire, which has worked in the borough of Slough in one shape or another for many years, represents a massive step forward for the site and a cause for optimism about its potential completion.

We hope that the proposed scheme, due to be submitted in the next few weeks, has ambition and design merit to reflect the importance of its location, while respecting the buildings surrounding it, such as the Future Works and the Porter Building.

A few issues which niggle

Some years ago, Thames Tap reported that BA was looking at the site as a possible alternative to its head offices at Waterside which were to be demolished as part of the Heathrow expansion and the third runway masterplan.

Given the continual delay in the arrival of the Elizabeth Line – now looking likely to be 2022 – question marks over expansion of Heathrow and the painfully slow progress of the Western Rail Link (WRLtH), some of the shine on this jewel in the Thames Valley property crown, may no longer be so bright.