Comments on Application 26/01400/FULL  Erection of a 5-6 storey building comprising 62 residential dwellings (Use Class C3), together with associated public open space, vehicular parking, and access from Vanwall Road Land At Costain House Vanwall Road Maidenhead.

The applicant acknowledges that the proposal is non-compliant in certain aspects and seeks approval on the grounds of a tilted balance. The non-compliant areas include:

• Housing mix and affordable housing
• Height
• Car parking provision
• Biodiversity

The reasons given to reduce car parking provision are the standard ones used by developers, and, if accepted, mean that the Parking SPD is no longer valid, as any development within 30 minutes' walking time of central Maidenhead can provide a reduced level of parking (that is, most developments in Maidenhead!). The acid test is to refer to the recently completed Costain House development next door. This application, 24/01824/CLAMA, allocated 53 spaces for 38 dwellings. If the parking spaces allocated in this development have not been utilized, then the claim by the applicant that reduced parking is satisfactory can be upheld. If not, such a claim is spurious.

Residents have cars for purposes other than commuting to work, and even then, this assumes that they exclusively use Maidenhead Station or the local bus service or work in a town centre office. They may walk to such a destination on a fine day with temperate weather, but that does not mean that they will not want a car for other purposes, such as shopping, visiting friends and relatives, holiday travel, etc. The fact is that most people will not choose to walk for more than 20 minutes to a destination, although they may be physically capable of doing so. Refer to the Chartered Institution of Highways document “Planning for Walking”. Encouraging people to walk is commendable, but unfortunately, restricting car parking spaces all too frequently leads to illegal parking and parking on estate road pavements.

The obvious solution, which addresses both the height and car parking issues, is to reduce the height of the development by one floor, maintaining the number of car parking spaces.

The site lies adjacent to a busy railway line and a motorway. Special acoustic measures need to be undertaken, and apartment windows will need to be closed for most, if not all, the day. Ventilation, which restricts the intake of particulates, is very important. Requirement F1 of the UK Building Regulations dictates that all buildings must have adequate means of ventilation to safeguard occupant health, remove excess moisture, and dilute indoor pollutants. This is achieved through a mix of extract, background, and purge ventilation. Section 2 of the ventilation regulations is very specific regarding the control and location of inlets and outlets where urban traffic is a source of pollution. The submitted documents do not give confidence that these ventilation requirements will be achieved.

The RBWM Building Control Department should be made aware of the location of this site, which is subject to above-average levels of noise and particulates.

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