Town's £500m shopping centre revamp approved

The plan was approved by councillors on Thursday

A £500m plan to transform a shopping centre and replace much of it with new homes has been approved.

The redevelopment of Nicholsons in Maidenhead, Berkshire, will see 856 flats built on the site, as well as 55 retail units.

A public square named after Sir Nicholas Winton - who lived in the town and is often dubbed the "British Schindler" for saving Jewish children during World War Two - will become Maidenhead's "new centre stage", developers said.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said the approval was subject to a Section 106 agreement in which the council would seek a financial contribution towards improving car parks in the area.

Areli applied to demolish and rebuild the Nicholsons centre with shops, flats and a new car park and public spaces back in 2020, with initial permission being granted in 2021.

An updated application submitted earlier this year sought to build the flat units, a 450-space multi-storey car park, shops and green spaces.

All buildings on the site except Nicholson House and Brock House will be knocked down for the redevelopment, which will include four buildings which will be 10, 13, 17 and 20 storeys tall respectively.

Most of the flats will be one-bedroom apartments and 100 of them will be for the over 75s only.

More homes will be built in Berkshire town centres over the coming years.

The Hollywood Bowl at The Point in Bracknell closed for the final time last month, ahead of a redevelopment that will include hundreds of homes.

Another 640 homes are planned for Broad Street Mall in Reading and redevelopment plans for 317 homes at Newbury's Kennet Centre were approved in September.