Slough Grand Union Canal homes plan agreed

The scheme has been in the pipeline for almost three decades

Plans to build more than 300 homes at the end of the Grand Union Canal in Slough have been agreed.

Ten new buildings of up to eight storeys will be built at Stoke Wharf.

The scheme, which has been in the pipeline for nearly three decades, has been opposed by current residents who say it is too close to their homes.

The developer said windows in the new properties would be angled or made opaque to prevent existing homes from being overlooked.

The 312 homes on the brownfield site will comprise of 31 studio flats, 126 one-bedroom flats, 138 two-bedroom flats, eight two-bedroom mews houses and nine three-bedroom townhouses.

Councillor Dexter Smith, who represents Colnbrook with Poyle, was the only member of Slough Borough Council's planning committee to oppose the plans at Wednesday's meeting.

He said: "I'm still concerned about the height of the development, the density of it, and what I say is overdevelopment of the site.

"We've always said there's a shortage in family housing in Slough and this isn't contributing to it."

'High-rise city centre'

Developers Stoke Wharf Developments - a partnership between Slough Urban Renewal, Muse, and the Canal and River Trust - initially submitted plans with 16% affordable housing, despite the council having a policy of 30% minimum.

That was increased to 20.5% in the latest plans, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A petition signed by 228 people urged councillors to refuse the scheme on the grounds that it would turn the residential area into a "high-rise city centre".