Maidenhead approves £500m shopping centre to town centre conversion

Areli Real Estate and Tikehau Capital have been granted consent for a £500m new town centre at Nicholson Quarter in Maidenhead. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead’s planning committee unanimously approved the application to replace the 1960s shopping centre on 3 March. The plans on the 7.4-acre site, named after World War II veteran Sir Nicholas Winton, have been dubbed the UK’s first shopping centre to town centre conversion. The mixed-use scheme from JTP Architects will deliver 346 homes, 307 senior living or extra care homes, 323,000 sq ft of office space, 60 shops and 1.5 acres of open space at Sir Nicholas Winton Square. It also includes bicycle parking and electric vehicle charging points. Maidenhead approved the hybrid application, which includes detailed plans for the residential portion in two towers of up to 25 storeys and a building of up to 15 storeys, a four-storey office and the public space. The site was previously home to the 190,000 sq ft Nicholsons Shopping Centre with a number of office buildings above and around the retail. It is located 500m to the north-east of Maidenhead railway station. The development is the latest in a flurry of shopping centre conversions as investors seek to turn surplus or redundant retail space in Greater London and the commuter belt region into higher-demand residential. Capital & Regional partnering with Long Harbour, Crosstree and InfraRed are all planning residential-led schemes of scale. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette Photo: Areli Real Estate