Abri has submitted a planning application to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) for the redevelopment of Sawyers Close, Windsor. This follows three years of work by the project team, which has included multiple rounds of important consultation with customers and neighbours, assessments and detailed design work.
The proposed redevelopment would involve the demolition of the 192 homes in the four existing buildings and their replacement with 413 new homes including houses and apartments.
The redevelopment also includes a purpose-built community space, cycle hub, new children’s play equipment, comprehensive biodiverse landscaping, and a new access to the site from Smiths Lane.
All the new homes will be affordable, either through reprovision of existing social rented homes, affordable rent or shared ownership. A new home will be provided at Sawyers Close for every household currently living there, while the additional homes will be for those who are in housing need locally.
Visualisations of the submitted application are available to view on this page alongside layouts of the different home types. Please scroll to the end of this page.
Rose Bean, Director of Assets & Sustainability, said: ‘We are pleased to have reached this important milestone on our journey to deliver a new Sawyers Close.’
‘These important proposals have the opportunity to improve the lives of our customers who currently live at Sawyers Close while also providing much-needed new affordable homes for others in the local area.’
‘At the outset of this process, we made a commitment to our customers; that they would only have to move once, from their current home into their new one. The proposals that we have put forward in this application meet this commitment.’
‘We are extremely grateful to all who took the time to take part in our consultations over the last 12 months. The feedback that we have received has been crucial to refining the design in our application.’
‘Should our application be approved, we will continue to work with our customers and the wider community during construction and beyond.’
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will now consider the application and conduct its own formal statutory consultation. The application has been given the reference number: 23/01090/FULL.
The application can be viewed on RBWM’s website: https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/planning/find-planning-application
A decision is expected to be made by the council’s planning committee later this year.
The plans as submitted have been shaped by conversations that Abri has had with its customers, neighbours and the wider community. These include a consultation event in June 2022 that was attended by over 140 people. Abri has also considered feedback from RBWM officers and Design South East, a local panel of design experts that provides advice and guidance on major schemes.
To guide the redevelopment of the site, Abri submitted a Stakeholder Masterplan Document to the Royal Borough which was approved by the Cabinet Committee at its meeting on 30 March 2023. The approved Stakeholder Masterplan Document is available to view here. The planning application that Abri has submitted accords with this Masterplan.
The redevelopment includes the existing Sawyers Close estate and land to the south that will be transferred to Abri by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead once the development is completed.
The existing playing fields to the east of Sawyers Close – Dedworth Manor Park – will be retained with new walking and cycling routes provided through the site to Smiths Lane improving accessibility.
To find out more, call Freephone 0800 169 6507.Planning application submitted
