Policy information sourced from Windsor and Maidenhead Local Plan
QP1c Ascot Strategic Placemaking Area
Ascot strategic placemaking area
- Ascot Town Centre and immediate surrounding area will be rejuvenated through a combination of new developments, proactive management of change and support for community-led initiatives as a vibrant, multi-use green place that serves all parts of the Ascot community as well as being a retail focus for visitors to the Ascot racecourse. The existing community living in South Ascot will be better connected to the High Street and its facilities, so that the whole community is unified and cohesive.
- Development will be guided by an Ascot Strategic Placemaking Area Supplementary Planning Document produced by the Council in partnership with the local community, developers, landowners and other key stakeholders.
- The Ascot Strategic Placemaking Area encompasses the following allocated sites (identified on the Policies Map):
| Ref | Site | Use |
|---|---|---|
| AL16 | Ascot Centre, Ascot | Residential, retail, employment, communityuses,andpublicopen space |
| AL17 | Shorts Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Facility, St Georges Lane, Ascot | Residential |
| AL18 | Ascot Station Car Park | Residential and public car parking |
| AL20 | Heatherwood Hospital, Ascot | Residential and health uses |
Site specific requirements for each of the site allocations are contained in Appendix C and form part of this policy.
All new development in the Ascot Strategic Placemaking Area will need to adhere to the following place making principles:
- Improvements to the quality of the public realm, with the High Street improved through traffic calming to create a safer, more pedestrian and cyclist friendly environment.
- Improvements to the High Street to provide a high quality retail, cultural and leisure experience. This will include a village square on the southern side that will form a new heart to the centre and create a vibrant day and night time economy with primarily small independent shops, cafes/restaurants, community uses and civic buildings.
- The delivery of holistic residential-led mixed use development on development sites close to the High Street that has a distinct and exemplar design, is sympathetic to local character and existingcontextheightsandreflects thelocalarchitectural vernacular. Toachievethisdevelopers must work together to ensure that sites are not developed in isolation but instead are well integrated with each other and with surrounding uses.
- Improved connectivity within the area, including overcoming transport and physical barriers such as the railway line, so that the High Street heart is connected by footpaths, cycle ways and public transport to new and existing residential communities and Ascot railway station.
- Encouraging racecourse visitors to use sustainable means of transport to reach the venue and local communities to use their cars for fewer trips.
- Mitigation of the impact of residential development on the Thames Basin Heaths Special Protection Area through the provision of on-site Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG) to the south of Heatherwood Hospital and potentially to the south of St George’s School, or a contribution to existing SANG elsewhere.
- Improved connectivity to local and wider networks of green and blue infrastructure, including through the creation of new parks and ‘urban greening’ within development sites and enhanced biodiversity.
- New development that is built to high environmental standards and responds to the challenges of climate change.
- Provision of new employment opportunities on the Ascot Business Park and on the High Street toestablish Ascotasa moresignificantbusiness location,diversifyingtheeconomyandproviding jobs.
- Enhancement of the role of Ascot as a tourist location, including the provision of a new hotel close to the High Street and the racecourse.
For more information please see the Local Plan