| Project type: | New Urban Quarter |
| Location: | Maidenhead, UK |
| Client: | Areli Real Estate |
| Stage: | Hybrid Planning Application |
| Programme: | 2019 - ongoing |
On Wednesday 3 March 2021, after two years of community participation and design development, proposals for the transformation of the Nicholsons Shopping Centre into the new Nicholson Quarter have been approved unanimously by the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead.
For more information and to view the current proposals visit nicholsonquarter.co.uk. The most recent newsletter can be downloaded here.
Transforming a 1960s shopping centre into a street-based, mixed-use town centre.
Located in Maidenhead in Berkshire, the redevelopment of The Nicholsons Shopping Centre will see the comprehensive regeneration that will transform an obsolete, outdated 1960s single-use shopping centre into a new, vibrant, mixed-use quarter. The project is one of the first ‘shopping centre to town centre’ regeneration initiatives in the UK, designed specifically to address the changing landscape of high streets in our towns and cities.
Tikehau Capital and Areli Real Estate commissioned JTP to reimagine the site into a ground-breaking, people-focussed, mixed-use urban quarter that brings together several hundred new homes, workspace and flexible space for retail and restaurants. High-quality, new buildings will enclose and define new, open public realm in a more traditional urban form, reinstating the original streets and spaces lost by the development of the old shopping centre. Central to the plan will be the creation of ‘Sir Nicholas Winton Square,’ named by local residents in honour of Sir Nicholas’ extraordinary act of bravery during the Second World War.
The development proposals are grounded in extensive research and the largest public engagement ever undertaken in the borough. The Community Planning engagement process was led by JTP and saw several hundred people, including many schools and colleges taking part in multiple workshops and hands-on planning. The Nicholson Quarter development will join several other significant improvements in the town being proactively led by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
The planning application was submitted in June 2020.
Project Delivery
- The new urban quarter will provide several hundred new homes, workspace for over 2,000 thousand people, over 60 new flexible retail and restaurant units that will be carefully curated, breathing a new lease of life into this historic Thames Valley town.
- The Nicholson Quarter is designed around a sequence of open streets and spaces that connect and knit into the town.
- The creation of a central public square forms a new heart for the town, connected to the surrounding existing streets by a series of routes, each with their own character and purpose.
- The creation of Desborough Way forms a new pedestrian route to and from the station.
- To the north, The Yards include the formation of three narrow streets referencing the historic pattern of the area and connecting the new square to the high street and beyond.
- New east-west connections and the reinstatement of the lost historic routes will contribute to improved accessibility of Maidenhead’s Town Centre to existing residential neighbourhoods to the north and west.
- A commitment to proactive and participatory engagement with a dedicated website and smartphone app where the community can provide input.
Community Planning Engagement Background
- Community Planning Weekend: The Nicholsons Shopping Centre Community Planning Weekend, which was held from Friday 22 March to Tuesday 26 March 2019, was a chance to share local knowledge and contribute to creating a new Vision through facilitated workshops, walkabouts and hands-on planning groups. Some 500-people attended over 2 days. Please click here to view the project broadsheet.
- Report Back Presentation: After the public workshop days, the JTP-led team analysed and summarised the outcomes and drew up a Vision for The Nicholsons Centre, including an illustrative masterplan. This was presented back to the local community on Tuesday 26 March at St Mary’s Church Hall.
- Update Exhibition: Around 1,000 people from the local community attended the Nicholsons Community Update Exhibition in October 2019 to view and comment on the emerging proposals for the site. Please click here to view the exhibition boards in full and here to view the most recent broadsheet.
| Project type: | New Urban Quarter |
| Location: | Maidenhead, UK |
| Client: | Areli Real Estate |
| Stage: | Hybrid Planning Application |
| Programme: | 2019 - ongoing |
