
Save Chapel Arches and Maidenhead\'s Waterways!


The developer\'s planning application for the former cinema site at Chapel Arches in Maidenhead should be REJECTED by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead because it: - would change the existing permitted use from leisure, removing the potential for a major public amenity at this pivotal town centre site; - is an overdevelopment of the site, with an over 30,000 sq ft office block that is substantially larger and taller than the existing (disused) building; - the proposed building footprint would come within 5 metres of the York Stream, with an overhang that encroaches even further. The building would threaten some existing mature trees and dominate the waterside area; - the building would permanently block up two of the smaller c18th century arches (currently filled and behind hoarding) of the historic Chapel Arches bridge - one of the oldest remaining structures in Maidenhead - that adjoins the site; - although the landscaping plans improve access to the Green Way cycle and footpath, they would compromise rather than help the plans to restore and enlarge the York Stream into a recreational waterway and town centre amenity.
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