DEMOLITION work on the town’s former Bentalls department store could soon get underway, kickstarting the next phase of Bracknell’s regeneration.
Proposals to bulldoze the site, which come as part of redevelopment plans to create The Deck, have been sent to Bracknell Forest Council and are awaiting approval.
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Papers submitted by the Bracknell Regeneration Partnership show the group hopes to sort out paperwork and permits by the end of January, with scaffolding and hoarding going up at The Ring by the start of February.
Should planning permission be granted, the first set of demolition works to the inner building are expected to begin a week later on Friday, February 8.
These works are expected to last nine weeks, finishing in the middle of April.
At the same time, demolition works on the outer perimeter of the building will take place and are expected to be complete by early May.
READ MORE: Funding approved for Bracknell regeneration project The Deck
Finishing touches and minor works will take the demolition project to the end of May, with demobilisation from the site set to be complete by early June.
It is hoped demolition experts will hand over the site to builders by June 3, 2021.
According to documents submitted by the applicant, the demolition works will cost £690,000.
Should planning permission be granted for the condition to demolish Bentalls, work would take place from 8am to 6pm every weekday, and up to 1pm on Saturdays.
Demolishing Bentalls would make space for The Deck, a new public space featuring bars, restaurants and entertainment which would link Princess Square to The Lexicon.
Plans to create The Deck were approved in 2017 but this new submission is to discharge two conditions related to the demolition of Bentalls which were attached to the original application.
The regeneration scheme is behind schedule — one of the partners involved in the project originally told retailers units would be available from Spring 2019.
READ MORE: Reactions to new retailers announced for The Deck
Now it is expected to be complete by August 2022, according to a report from planning consultants WSP.
Developers of The Deck received a boost in November 2020 when it was confirmed almost £1 million in taxpayer cash would help fund the demolition of Bentalls.
Bracknell Regeneration Partnership argued this money was needed to kickstart the project after an economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
This funding will add to the £12 million the BRP are putting into the project and the £6 million being contributed by Bracknell Forest Council.
Adverts for leasings of the new units are already being advertised on a property website, with rental costs ranging from £60,000 to £143,000 per year.
Last month, Bracknell Forest Council confirmed the Princess Square service yard site was transferred to the BRP prior to the regeneration of the town in exchange for improvement works to the Charles Square Car Park link bridge, following a Freedom of Information request from resident David Luck.
For full details of the plan to demolish Bentalls, which is still currently being assessed by the council, enter planning reference 20/00155/COND at planapp.bracknell-forest.gov.uk
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