Changes to Waitrose Bracknell HQ, 60 flats in plans lodged

At the Waitrose headquarters, the supermarket company has applied to store flammable gas at its Doncastle Road campus.

Meanwhile, in Wokingham, a plan has been submitted to knock down a building containing a bank and a DIY store and replace it with  60 homes.

And in the Berkshire countryside, another plan has been submitted to add new homes to an existing development in the area.

You can view the applications by typing the references in brackets into the relevant council’s planning portal.

Gas storage at Waitrose (23/00234/HSA)

Waitrose has The location plan for the application for flammable gas storage at Waitrose HQ in Doncastle Road, Bracknell Credit CNG Fuels applied to store tonnes of gas at its headquarters in Bracknell.

Specifically, it wants to store 32 tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 1.5 tonnes of bio-compressed natural gas (CNG) between Doncastle Road and its Distribution Warehouse on the site.

The gasses can be used as fuel for trucks.

The storage of the gas requires consent from the council as it is a hazardous substance that is flammable and therefore presents a fire risk.

Consent has previously been granted to store flammable gas at the Waitrose campus, with the company providing proof of this in an approval from the council from April 2021.

Addition of five homes at controversial roadside development (23/00200/FUL)

The Furzefield development off Locks Ride between Winkfield and Chavey Down seen in October 2022. Credit: Google Maps

Nicholas King Homes has applied to add five homes at its controversial Furzefield development off Locks Ride, Winkfield Row.

The development is currently made up of four home buildings which are occupied, with Nicholas King Homes submitted a plan to expand into remaining land.

A coloured block plan for the application to build five homes at the Furzefield development, Locks Ride, Winkfield Row. Credit: Ascot Design

The developer is seeking to build one five-bed home and four four-bed houses.

Furzefield has proven controversial, as a previous plan for seven homes, application 20/00571/FUL, was rejected by the council’s planning committee in December 2021.

New buildings containing 60 flats for town centre (Wokingham app 230881)

A CGI of what the Market Place project could look like in Wokingham town centre. Credit: A I Architecture Initiative

A development company called Devonshire Metro Ltd has applied to replace 19/21 Market Place with three new blocks.

The existing building contains Robert Dyas and Lloyds Bank, and has distinctive brick features.

Devonshire Metro wants to build three new buildings in its place, with ‘Block A’ containing two separate frontages and a covered arcade leading to blocks B and C to the rear.

19-21 Market Place, Wokingham as it is now, the wave shaped building containing Robert Dyas and Lloyds Bank. Credit: Google Maps

In total, the development would provide 21 one-bed, 24 two-bed and five three-bed apartments.

Additionally, the proposal provides four retail units at building class E, which covers shops, offices cafes and restaurants.

Replacement of garages with bungalow (Wokingham app 230887)

Floorplans for a proposal to replace a row of garages off Heathlands Road in rural Wokingham with a two bedroom bungalow. Credit: Paul Edwards Architecture (Image: Paul Edwards Architecture)

A landowner has applied to replace a row of five garages with a bungalow south of Bevere Lodge in Heathlands Road outside Wokingham.

The bungalow would contain two double bedrooms with shower en-suites and an open plan kitchen and living area.