Plans to build a major high street development in Ascot were withdrawn by developers days before councillors looked set to refuse them.

Developers London Square wanted to build 132 new homes with space for businesses, community use and open space on the fields just to the east of Ascot fire station.

But council planning officers said the proposal should be rejected by councillors at a meeting set for Tuesday, September 10. London Square withdrew the plans before the meeting – but said it was ‘disappointed’ by the officers’ recommendation.

A spokesperson said: “The council's recommendation was disappointing, especially in light of the years of collaborative work and negotiations between the London Square team and the council's planning department.”

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London Square first submitted the proposals to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council (RBWM) more than two years ago, in July 2022.

But after discussions and alterations, developers and council planning officers couldn’t reach an agreement on matters including affordable housing and access to transport.

Developers said a ‘significant proportion’ of the homes would have been designated for affordable housing – socially let, rented at less than market rates or sold under shared-ownership schemes.

They also said they would ensure the development was ‘well-served by public bus routes’ or ‘other innovative public transport solutions'. These would include a new bus stop, making the bus  ‘an attractive alternative to the private car for local journeys,’ according to a statement by Solve planning consultants.

But council planning officers say the proposals didn’t measure up to the demands of RBWM's rules.

Council rules say development at that site should include at least 40 per cent affordable housing at a range of sizes. But planning officers said far too few of those in the proposals would have been houses.

Some 49 of the 53 affordable homes were to be one, two or three bed flats, while only four of them would be houses.

And planning officers also say the plans failed to provide suitable connections to non-motorised forms of transport – adding to cars on the road.

On top of that officers also said some of the new buildings would overlook each other. And they said gardens for the three and four bedroom homes would not be large enough.

London Square formally withdrew its planning application on Friday, September 6. But a spokesperson suggested the developer hoped it could return with new plans in the future.

They said: “As the new landowners of the site, London Square remains hopeful that more constructive discussions with the council can take place in the future to assist in meeting with their objectives for the regeneration of Ascot.”