Planning round-up: Proposals submitted to turn former Bridge House pub into family home

These are the latest planning applications for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

Pending: The former Bridge House pub in Maidenhead could be turned into a home if the Royal Borough approves the plans.

Bridge House in Paley Street closed down in January 2023, and since then, the Grade-II listed building has been left vacant and derelict.

In 2025, a bid to turn it into a home was refused because the plans did not demonstrate there was no longer a need for a pub at the location.

Although the pub is located in the greenbelt, this was not a reason for refusal previously, with the council being ‘satisfied’ that the conversion would be an ‘appropriate form of development’.

Now, Carlin Capital, the applicant, submitted a revised set of plans after getting additional advice from council officers.

The Braywood, Jolly Gardener and White Hart are all nearby to the former pub – showing there is no need for The Bridge House to be kept as a pub itself, the application documents said.

The proposals look to upgrade the ‘poor quality’ existing single-storey extensions, which would create more space for the conversion of the pub into a four-bed home.

A listed barn on site will be kept and restored to be used as a garage and storage area.

The car park in front of the building will be reduced and reconfigured to make way for a patio area.

To view the full plans, insert 26/00478 into rbwm.gov.uk

Refused: The Royal Borough has refused a bid to demolish a vacant bungalow and garage to make way for three family homes.

Satalan Developments, the applicant, submitted plans looking to redevelop a site in Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, into three four-bed homes.

A similar application looking to knock down the vacant bungalow on the site and make way for four homes was refused in 2024 and dismissed at appeal over loss of trees.

The revised scaled-down plans would have ‘ensured that no harm to the trees would arise’, the application documents said.

These said: “The proposal provides an opportunity to make more efficient use of a currently underused, vacant and dilapidated site in the built-up area of Maidenhead.”

Each home would have two parking spaces, cycle storage and garden space.

This would ‘offer considerable opportunity for biodiversity enhancement’, the application documents added.

But objections were lodged against the plans, raising concerns about the impact on the privacy of neighbouring properties and the loss of trees bounding the site.

One comment, however, recognised the existing bungalow is in a ‘highly dilapidated state’ and ‘continues to suffer from anti-social behaviour’.

It said the redevelopment scheme would have a ‘highly positive impact’ for neighbouring properties.

Ultimately, planning officers turned down the proposals, saying they failed to show how the development would not have a detrimental impact on ‘significant high amenity trees.’

A bat survey and a legal agreement with the developer’s carbon off-set contribution were also missing from the application.

To view the full plans, insert 25/03188 into rbwm.gov.uk

Approved: A cottage near the historic Bisham Abbey will have improvement works carried out.

Bisham Abbey is a Grade-I listed building, with the origins of the site dating back to the 13th century. It came into public ownership in 1946.

The building is now used as a national sports centre managed on behalf of Sport England, but it is also used for weddings and conferences.

Stable Cottage, located to the south of the listed building, is part of the complex of buildings that were built to serve the abbey.

In February, Sport England, the applicant, received permission from the council to carry out ‘essential conservation’ works at Bisham Abbey.

It now lodged another application, looking to upgrade the windows of Stable Cottage ‘to improve the building’s thermal performance and longevity’.

The windows will have a heritage-style glazing system put in place to make sure they are ‘a like-for-like’ replacement.

To view the full plans, insert 26/00028 into rbwm.gov.uk