New £37m medical centre and housing may not exceed 12 storeys in Surrey town

A new GBP37million medical centre and 100 per cent affordable housing scheme could be no higher than 12 storeys in Staines following pressure from Spelthorne councillors. Many councillors objected to the original 14-storey proposal and did not want to see more than 10 storeys in the scheme at Kingston Road car park. The council fears if it doesn’t make its mind up soon, it will be too expensive to build and they will lose “a one-off opportunity for Staines to future-proof modern healthcare provision”. Staines is one of six places in the UK to be chosen for an NHS pilot scheme delivering primary and secondary care together in a GBP37m health and wellbeing centre planned as part of the housing scheme.

The Cavell Centre, as it would be known, would reduce waiting times and replace the “falling apart” Staines Health Centre, the development sub-committee was told yesterday (April 5), with a direct warning: “If we continue delaying, the NHS is simply going to go elsewhere.” : Staines risks losing GBP37m health centre as councillors quarrel over building height The sub-committee had already backed the officers’ recommendation of two towers each with 14 and eight storeys – advised this was the only option that would break even – but last month it was thrown out by full council amid residents’ protests against tall buildings.

Now officers have revised their directive to reduce the heights to 12 and 10 on one tower and 12 and nine on the other. The council’s asset management contractor Richard Mortimer said: “I can’t reinforce enough that we do need to have a decision this month to get on with this scheme if we are going to.” The pilot schemes are running on “very tight timescales” and the latest the council could submit a planning application is this October. “The pressure is on,” he said. “That is a tight timescale, we do need to be pressing on with this.

It’s been made very clear to us that Surrey Heartlands and NHS England expect to see progress being made.” Meanwhile residents of some properties on Kingston Road are seething at the prospect of losing light and privacy to the new tower blocks. All committee members agreed to refer it to full council to make a decision on April 28.

The revised scheme would build 182 homes at 80 per cent of market rent, and 3,300 people and rising are on Spelthorne’s waiting list for housing. The rent is predicted to be GBP960 a month for a one-bed flat or between GBP1,120 -GBP1,240 for a two-bed when they become available around summer 2025. Councillor Michele Gibson (Con, Riverside and Laleham) said she thought this would not be affordable, and was told Benwell House showed that it worked.

The scheme would break even “at this point in time” said Mr Mortimer and, though forecast to bring in seven per cent less income than the original plan in the long-term, it would not have any impact on services.

He said they were delivering something that a private developer would not. Density of the development would be 193 dwellings per hectare – about half as much as the 389 dph for the Inland Homes’ 15-storey Thames Street development that was granted at appeal. Mr Mortimer said: “It’s very clear if this were a private developer on this site, he wouldn’t have been subjected to the moratorium, he would have actually been on site constructing this and you would be seeing probably upwards of 300 units on that site.” Council-run developments were put on hold in January 2021 when the cabinet voted for a moratorium in order to ask residents what they want.

The development sub-committee was told this delay had cost the council a total of GBP665,000 in security and interest costs: “GBP47,500 a month ticks away every time we hold back from making a decision”. But these numbers were “dwarved”, said Mr Mortimer, by inflation on building costs which had “resulted in the project incurring GBP13 million to date. If it continues at the rate it’s currently running at, it could lead to the scheme becoming unviable.”

Revised plans lower the maximum height to 12 storeys (Image: Spelthorne Borough Council)

Councillor Joanne Sexton (Independent Spelthorne Group, Ashford North and Stanwell South) said: “All I hear is that we’ve cost our residents money.

We do not want to cost our residents any money whatsoever. “We put it to the council to look at 10 and eight [storeys] and yet there was no desire. We could have proceeded with this last year, but unfortunately we’ve been determined to stick with the higher numbers and the higher density.

“The councillors do want to move forward, we do want to ensure that there is a balancing act in terms of the homes built in this borough and what our residents want.”

In a discussion about four semi-detached homes on Kingston Road, Cllr Sexton, who owns a house on Rosefield Road off Kingston Road, said: “Residents have been very much up in arms about what is going to be their view, their loss of light, their privacy – and they don’t want to live there anymore if this site proceeds.”

An officer responded: “We have to comply, as we intend to do, with all planning requirements to ensure we develop as a good neighbour.” If council makes a decision on April 28 the public should be consulted on the scheme in June.