Three warehouses on the old Haleon toothpaste factory site won 5-0. Then 62 flats at Costain House were refused over parking, against officer advice.
The former toothpaste factory on Norreys Drive in Maidenhead can be knocked down and replaced with three warehouses. Councillors on the Maidenhead Development Management Committee backed the scheme unanimously on Thursday 17 September.
The same committee then refused a 62-flat block on the car park at Costain House, on Vanwall Business Park next door. Planning officers had recommended approval. Councillors said there was not enough parking and the site was poorly connected to the rest of Maidenhead.
The minutes of the meeting were published on 24 September and are the source for every vote in this article. (Minutes, Maidenhead Development Management Committee, 17 September 2026)
The factory: approved 5-0, with extra conditions on lorries
The application, 26/01344/FULL, covers the 3.8-hectare site that Haleon left in March 2026. The developer Firethorn plans three units totalling 19,175 square metres for general industry or storage and distribution. We set out the full scheme, the jobs claim and residents’ noise concerns before the vote. (Committee report, 26/01344/FULL)
Councillor Jack Douglas proposed approval and Councillor Suzanne Cross seconded it. All five councillors present voted for it. Councillor Douglas added three changes to what officers had proposed:
- Condition 9 must now include measures to stop vehicles waiting on the road
- the highways agreement (known as a Section 278 agreement) should consider yellow lines, signs telling lorries to turn right only, and a pedestrian crossing on Norreys Drive
- Condition 6 must include signs about the works
Permission is not issued yet. Planning officers can grant it once a legal agreement, known as a Section 106 agreement, is signed. That has to happen within six months of the vote, which means by mid-March 2027.
Councillor Gurch Singh declared that he had spoken to the applicants before the meeting. The minutes record that he came to it with an open mind.
Costain House: 62 flats refused against officer advice
The second big scheme, 26/01400/FULL, was a five and six-storey block of 62 flats on part of the empty car park at Costain House, off Vanwall Road. The applicant was Zake Maidenhead Limited. (Committee report, 26/01400/FULL)
The report set out the scheme:
- 8 studios, 22 one-bedroom, 28 two-bedroom and 4 three-bedroom flats
- all 62 for private sale, with no affordable homes
- 37 car parking spaces, 3 of them for disabled drivers, and 97 cycle spaces
- up to 17.1 metres at its tallest
The council’s own highways team objected before the meeting. It said the borough’s 2026 parking rules required 66 spaces, a shortfall of 30. The applicant’s transport statement forecast demand for about 48 cars. Officers accepted that forecast, pointed to a planned car club vehicle, and recommended approval anyway.
Councillor Cross proposed refusal and Councillor Mark Howard, the chair, seconded it. The minutes give two reasons:
- the unsuitable number of parking spaces
- the lack of good connections between the site and the rest of Maidenhead
The motion cites policies DP3, TR3 and TR4. It says the scheme was not “well-designed” or “safe, secure and accessible for everyone”.
The vote that was first declared lost
The named vote was two for refusal and none against. Councillors Clive Baskerville, Jack Douglas and Gurch Singh abstained.
The minutes record that the motion was first announced as having fallen. Councillor Douglas then raised a point of order. After checks by the council’s governance officers, the result was corrected: with no votes against, the motion had been carried.
The third item: a College Road house extension
Councillors also approved an extension to a Victorian house at 4 College Road, in Belmont ward, by five votes to none. The work is a two-storey rear extension, a first-floor front extension and a loft dormer. (Committee report, 26/01364/FULL)
It reached committee because ward councillor Simon Bond called it in. His reasons included the effect on neighbours and a concern that the house could become a house in multiple occupation. The report notes the same design had been refused twice before, both times because the applicant had not shown that bats would not be harmed. This time an ecology survey came with it.
It is one of the last applications that will reach a committee this way. Councillors lose the power to call in a planning application on 1 November, as we reported last week.
What happens next
- Costain House: the applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate once the formal refusal notice is issued. There is a local precedent. The council refused 91 flats at Mattel House, on the same business park, and an inspector allowed them on appeal in June 2023, according to the planning history in the report.
- The office conversion is separate. Costain House itself already has prior approval to convert its offices into 38 flats, granted in 2024. That does not need a committee vote.
- The factory site: demolition cannot start until the Section 106 agreement is signed and the permission issued. The approved conditions limit demolition and building work to 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or bank holidays.
What it means for you
- If you live on Norreys Drive or near Kendall Place, ask the council’s highways team about the yellow lines, lorry signs and crossing that councillors asked it to consider. None of these is guaranteed yet: the wording is “give consideration to”.
- If you want to comment on any appeal at Costain House, the Planning Inspectorate invites comments once an appeal is accepted. We will report it if one is lodged.
- To see how your area’s applications are going, use the council’s planning register and our Windsor planning news page.
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