Plans for a library and cultural centre at the centre of Development Securities’ £450m Heart of Slough regeneration scheme have gained consent.
The approved design joins a new bus station, now under construction, in the centre of the Berkshire town.
The 50,000 sq ft library and cultural centre include a library, a 180-seat performance space, adult learning, teaching, council and community meeting rooms and a café.
The scheme will create an internal pedestrian link between the new bus station and Mackenzie Square, and provide a sympathetic backdrop to St Ethelbert’s Church.
Building work on the new library and cultural centre is due to start by early 2012 and the new centre will be ready to use from 2013. The existing town centre library will continue to operate as normal until then.
The Heart of Slough regeneration project will comprise residential, cultural, hotel, retail and offices near Slough’s transport hub, with a brand new bus station, a rejuvenated train station and pedestrian friendly routes into the High Street.
Development Securities will build the offices.
The Homes and Communities Agency is providing £11m of funding to replace Slough’s Brunel roundabout and associated pedestrian subways with a crossroads controlled by an integrated traffic management system, surface level pedestrian crossings and a European style tree-lined boulevard, by late 2011.
Heart of Slough is being delivered by Slough Borough Council, the Homes and Communities Agency, and Development Securities.
paul.norman@estatesgazette.com
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