Muse and Homes England win planning resolution for £640m Slough North West Quadrant

Muse and Homes England have secured a resolution from Slough Borough Council's Planning Committee to grant planning permission for North West Quadrant, a £640m mixed-use redevelopment of the former Thames Valley University site in Slough town centre.

The 3.6-hectare site sits next to Slough railway station and has been empty since the university campus closed, Muse said in its announcement on 29 October.

Muse's announcement of the resolution listed 1,539 homes, an office building of 25,030 sqm, 3,220 sqm of retail space, a 450 sqm nursery for 100 children, a community events space, a central park with further green and play spaces, and improved walking and cycling routes.

Hollie Carlile, Senior Project Manager at Muse, said: "Securing a resolution to grant planning permission for North West Quadrant is an important milestone for the project and for the continued regeneration of Slough town centre."

The application

Muse and Homes England submitted the application in June 2026. At that stage Muse described the scheme as around 1,500 homes, an office building and 3,000 sqm of shops and cafes, with 415 parking spaces. The October announcement gives 3,220 sqm of retail space and 420 parking spaces.

The first phase, across two plots, was submitted in detail for 473 build-to-rent apartments and 325 co-living homes, according to Muse's June statement.

Phase one homes submitted in detail	Number
Build-to-rent apartments	473
Co-living homes	325

Charlotte O'Mahony, Project Director at Homes England, said: "In partnership with Muse, the resolution to grant planning permission for North West Quadrant enables us to move forward with transforming this long-vacant site into a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood."

Consultation

Muse launched its first Community Conversation event for the site in March 2025. Chris Scott, Development Director at Muse, said at the time that although North West Quadrant had long been identified for regeneration, the team was starting with a fresh perspective.

A third Community Conversation was held in April 2026 at the Observatory Shopping Centre in Slough. Muse said then that the council would run its own statutory consultation once the application was submitted.

After submission, the project team ran pop-up engagement to gather views on proposed ground-floor uses and on meanwhile uses for parts of the site before development completes, Muse said.

Site history

The council's own records describe the site as one of a series of council-owned sites opted into the Slough Urban Renewal partnership, the joint venture between the council and Muse. The council's cabinet approved a disposal strategy for the site in July 2022 and, on 7 March 2023, agreed to dispose of it substantially in accordance with agreed heads of terms. The same cabinet record said the council was on track to repay all its temporary borrowing by September 2023.

Muse announced in March 2023 that Homes England had bought the site from the council. Ken Glendinning, national director, acquisitions and partnering at Homes England, described the acquisition as an important milestone, and James Swindlehurst, then council leader, said the council had spent months negotiating the sale.

Muse said in April 2026 that the former university site had been vacant since 2010. In 2021 the council described it as the final quarter of its Heart of Slough programme.

Muse said its joint venture with the council has delivered the Curve, Slough Ice Arena, the Centre, the Moxy Hotel and more than 500 homes in the town over the past 13 years. Its project page describes Slough as 10 minutes from London by train and four miles from Heathrow.

Muse said it would continue the conversation with the community as the project moves towards its next stage.