Windsor Council has turned down a planning application for Metro Bank to redesign the front interior of a retail unit, but stressed that it is it keen for the growing bank to open a branch in the town.
Metro Bank had applied to install a full-length window frontage at 116-118 Peascod Street in Windsor, together with an ATM cash machine.
However, the planning committee for urban development at the Royal Borough of Windsor voted against the application.
Supporters of the application said that it was important to welcome the bank, which was proving a success in the suffering climate of the high street. The council has accepted the adaptation of the unit for financial services.
But councillors agreed with planning officers' recommendations to refuse the application, telling the bank that the historic town was a ‘sensitive area’ which needed protecting against outlandish designs and renovations.
The town’s council should not yield to a brand needlessly, society members contended, despite a number of empty units on the street.
Metro Bank suffered a setback in its latest expansion plan when planning permission for a re-design in Windsor was refused.
Metro Bank's Gradual Expansion
The bank was the first retail bank to join the high street in over a century in 2010, and has spread west from Greater London in recent years.
It opened a branch in Reading last year, expanded to Guildford in April, and introduced a drive-thru feature in its new Slough branch, which opened earlier this month.
Metro Bank's chief executive, Craig Donaldson, said the bank had opened close to 180,000 bank accounts ahead of the launch in Slough.
The bank is now expected to re-assess its plans, which will push back the opening of a Windsor store until 2014.
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor
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