Bracknell's Iconic Bridges Set for Demolition

Bracknells pedestrian bridges linking the High Street multi-storey car park to Princess Square are set to be demolished.

The car park was built in the 1970s and once held 980 spaces for shoppers and office workers. Princess Square opened in 1984 and is now home to retailers including Sports Direct, Starbucks, Poundland and F Hinds.

One bridge gave direct access to Princess Square and Shopmobility. The other sat next to the former Bentalls store, which closed in September 2017 and was demolished in 2022.

The car park has been closed since October 2023 after Bracknell Forest Council judged it structurally unsafe, and preparations are under way to demolish it to make way for more than 140 apartments.

Councillors approved demolition in August, with a condition requiring details of how the bridge openings will be sealed once removed.

Elevation plans show the south bridge being filled with an infill louvre panel to match Princess Square in The Ring, while the north bridge next to the demolished Bentalls will be sealed with bricks and glass similar to the existing facade.

A council planning officer said the plans met the councils requirements, and the designs were approved on Tuesday 6 October.

You can view the approved application using reference PA/2026/0914 on Bracknell councils planning portal.

The client for the development is Vistry. The councils Bracknell Forest Cambium Partnership was incorporated in December 2020; the original construction partner, Countryside Properties, merged with Vistry in November 2022.

Demolition work will be carried out by Collard, which was formally awarded the contract in March last year.

The site is earmarked for 142 apartments in the councils town centre masterplan adopted in October 2024. An illustrative masterplan shows two new buildings with the apartments and 2,284 m2 of commercial floorspace.

A planning parameter for the scheme is the creation of safe, direct crossings across The Ring and Market Street to maintain seamless connectivity.

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter