East Brentford/Gunnersbury
A map and notes on development in this area is available here.
Brentford Football Stadium, Lionel Road South
(00703/A/P11) Full permission for stadium and outline permission for 910 residential units was granted in June 2014.
(00703/A/P13) Permission for 648 of 910 of residential units was granted in January 2016; WCGS comments submitted on this application are available here.
(00703/A/P15+16) Approval for ground-sharing with London Irish Rugby Club was given by Planning Committee in February 2017; WCGS comments submitted on this application are available here.
Work on site now starting (March 2017) for stadium and phase 1 of residential element of scheme.
It was announced in August 2017 that significant amendments were to be proposed to both the stadium and several of the residential blocks before construction starts on the Brentford Football Stadium scheme.
Press Release from Brentford Football Club
News Article from the TW8 website
(00703/A/P17 and P18) The amendments involved a reduction in the size of the stadium with a reduced seating capacity to accommodate a perimeter road and enlarged outside broadcasting facilities. Reorientation of and design changes to the residential blocks on the Central Southern and Central Eastern sites were also proposed. The Society scrutinised the proposals and decided that the harm that would be caused to the surrounding heritage and residential communities was unlikely to be significantly different from the recognised harm of the original scheme.
WCGS comments on this application are available here
The application was approved by Hounslow Council in December 2017 and construction has started with a view to completion in time for the 2019-20 football season.
Construction has started and a Construction Newsletter has been delivered to “closest neighbours” . Information is available at http://wwwbrentfordcommunitystadium.com/
Lionel Road Liaison Group Meetings
Minutes of the meetings of the Liaison Group can be found on the stadium website by clicking here.
1-4 Capital Interchange Way
(01508/1-4/P6) Demolition of existing warehouse/storage buildings and advertisement stanchion, and redevelopment of the site to provide a two-storey podium building, three 18, 19 and 20 storey buildings, comprising a bus depot, up to 550 residential units, offices, cafe, pod buildings, publicly-accessible open space, hard and soft landscaping; basement car parking and cycle parking, plant room and refuse storage, and two LED advertisement display panels with all necessary ancillary and enabling works.
The Society considered that, while it might be acceptable to provide a bus garage on this site, to combine it with the quantum and nature of the “enabling” development proposed in this application was totally unacceptable.
We requested that planning permission be refused. Whatever the benefits of moving the bus depot from Commerce Road, the Local Planning Authority has a statutory duty to protect the quality of life of its residents and to conserve and enhance its heritage assets and those of neighbouring boroughs. The expectation that this site can successfully and sustainably accommodate both a bus garage and sufficient “enabling residential development” to pay for it was totally unrealistic. The result is that what was proposed is a scheme that fails to:
• meet the borough’s needs for housing
• provide housing of an acceptable quality
• provide real public realm benefits
• provide the necessary infrastructure
which would have a negative impact on:
• neighbouring residents
• surrounding heritage
• public transport and traffic
and for which many of the benefits claimed would not be delivered.
WCGS comments submitted on this application are available here
To read Historic England comments sent on 12th Jan please click here.
To read Historic England comments sent on 23rd Feb please click here.
To read some of the other comments received, please check on this application on Planning pages of the Council’s website
The application was refused by Hounslow Council in December 2017 for several reasons. One major reason was “The proposed buildings, by virtue of their location, scale, and design, would cause serious harm to the significance of a range of designated heritage assets including listed buildings and conservation areas, as they would appear as overly tall and bulky elements that are discordant additions to the existing high quality townscapes, adversely affecting their setting. It has not been clearly and convincingly demonstrated that there are public benefits that would outweigh the harm caused.”
New Scheme
It is no longer planned to move the bus garage from commerce Road to Capital Interchange Way. Developers Redrow and Catalyst are proposing a new scheme for about 420 residential units.
An article has been published on W4. To view it please click here.
Capital Interchange Way; L&Q Citroen site
(01508/A/P6) This is the site on which the Council had hoped to provide a replacement for the Brentford Fountain Leisure Centre by entering into a partnership with L&Q. This arrangement appears to have fallen through (see item on East Brentford/ Gunnersbury above).
Application for a mixed-use scheme including over 400 residential units was submitted in November 2017.
WCGS comments on this application are available here
Hounslow Council have indicated their intention to refuse the application.
The application has been called in to be determined by the Mayor of London/Greater London Authority.
The Mayor of London has approved the application but it is now (November 2018) with the Secretary of State.
This will now be the subject of a Public Inquiry in January 2020. The Society submitted comments (June 2019) and has asked to speak at the Inquiry.
Wheatstone House, 650 Chiswick High Road
(00248/U/P7) Demolition of existing building and the erection of 95 residential units over A1 or A3 unit(s) at ground floor level; building up to 9 storeys (approx 29m). application was refused in March 2014 but was granted on appeal in March 2015.
The site is now owned by L&Q and the development of 95 residential units is now under construction.
Chiswick Curve
At the public meeting on 27th April 2016, attended by over 250 people, ( see the press release here – chiswick-curve-press-release) we learned from our MP, Ruth Cadbury that proposals for the Chiswick Curve scheme (application 00505/EY/P18 and AD22) had been “put on hold”. Steve Curran, Leader of Hounslow Council, confirmed that his officers were engaged in detailed discussion of the scheme with its promoters. As a gateway to the “Golden Mile” the site needed to be considered within the context of the current review of the Great West Corridor. This was at an early stage and there was a long way to go.
Contrary to our expectations, the developer (November 2016) submitted amended proposals which made only minor changes to the development and which failed utterly to address the objections raised.
In December 2016 we were to learn that the officer recommendation for this very harmful 32-storey development proposed at the Chiswick Roundabout was that it should be refused. We strongly endorsed this recommendation as the proposed scheme would have a seriously detrimental impact on the local economy, environment and the quality of life of existing residents and any future residents of the development. The recently amended proposals fail utterly to address the major objections raised at the beginning of the year by our Society and by many others, including statutory consultees. Many of these objections were based on the proposed development’s lack of compliance with the policies of Hounslow’s Local Plan, the London Plan and the NPPF.
At the Planning Committee meeting on Thursday, 12th January 2017, Members unanimously refused planning permission for both the building and the digital media screen advertisements. Despite the cold, wet weather about 60 local residents attended the meeting to show their strength of opposition. They were rewarded by being present to hear at first-hand this very welcome decision.
The grounds for Refusal given in the Planning Officer’s Report (click here to see more details) make it clear that the proposals are contrary to a range of policies of the London Plan, the Local Plan and the aims and objectives of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Shortly after this meeting, our chaiman was interviewed by ChiswickBuzz. Topics discussed were the successful opposition to the Chiswick Curve, the value of our Heritage assets, G15 and the Great West Corridor Plan.
To see the video of the interview, please click here
The developer is now appealing the refusal. The appeal will be heard at a Public Inquiry in June, 2018.
The Society is working with planning officers to support the Council’s case and Members are encouraged to attend the Inquiry.
The Public Inquiry closed on Friday, 6th July.
The Closing Statements given on Thursday afternoon and on Friday distilled the 4 weeks of evidence, cross-examination and re-examination of the Inquiry and summed up the positions of the Rule 6 parties – Historic England, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Kew Society, of the Council and that of the Appellant, Starbones.
WCGS Chairman’s closing remarks are available here.
All Closing Statements are available on the Inquiry website. Please click here to view them.
The Inspector will provide a report with a recommendation to the Secretary of State by 14 December 2018. The timetable for the Secretary of State’s decision will be set after the report is sent to him.
According to the timetable provided on the Planning Portal, https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/
the Secretary of State will issue his decision on the two linked Appeals on or before the 11th March 2019.
We are still awaiting a decision the Secretary of State (July 2019).
B&Q Site – “Hudson Square”
Reef Estates, the developer of this site, held an ex hibition and workshop in June 2017. Plans are for an extensive mixed-use development, including three blocks of residential units, commercial uses (hotel and car showroom) and student accommodation.
Details are available here.
A new exhibition of more detailed proposals was expected to be held in September 2017 and an application for planning consent was expected in December. Neither of these took place.
New scheme An exhibition for a new scheme was held in March 2019. Proposals include a technology showcase (including exhibition space), up to 278 residential units, hotel and public square. An application is expected in July.
250 Gunnersbury Avenue
A development was approved by Planning Committee for a 7-storey office building on this site in December 2015 (00535/250/P12). WCGS supported this development.
Please click here for comments by the WCGS on this application.
An application to increase the height to 8 storeys was approved in September 2016 (00535/250/P13). Rather than build this consented scheme, new owners, Balfour Beatty are now working on a mixed-use scheme of office and student accommodation which would be significantly taller.
An exhibition was held in July 2017 but no application was submitted
Tiger Developments Ltd are now in the process (June 2019) of developing a planning application for this site.” Proposals include “co-living” residential accommodation and co-working space in an 11 – 13-storey building.
Click here to see an article on the W4 website.
Power Road Studios, 114 Power Road
An application was made (00890/114/P1) for the erection of a 5-storey office block as a replacement for studio 5 and erection of an additional floor to studio 1 (the main building). The Society strongly supports the retention of the existing employment B1 uses of buildings within the Power Road Industrial Estate; we recognise the importance of the estate and the current mix of SMEs that it contains.
However, with respect to this application, we objected to the proposals for Studio 1 and to the proposals for Studio 5 but indicated that we would support a new building of revised scale and design at this location. We requested that adequate consideration was given to the cumulative impacts of this and other consented developments with respect to public transport, especially Gunnersbury Station.
We considered that the proposals would cause serious harm to the significance of the Studio 1 building, which was currently worthy of local listing and was one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in Power Road.
WCGS comments submitted on this application in March 2017 are available here.
8 Power Road
(00890/8/P2) The Society strongly supports the retention of the existing employment B1 uses of buildings within the Power Road Industrial Estate; we recognise the importance of the estate and the current mix of SMEs that it contains. It was therefore pleased that an existing business wished to remain and expand and it therefore supported their wish to renovate and extend their current premises in Power Road. However, while we did not object, in principle, to the addition of a two-storey roof extension, we did have objections to aspects of the design.
WCGS comments on this application are available here.
We regret that the application was approved by Hounslow Council in without any of the requested changes to the design.
