Opposition to flats proposed for car park at residential area

A campaign has been started to oppose plans for a new development of flats at the Chiswick Village apartment complex.

The proposal is to build a five storey block of 11 two-bedroom flats with associated refuse and recycle area, car parking and cycle parking facilities in a former car-park.

Hounslow Council's Planning Committee next week (11 January) will hear a case made by residents against the development.

Martin Weaver of Chiswick Village Residents (owners of the freehold of the 15 residential blocks,) describes the proposed development as "speculation and profiteering" and says that building fifteen penthouses and eleven flats will not help solve the housing problem in West London.

The matter has been referred to the Planning Committee for deliberation as a major planning application that would require a legal deed if approved.

Mr. Weaver commented: "We've been fighting development for seventeen years. Chiswick Village was a unique response to the need for housing between the war years and it has inspired several local authorities to use a similar design."

Council officials have recommended the development be approved, subject to safeguarding conditions and planning obligations. The site is an existing car park that is secured by condition of a planning permission as car parking for the Chiswick Village Estate to mitigate for the previous loss of parking.

Residents have raised several concerns, including design, parking, traffic, disruption and harm to living conditions. They also object to the proposed underground car park.

Chiswick Village consists of 15 blocks that range from four to six storeys, with these blocks set around communal gardens. The original site dates to the 1930s and the flats have an Art Deco style .There are 280 one, two, and three-bedroomed flats. The triangular shaped site is bordered by railway lines on two sides and Oxford Road south on the third.

Planning permission , granted on appeal in 2015, gave consent for an additional unit to the roof of each block (15 in total) The current proposal seeks demolition and re-build of the garages to the south of the site to provide 19 secure parking garages. This application was refused in August 2014 and overturned on appeal in August 2015.

A report by a traffic survey company, undertaken on behalf of the residents, claims that parking survey carried out by the developer is "flawed and has serious discrepancies."

It states that there is insufficient parking spaces on-street within 200m of the proposed development to accommodate parking demand and that any further demand from new development and/or displaced demand will acutely worsen on-street parking supply.You can read the full report here:

The West Chiswick & Gunnersbury Society has also objected to the application.

However, council officials believe the development will contribute to meeting the need for additional homes, including affordable housing in the area. It finds the design acceptable and compatible with the surrounding townscape.

January 6, 2018