Councillors Wave Through Police Station Development

51 flats for older people to be built despite some local opposition

A visualisation of the development provided with the planning application
A visualisation of the development provided with the planning application. Picture: Birchgrove

Participate

Decision Looms on Police Station Redevelopment

Police Could Be Based on Chiswick High Road Again

Plans Submitted for Chiswick Police Station Redevelopment

Police Station Set To Be Converted into Retirement Homes

Sign up for our weekly Chiswick newsletter

Comment on this story on the

February 10, 2024

The Hounslow borough planning committee has voted to give planning permission for the redevelopment of the old Chiswick police station (P/2023/1632).

At a meeting on Monday night (5 February) councillors endorsed the view of planning officers that the scheme should be given the go ahead with just Cllrs John Todd and Amy Croft abstaining.

The meeting heard objections from residents of nearby Linden Gardens regarding the height, density, light and traffic problems that they believed the new building would cause. Opponent of the latest plan had accepted that the site needed to be redeveloped but were hoping the scheme would be deferred to require the developer Birchgrove to make amendments to ensure light and privacy to neighbouring homes.

One neighbour of the site, a Linden Gardens resident, mocked the design as looking like a ‘radiator’, saying that the design was too ‘corporate’.

Ward Councillor Joanna Biddolph said that the people of Chiswick had “suffered hideous building in recent years.” The councillor said she was in total agreement with the concerns of the myriad residents in attendance to voice their disapproval of the plans.

The councillor zeroed in on parking as a primary concern saying that by not having parking of its own the residency would begin absorbing local car parks preventing their use by people looking to come to Chiswick to shop and would therefore lose the area’s retailers’ important revenue. Staff at the facility would not be given parking spaces and would not receive parking permits.

She proposed a pause to plans and the provision of an underground car park be added to the site. However, committee member Cllr John Stroud-Turp voiced his frustration with her argument accusing her of using the application to ride “your normal hobby horse” to complain about parking in Chiswick.

He argued that it wasn’t relevant to the application in front of them. After several more representations, the project was approved.

The building at 205-211 Chiswick High Road is anticipated to take around three years to complete and will include 51 apartments available to rent for tenants aged 65 or over with the facility registered with the Care Quality Commission. There will be a 24-hour concierge service, restaurant, licenced bar, courtyard garden and wellness suite.

Visualisation of the building looking west up Chiswick High Road. Picture: Birchgrove
Visualisation of the building looking west up Chiswick High Road. Picture: Birchgrove

Birchgrove has promised to make ground floor facilities in the development available to local community groups ‘at minimal cost’ and provide a secure space for the local police team. The community space would be secured on payment of a deposit and would be free or a very reduced cost. This is secured as part of the s106 agreement made with the planning permission and could not be rescinded by a future buyer.

The scheme will provide a financial contribution of at least £400,000 towards extracare affordable housing in the Borough.

Birchgrove currently operates three retirement communities across the South-East, with three further communities under construction and now available for rental off-plan, and two further London sites acquired in addition to the one in Chiswick.

Honor Barratt, Chief Executive, Birchgrove said,“After almost two years of consultation we are thrilled to have secured planning permission, and I would like to thank everyone – including the council and local residents - for both their support and suggestions to ensure the development is the best it can be and does Chiswick justice.

“All too often older people are shoved to the end of a cul-de-sac somewhere, but not here. With our development bang in the middle of Chiswick High Street, our residents will be able to flourish at the heart of the community.”

Written with contributions from Rory Bennett - Local Democracy Reporter

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

Bookmark and Share