Mayor calls in refused Hounslow scheme
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has used his planning powers to call in a major residential scheme that was refused planning consent.
Hounslow Council turned down L&Q’s plan to build 427 new homes in Brentford, TW8.
Plans for the former Citroen Site on Capital Interchange Way included 40% affordable housing. The scheme is in a new Opportunity Area, which has been identified as having the capacity to accommodate at least 7,500 new homes and 14,000 new jobs.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has used his planning powers to call in a major residential scheme that was refused planning consent.
Hounslow Council turned down L&Q’s plan to build 427 new homes in Brentford, TW8.
Plans for the former Citroen Site on Capital Interchange Way included 40% affordable housing. The scheme is in a new Opportunity Area, which has been identified as having the capacity to accommodate at least 7,500 new homes and 14,000 new jobs.
Hounslow refused the scheme (pictured) over “concerns the development would negatively impact on local heritage sites including Kew Gardens”.
The mayor’s office said: “The impact on all heritage sites will be fully considered by the mayor and his planning team, and City Hall will now work closely with the applicant, housing association L&Q, to try and boost the amount of affordable housing even further than the current levels of 40%.”
Khan said: “I have been clear that I will use the full range of my planning powers to help get London building the new and genuinely affordable housing we so desperately need.
“This rejected application in Brentford already delivers a good number of affordable homes, but by taking it over, it gives me the opportunity to work with the housing association, L&Q, to increase the levels even further.
“I will, of course, weigh up concerns raised about the impact on nearby heritage sites with the pressing need for more new and affordable homes in London.”
[caption id="attachment_909628" align="alignnone" width="847"] L&Q residential scheme, Capital Interchange Way, Brentford, TW8[/caption]
The mayor will consider the application at a representation hearing at City Hall later in the year.
This is the fifth time the mayor has used the full range of his planning powers to take over applications to boost affordable housing. His previous call-ins have produced 572 more affordable homes for Londoners than were originally planned.
The other called-in schemes include:
■ DTZ Investors’ Homebase site in Wandsworth Town, SW18
■ Barratt’s Mill Hill, NW7
■ Muse Developments’ Hale Wharf, N17
■ Origin Housing’s Palmerston Road, Harrow
To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette