Both practices achieved planning consent for their respective residential applications – both revised in response to changes in fire safety regulations – at a Hounslow planning committee meeting earlier this month (5 February).
Drawn up for developer Topland, both projects were approved by Hounslow councillors, despite concerns over impacts on nearby Kew Gardens and surrounding conservation area, lodged by Historic England.
Morris+Company’s application for 219 flats at Albany Riverside featuring a cluster of five buildings on a Thamesside site was approved this month, eight years after Hounslow Council first approved a planning application.
Hounslow Council originally consented to the Morris+Company plans in 2018. The scheme was later approved by then housing secretary Robert Jenrick in 2021, who called in the application over concerns that it could harm the setting of Kew Gardens. Historic England had also objected.
Morris+Company then submitted revised plans to meet new post-Grenfell building fire safety regulations. The practice added a single storey to the eastern-most block along with 32 more homes prior to approval.
In 2017, Historic England had argued that Morris+Company’s Albany Riverside housing would contribute to the ‘encroachment of dense and dominant urban development into river views within the Kew Green Conservation Area and from the listed Kew Bridge’.
But, Morris+Company said in planning documents that the design of the Albany Riverside project had been updated to ‘respond to the changing landscape’ in the construction industry, notably the new fire safety guidance, which mandates second staircases in high-rise buildings.
Morris+Company founding director Joe Morris said: ‘The preservation throughout of the ambition of the brief and design quality of the scheme, highlights the inherent durability of the design concept and site strategy.
‘Our proposals for Albany Riverside, a highly articulated collection of mid-rise buildings, purposefully provides density and much needed high-quality housing, while simultaneously enhancing daylight and picturesque views across and along the Thames.’
PTE’s separate application to demolish and replace the old Brentford Police Station, also for developer Topland, was approved by Hounslow’s committee this month, despite an objection from Historic England, after revisions.
Visualisation of consented Pollard Thomas Edwards Brentford Police Station scheme, credit Pollard Thomas Edwards
Two storeys were added to the scheme alongside six more homes, improved thermal performance and improved the public realm to give the street a ‘more civic presence’ through a new arts centre to replace the closed Watermans Arts Centre in Brentford, planning documents said.
Topland said the updates included improvements to enhance sustainability and energy efficiency, as well to reduce carbon emissions, to ensure that current building standards were met.
The Brentford Police Station site features two blocks between eight and nine storeys tall, providing 105 new flats, including 57 homes to be offered at affordable rates. According to planning documents, these affordable homes will serve as the provision for both sites. The rest of the units will be offered at market rate.
Warrick Thomas, partner and project lead at Pollard Thomas Edwards, said: ‘We began working on this project back in 2016 and it is rewarding to see it move another step closer to delivering a new arts centre and high-quality homes for Brentford.
‘Updating the scheme to meet current regulations has not only future-proofed the development but has also improved the overall quality of the design.’
Model of consented Morris+Company Albany Riverside scheme, credit: Morris+Company
Historic England had objected to the PTE scheme on the basis of the impact on the St Paul’s Brentford Conservation Area from the Police Station redevelopment.
A Historic England spokesperson said: ‘We were not consulted on the original Brentford Police Station planning application. We were consulted on amendments to the planning permission, and raised concerns about the impact of the increased height and bulk on the St Paul’s Brentford Conservation Area.
‘We support plan-led redevelopment of the site, but consider this scheme misses the opportunity to support local character, preserve the status of local landmarks, and knit together the evolving townscape.’
Councillor John Stroud-Turp cited argued that the proposed replacement of the current ‘eyesore’ 1960s police station, which he described as ‘immensely inefficient and awful’, was an improvement for the site and said he did not want to give objectors ‘another run at opposing the proposals’.
The applications joins several other schemes in London that are also being resubmitted to apply for height extensions in recent months due to the fire safety regulation changes.
Current old Brentford Police Station site