Planners Recommend Approval for GSK House Development
Conclude benefits outweigh any harm to nearby heritage assets
The scheme viewed from the canalside. Picture: Hadley Property Group
February 26, 2026
Hounslow Council’s planning officers have recommended that councillors approve the major redevelopment of the former GSK headquarters on the Great West Road, despite concluding that the scheme would cause more harm to nearby heritage assets than the developer’s own assessment suggested.
The proposal (P/2025/2394) by Hadley Property Group will go before the borough’s Planning Committee on Thursday 5 March, where members will make the final decision.
The redevelopment concerns the landmark GSK site at 980 Great West Road, one of the most prominent plots on the historic Golden Mile. The plans would replace the long-vacant corporate campus with a large mixed-use development including new flats, commercial space and landscaped public areas. The site has been seen for years as a key opportunity to revitalise this stretch of the A4 corridor, and the scale of the proposal makes it one of west London’s most significant regeneration schemes.
The applicant’s heritage report argued that the impact on nearby listed buildings and conservation areas would be limited and outweighed by the benefits of bringing the site back into use. Planning officers, however, took a more cautious view. Their report states that the level of harm to heritage assets is more serious than the developer’s consultants acknowledged, particularly in relation to views along the Great West Road and the setting of several Art Deco industrial buildings that define the character of the Golden Mile.
The scheme visualised from the A4 looking down Boston Manor Road. Picture: Hadley Property Group
Despite this, officers concluded that the public benefits of the scheme — including new housing, employment space, public realm improvements and the regeneration of a long-underused site — were sufficient to outweigh the identified harm. They also noted that local planning policy anticipates significant change along the Golden Mile, with taller and denser development expected to play a role in its transformation.
The development would comprise 12 blocks ranging in height from 12 to 26 storeys and a public plaza named Boston Place would sit at the heart of the scheme
The hybrid application includes 1,522 new housing units, split evenly between the detailed and outline phases, with 20 per cent of these secured as affordable housing. Alongside this, the scheme will deliver 506 purpose -built student accommodation rooms, 103 of which will be affordable student units, and 296 co -living rooms with 37 affordable co -living units. The commercial and employment offer is similarly extensive, with up to 9,194 square metres of flexible commercial and community floorspace and up to 28,611 square metres of employment and education space. The plans also include a new NHS -compliant GP surgery, a nursery, community facilities and a Creative Enterprise Zone hub, as well as 1.49 hectares of new public realm in the first phase alone.
The GSK site as seen from above Picture: Hadley Property Group
If approved at the meeting and any legal agreements are completed without delay, construction is expected to begin in phases, starting with the detailed element of the application. Officers anticipate that the first buildings could come forward within two to three years, with the full build -out likely to span a decade given the size and complexity of the site. Early phases will focus on delivering new flats, affordable housing and the main public spaces, while later phases will complete the commercial buildings and the remaining residential blocks. The scheme’s retention of 90 per cent of the existing basement and structural frame is expected to shorten some construction timescales compared with a full demolition and rebuild.
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