Ballymore tell Brentford Community Council what's going on
An improved Brentford High Street could be nearer than people think with planning applications intended for Spring 2012.
In a joint meeting of the Brentford Community Council, Brentford High Street Steering Group and the Brentford Chamber of Commerce, project leaders Ballymore showed their early plans for the redevelopment of Brentford High Street on 28 July 2011 at the Methodist Church, Clifden Road. This was the first consultation meeting with Ballymore and it is very early days in the project.
Ballymore are an international property investment and development company, focused on large scale projects across Europe.
The concept is to develop Brentford High Street into a modern version, although similar to its layout in 1865. The plans centre around the historic yards (lanes) down from the High Street to the Canal. If built it is believed there will be accommodation for around 2000 people. After years of neglect the regenerated High Street would provide a benefit to the entire community. The general idea is that the heights of the buildings on the High Street could be a maximum of five stories, and eight stories by the canal.
The planned heights of buildings were met with dismay by some people at the meeting, who do not want to see eight story buildings in the area. It was stressed that these would be further away from the High Street, as most of those buildings are intended to be two to three stories high. Another issue raised was the amount of cars, with residents wanting to get assurances that the scheme would not lead to more cars flooding the area around Brentford.
There are a number of architects working on the project to provide different ideas and supply variety in this area. They are Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), Glenn Howells Architects (GHA), MaccreanorLavington, and Grant Associates.
AHMM worked on Cardiff Basin as well as the Unity Building. GHA designed Worcester Urban Quarter. MaccreanorLavington design buildings in both the Netherlands and the UK and have worked on sites around London, including Waterloo. Grant Associates have worked on Bristol Harbourside and Old Mill Street in East Manchester. Ballymore have also used Soundings who will work with all parties, including the community, and have done work in Walpole Park, Ealing.
Ballymore believe having different architects provides different sights to the area and the redevelopment will not look exactly the same all over the place. A lot of ideas are still in the melting pot.
Tom Moore
August 17, 2011
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