Planners Give Green Light To New Firestone House Plan
Deem proposal worthy successor to iconic building formerly on the site
CGI of New Firestone House. Picture: Legal and General
A forthcoming meeting of the borough planning committee will be presented with a report recommending approval for a development which will see a new building on the site of the former iconic Firestone Building.
A plan has been submitted for the redevelopment of two office buildings by the Great West Road as part of a longer term project of the area which could also see the redevelopment of the building which currently houses Currys/PC World.
In the first phase of the development West Cross House is to be converted into a headquarters for Renault UK including a car workshop, MOT testing facilities, storage and distribution, offices and ancillary showroom for the sale of motor vehicles.
The existing cladding of the building would be replaced and a car wash facility would be developed at the rear of the building.
In the second phase of the development West Cross House and 1-6 Windsor Close would be demolished and replaced with a flexible unit with offices and a service yard. This development would be known as New Firestone House.
The original Firestone Building which was demolished in the eighties and the new structure would retain some of the original features including the stepped entranceway to the development.
The Firestone Building
The development would have 3,156 square metres Gross External Area (GEA) which is equivalent of 6% of the Borough’s industrial floor space need.
The site is located adjacent to the Great West Road and is bounded to the south by West Cross Way and to the north by Amalgamated Drive. Shield Drive circles the perimeter of the site.
The council planners say in their report, "The proposed buildings have been designed and informed based on the heritage of the surrounding area is considered a high-quality modern response to the site and local character."
The current West Cross Way building also known as 'W1' is described as 'rather shoddy' by planners. The single storey unit has been vacant for over two years having been formerly occupied by Sky which used it for storage.
Attempts to relet it have been taking place since December 2018 with no takers because of the configuration of the building.
L&G has agreed to transform the W1 unit to Renault UK’s flagship UK headquarters. The proposal is to spend significant sums of money to refurbish the unit externally, to present an interesting
commercial frontage to The Great West Road, improve the unit’s sustainability and for it to provide a hybrid mix of motor related uses including workshop, storage and
distribution and office functions together with a showroom.
Parking for Currys is to be re-provided by the addition of a single level parking deck over its existing car park area. This parking level and ramp is seen as a temporary feature for the duration of the Currys lease in 2027, whereupon the site may be incorporated into the new station development area in a later stage of the development of the site. According to L&G, despite the challenges in the retail sector, Curry's is very pleased with its Brentford store and has no plans to shut before then.
Parking for users of New Firestone House would be located in a basement below new building with access down a ramp. The applicant says this ramp structure does not interfere visually with views towards the front of the new building nor impinge on the landscaped front area of the site.
L&G says it has a business plan for the whole West Cross Campus which will be implemented in a phased manner. Whilst the estate is in single ownership, there are existing long term and varied lease lengths across it. For this reason, an outline application is not being pursued for the whole estate at this time.
The company says that any further development at the site beyond the existing proposals will be dependent on the building of the Golden Mile station, which it says it is collaborating with the council on.
The rear part of the estate from Amalgamated Drive northwards comprises an industrial estate which would be developed over the next 10-20 years if the station is built. The area could be developed with a mix of commercial and residential or two separate developments of each class side by side.
A statement issued with the application says, "The Golden Mile Station remains capable of delivery, fronted by public space and becoming a visible and distinctive focal marker along The
Great West Road. In addition, pedestrian and cycle links from the station will be improved, facilitating better connectivity across the new masterplan and towards the Sky Campus to the
north-west."
The application for the first two phases of the development will be presented to the planning committee with the recommendation that it is approved subject to certain conditions including an S106 agreement.
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June 24, 2022