Forum Topic

Skyscraper Planned by Chiswick Roundabout

Do we really need another block of HMO, and worse right next M4, A4 and Chiswick roundabout.Is this normal? I was passing Hanger Lane, and saw now even that roundabout has a block of flats as well. How on earth can this be justified, surely the pollution level must be high, but I guess they record it at night time when the roads are less used :)

Joanne Sky ● 22d24 Comments

Affordability depends on whether there are hidden charges that only become apparent once a lease has been signed. And I wonder what minimum lease lengths will be.There is a need for decent quality rental properties in London, but the preference for most developers is to go for the luxury option as that’s where the profit lies. Hence the rapid pace of flat building in some areas compared to the supposedly affordable options.Did this Mr Sulkin give any indication of floor space in these proposed apartments? We build the smallest homes in Europe in the UK and given that many young professionals often work from home space is a premium asset. And little or no outside space, no doubt, which isn’t ideal for a number of reasons.Was there any information about where residents should congregate in the event of a fire alarm? It’s in the middle of a fairly busy junction but there must be an assembly point somewhere.And car free, of course. Fine for those who have no need of one but automatically excludes anyone who requires a vehicle for work, and there are plenty in that category. Bikes don’t count.The acid test for any such proposal is would those proposing and supporting it be happy to live their themselves or for friends or relatives to live in it.

Simon Hayes ● 1d

I went to the 'drop in' event at the Clayton Hotel in Chiswick yesterday.One of the people there was called Grant Sulkin who identified himself as being in charge. The proposal is for a development called The James. So called because their first such development was at JAmes Street in Liverpool, right in the centre of the city. The James seems to be the developer (property developers are often consortia so not exactly clear) https://www.thejames.uk/They have developments in Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield as well as Liverpool.He suggested the cost of a studio would be about £1600 pm, including everything. A lot, but seems to include quite a lot of shared facilities which would obviously be a cost if you bought them separately. A chunk of the proposed development is flats (2 to 4 bedrooms I think) which would be more conventional and would include some 'affirdable' flats.This is (at least) the 6th attempt to develop this small site.For me, I will wait and see how it looks when it becomes a fully-thought through proposal, but I can actually see the attraction of such a development, especialy to a young single person or couple. A small place of your own, I think well fitted out with a lot of communal facilities on site. Compared to the (very cheap) flat where I lived in Acton for a number of years: horrible; cold even with my paraffin stove and electric radiator at full power; a kitchen off the hall with ancient cooker etc and a shared bathroom, also off the hall. Neither is a place to bring up a family but I can see the attrection.

Guy Lambert ● 1d

Police station may fall down before they demolish it. Given its age, built in 1966, it’s full of hazardous materials like asbestos so needs careful demolition. One local councillor is of the opinion that the developer wants to leave it in situ as its current height sets a precedent for tall buildings in the area.It would, of course, be nice if there was a lovely new arts centre hosting top quality acts on the site but that looks an increasingly forlorn hope.

Simon Hayes ● 8d

My view is that there SHOULD be robust risk assessment in high rise towers.That said, I fear the rest of the suggestion is that these plots of land (Chiswick Roundabout, Watermans and The Police Station) are OK to be left derelict, given that no one seems to want them. With the Police Station, which is an eyesaw I look out on daily, I wish the owner could be made to demolish it and just pave it flat; it could then at least be parking for the coming decades until someone thinks of something better...

Tim Barnes ● 8d

Why do you think the sites you mention remain undeveloped years after planning consents were granted? A clue for you is the return developers expect to get from flogging these new builds, which basically renders them unviable. That’s particularly the case with the old police station, where a new arts centre is so unattractive an investment nobody wants to build it.Better to leave the land banked to flog off to he next ambitious developer.As for robust risk assessments for tall buildings, why is that such a bad thing? Forgotten about Grenfell already? The direct consequence of that was the implementation of two staircases being mandatory in any such development, with result that dwellings have to be reduced in number which further impacts profits.The consequence of that is trying to build ever taller towers, which are very expensive to maintain so you can expect service charges to be high. Factor in the management fees and you might start to understand why household incomes to rent these flats might be unaffordable for many.

Simon Hayes ● 15d

So what would all the grumpies like this significant, but long-unused, piece of land to be used for? A vape-city, a betting metropolis, the barber borough, or perhaps, maybe, just somewhere where people might live? So long as they're not forced to; so long as the service charges are not hidden; and so long as the risk assessment is robust, then I think this would be great. And once occupied, they can then replicate the scheme at the Watermans site, Brentford Police Station, and other eyesores that have long-blighted our town from what it could be...

Tim Barnes ● 15d

Although older people and those with conditions relating to breathing are still vulnerable to poor air quality, there is no evidence that living close to a motorway like this building will have any impact on your life expectancy. All the evidence points to income being a far more important factor.I would assume that the target market for these units is single, relatively well paid professionals who would spend very little time in their tiny flat. There will probably be workspaces where they can bring their laptop if they are 'working from home'.Somebody, I think on this forum made an excellent post a while back about how shared accommodation like this can go badly wrong if not properly managed. For instance if disruptive tenants are not quickly dealt with you will lose better quality occupiers and enter a spiral of decline. However, the reputation of the company behind this one seems pretty good.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 15d

“Do you watch the news or read a newspaper? What other countries do is not relevant.”Perhaps the newspapers and media are just bent on catastrophising issues. It’s what they get paid to do! And yes, what other countries do is TOTALLY relevant!  You need to look beyond your little closed world. We have a self inflicted housing crisis because we’ve got things terribly WRONG. Started with Thatcher’s unforgivable and ridiculous idea to allow Council tenants to buy their properties for peanuts. Those people should have paid market rates and Thatcher should have made it clear that social housing would be phased out. It was obvious that after just ‘giving away’  council houses there would be a shortage of you wanted to continue with any type of social housing scheme. The social housing scheme has been the slow death of this country and Labours plans to build another 1.5 million before the end of this parliament is just the coup de grâce. We definitely need to follow the lead of other successful European countries and get rid of social housing. We are failures, they aren’t. Meanwhile despite what the castrophising media would have you believe, in Richmond the restaurants and pubs and coffee shops are full of customers. Hospitality can’t get enough staff and youngsters are talking about their £25k bonuses. Oh, and one teacher who has lived with her parents for 5 years since qualifying,  proudly announced that she has saved £60k as a deposit on a flat she is buying. It’s not all doom and gloom. People have money and people can get jobs and save despite what the media will have you believe  .  All this government has to do is radically cut back on benefits and social housing to get Britain working and on its feet again. This government doesn’t have the political will to do so. We need radical change.

Paul Tucker ● 15d

Thanks Vanessa. But quite a large brain too, so not all heart.If you paid a bit more attention to the news today you might have seen that the current government policies are successfully strangling the job market, particularly the NI hike. Why don’t you do a bit of research along Brentford High Street and ask the businesses there if they are taking on young people, even as Saturday staff?Don’t be fooled that this skyscraper will be an affordable option for those trying to get somewhere to live. Similar developments in west London are very expensive.

Simon Hayes ● 16d

'Why can’t people get a job, get a mortgage and buy a property.' Do you watch the news or read a newspaper? What other countries do is not relevant. There is no way youngsters in this day and age can possibly save the extraordinary deposits now required to buy a property, leasehold is a gigantic con and bearing in mind much of what is built around this area falls into that category. Part rent, part buy - another trap. At a time when the cost of living is through the roof, how are people supposed to save and have something resembling a life? You're all heart....

Vanessa Smith ● 16d

I'll bet the service charge will be huge as well.

Keith Iddon ● 17d

If the cost of renting these apartments is beyond the means of the young it won’t help them much. Similar schemes in Ealing are expensive, to cover the little extras usually included in the lease.I wonder how many here would choose to live in one of these towers, or be happy to see their kids crammed in there?

Simon Hayes ● 17d

I saw a similar scheme on telly recently in Leeds, seemed like a decent solution and could be a good thing use of the land. I doubt it will happen, but I think it could help young people

Graham Cooper ● 18d

The issues are more complex than Reform would have us believe an the solutions are more complicated than Labour and, particularly, the Greens would have us believe.Net immigration is down to its lowest level since 2012. 171,000 in 2025, which would be easily absorbed across the country. It’s where people move to that’s the problem. Most people naturally gravitate towards London as that’s where jobs are, or support networks exist or family already live. There are dozens of reasons. The result is the population here is 9 million and counting, the biggest the capital has ever been.If you look at density of population London has three times that of any other city in the country. There’s a finite amount of space to build, hence the increase in high rise blocks going up. Unfortunately there will be plenty of people sweltering away in those new build today as most aren’t designed to cope with high temperatures. Not sure anyone not desperate would choose to live in one now.It’s also evident that the ‘housing crisis’ isn’t mitigated by what’s being built at the moment. Brentford is a prime example.

Simon Hayes ● 18d

Of course we have a people crisis because this government is welcoming tens of thousands of people from third world countries who have no intention of working in legitimate tax paying jobs. And then they promise to build 1.5 million more houses to accommodate them. They haven’t thought through the implications of not enough schools, hospitals etc. And the very biggest problem of accommodating the human waste.  Sewage treatment facilities can’t even cope with what we have and untreated sewage still being pumped into our rivers and sea. And yet Labour Councils are still giving planning permission to allow the building of new flats all over the place.

Paul Tucker ● 18d

It's not only a housing crisis that we are in,but a people crisis also imo.

Keith Iddon ● 19d

Why do we have to ‘house’ anyone? Why can’t people get a job, get a mortgage and buy a property. This Social Housing malarkey is ridiculous. We should follow the lead of Spain and other European countries. We should be reducing social housing, not increasing it or encouraging it. This is why Labours pledge to increase social housing is so ridiculous. “Spain does have social housing, known as Vivienda de Protección Oficial (VPO) or Vivienda de Protección Pública (VPP). However, the sector is small, making up only about 3.4% of the total national housing stock—one of the lowest proportions in the EU.In the United States, Canada, Australia, and many parts of Eastern and Southern Europe, social housing is much rarer. It primarily serves the most vulnerable or low-income populations and represents a very small percentage of the total housing supply.Switzerland: Switzerland has no national public rental sector or government-mandated social housing programs. Instead, affordable, below-market housing is typically provided by localized, non-profit housing cooperatives.”

Paul Tucker ● 19d

Where do you get your 'facts' from in relation to 'West London [being] the location of choice for illegal migrants and asylum seekers'?Are you thinking that the above-mentioned will be housed in the proposed skyscraper?

Anne England ● 19d

The test for any new development should be would those designing them, and those approving their construction, choose to live in them themselves. Nine times out of ten they wouldn’t.

Simon Hayes ● 19d

I don't think this type of accommodation is acceptable in this day and age, people being 'housed' in conditions like battery hens.

Vanessa Smith ● 20d

I think the real problem is who is building the properties,  and where the ownership is going.  In Ealing chatting to a random person at the next table to me and she said a particular huge block, in the centre of Ealing, had been developed for the Chinese market.

Sarah Felstead ● 20d

Well this government promised 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament so why not a few hundred thousand in NIMBY Chiswick especially as west London is the location of choice for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers. Hounslow Council jumping for joy. Every opportunity to ruin the Borough is gleefully accepted.

Paul Tucker ● 21d

“Make The Stay Club your new home.Our London student accommodation campuses are strategically located in trendy Camden Town and Kentish Town, offering easy access to the city's vibrant life. We are thrilled to announce the opening of our new 850-studio campus in Hanger Lane, ready for September 2025.The Stay Club offers studio apartments with fully equipped private kitchenettes and shower rooms, providing you with the comfort of your own space in the heart of the capital.”

Sarah Felstead ● 22d

More to the point, where do residents go if there’s an incident that requires evacuation of the building? This has happened in Ealing and people have to negotiate very busy roads to reach a place of safety.Maybe there are plans being considered but the devil will be in the details, as always.What’s not discussed by planners or developers is the ongoing cost of maintaining very tall buildings. The logistics are very complex and problems can be extremely expensive to resolve. Who foots the bill in this case?

Simon Hayes ● 22d