Forum Topic

Why so many hotels in Brentford?

This is not political.... I would just like to hear any views on this subject.In recent years there has been new hotels built in Brentford, there is the Kew Travel Lodge, the Premier inn and also the Holiday Inn down by the canal. Then the Chiswick Moran Hotel was built a few hundred yards from Brentford borders as well as the large Hilton hotel currently being built in Syon park.Currently the GWQ development on the A4 is also building a large Hotel and last week permission was granted for 2 more Large hotels to be built on the former Alpha Laval site.There is also in the pipeline planning permission for a Hotel to be built on the site of the former New England Pub as well as the site by Kew bridge where the eco warriors are currently camping.Yet over the borders not one Hotel in the same vicinity has been built in Kew or Ealing, can anyone explain why this is being allowed in Hounslow Borough please.RegardsSteve

Steve Allum ● 5994d10 Comments

If Brentford is going upmarket the High St and the shambles on south of the High Street need to be sorted out pronto!

Elizabeth Price ● 5989d

Thanks for all your comments, I assumed it was to do with the M4, Heathrow, Olympics and cheap land etc etc but what I still understand is why there is so many in such a small place like Brentford. We used to be known for more pubs per square mile than any other part of the UK but now will be more hotels per mile thanks to the powers that be! ;O(

Steve Allum ● 5991d

Of course, I'm so naive, the 3rd runway. Duh. Especially as the government will have done a deal with BAA - flog off Gatwick and you'll get the the 3rd runway. Well BAA have done their bit of the (likely) pact...Nothing at all to do with how lovely Brentford is.

Alan Clark ● 5994d

Ah! Is it being build it in a strategic place and designed to converted into a terminal building by any chance?

Ian Roberts ● 5994d

Ironically enough one of the projects I'm handling at the moment is for a 623 bedroom hotel on land that would, in theory, comprise the third runway !.Planning wise there's very little in way of policy objections that an LPA can make against a hotel, studies carried out on behalf of the GLA make a strong case that there is a significant shortfall of hotels within the capital, this is reflected in London Plan policies, and generally if a site is acceptable (in planning terms) for residential development it basically follows the same site has to be acceptable for a hotel.

Adam Beamish ● 5994d

The third runway will come eventually and that is exactly the reason for the hotels here. The Bath Road and the many hotels along it will be swallowed up by the expansion of the airport creating a need elsewhere - Brentford. I hate to be defeatist but big business never let a small thing like the public and their opinion get in the way of progress. The infrastructure for T5 was in place as much as 15 years ago when a relative had a lodger digging the tunnels for it- probably more - and the Waterside building does look very much like a terminal building....

Lisa Mercer ● 5994d

I think a lot of developers were banking on the third runway. It will be interesting to see what happens now with these sites.

Robert Ayres ● 5994d

The Hounslow area is so easy for access to the M4, M3 and M25 plus it is only a quick tube trip into the City or West End. Also having Heathrow just up the road makes the area very convenient for travellers. There is also the new Marriott Hotel in Twickenham right on the Isleworth border, making it even easier for Rugby followers. Geographically the whole place is ideal.

Vanessa Smith ● 5994d

Steve,I was at the meeting that gave approval to the Alpha Laval site. My recollection is that evidence stating that the borough has the capacity to sustain more hotel rooms was given at an earlier planning appeal, and was accepted by the inspector. Therefore the council would find it hard to recomend refusal of such an application on the grounds that there are already enough hotel rooms in the borough. This view was also bourne out in a report at a recent IBAC meeting.

Andrew Sibley ● 5994d

You missed one - I understood that the old Gilette offices were going to be rennovated into a 5-star hotel. And the Moran hotel recently received planning approval for an extension.Here's my guess why all this is hotel building is underway:1) the returns from hotels are now higher than from renting our private residencies so seen as an attractive investment2) Brentford has many large offices of global companies so these will generate lots of business travellers - and if you include the Moran hotel then you need to include nearby businesses in places like Chiswick business park3) Brentford is very well placed for Heathrow - and its cheaper to stay here than right next to the airport4) There are lots of nearby attraction, from Kew to Syon, that bring tourists into the area5) There are brown field sites galore in Brentford - just ready for another hotel chain - more than in other nearby places like Ealing or Chiswick ... and cheaper than either of these placesBut my question is - why is this a bad thing? Surely decent hotels will bring employment and money into the area? And if the trend continues, from Premier Inn through Holiday Inn to the Hilton, then Brentford is moving up market.

Alan Clark ● 5994d