Massive Bollo Lane Project Officially Breaks Ground
Housing minister visits South Acton site to press go on construction
Housing Secretary Steve Reed (centre) presses a button to launch building work. Picture: Places for London
March 5, 2026
Construction has formally begun on the long-awaited Bollo Lane redevelopment in South Acton. Housing Secretary Steve Reed visiting the site this Wednesday (4 March) to mark the start of work.
The ceremony, in which the minister pressed down on a large green button to mark the start of construction, also launched the new West London Partnership between Places for London and Barratt London, the joint venture responsible for delivering the project. The scheme will eventually deliver around 900 new flats across a series of buildings running alongside the railway between Acton and Chiswick, with half of the units designated as affordable.
The Bollo Lane project has been several years in the making. Transport for London secured planning permission in 2021, but the scheme has faced delays linked to funding arrangements, the need to secure a development partner, and the wider slowdown in London’s construction sector.
Earlier reports suggested that the first phase would focus on the Chiswick end of the site, where the 25-storey building known as Brook House was expected to be the opening element of the scheme. However, the most recent construction industry updates indicate that the first phase now consists of a tranche of around 195 build-to-rent units in mid-rise blocks funded through an agreement with Grainger, forming part of the central plots (2D–2F). This phase, which has been dubbed Chiswick Reach, has detailed planning consent and Building Safety Regulator approval, allowing work to begin immediately.
The wider development will stretch along a long ribbon of land beside the railway, with a dozen buildings planned in total. Places for London describes Bollo Lane as set to become Europe’s largest Passivhaus-standard residential scheme, with new public spaces, shops, offices and improved pedestrian links between Acton and Chiswick. The partnership model is being promoted as a template for future development on public land, combining TfL’s landholdings with private-sector delivery capacity and support from Ealing Council and the Greater London Authority.
A visualisation of the scheme looking east along Bollo Road with Brook House at the far end. Picture: Places for London
The delays up to this point have been shaped by several factors. TfL’s financial position during and after the pandemic slowed the release of development sites, and the Bollo Lane scheme required a complex funding structure to be agreed before construction could begin. The Building Safety Regulator’s new gateway process has also lengthened pre-construction timelines for high-rise schemes across London. In addition, the project’s scale and its proximity to the railway required extensive technical work before the first phase could be approved.
With construction now underway, the partnership expects the project to progress in phases over several years.
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