Bid Made to Convert Vacant Grove Park Pub into Flats
Owners of the Station House site arguing that reopening isn't viable
A report submitted with the application said that the pub site had been advertised to let for over two years
October 14, 2026
The long-anticipated application to turn the ground floor of the Station House into flats has been submitted with the owners contending that there is no interest in reopening at the site.
Plans have been submitted to convert the vacant ground and lower ground floors of the building in Grove Park Road, into three residential units.
The application, submitted on behalf of Associate Properties, seeks permission for a change of use. The same company had previously successfully argued for a reduction in the pub’s size to allow for more of the site to be converted into residential use.
The pub unit at 2 Grove Park Road, close to Chiswick railway station, has remained vacant since the departure of previous tenants Punch Taverns in March 2023 and subsequent redevelopment work. Former regulars have been predicting for some time that the pub would not reopen and that an attempt would eventually be made to convert it into flats.
The latest application follows a marketing campaign which, according to a report prepared by property agents Jenkins Law in May 2026, failed to attract an offer from a prospective tenant despite more than two years of efforts to find an operator. The pub was initially advertised for a rent of £100,000 a year. This was subsequently reduced to £80,000, £70,000 and finally £60,000 a year in an effort to attract interest.
The agents said they had also explored alternative commercial and community uses, including contacting 39 local nurseries in October 2025. No offers were received from nursery operators or other alternative community uses.
Nine site inspections took place during the marketing campaign, but none resulted in an offer to take a lease.
The report cited limited footfall, the size and layout of the premises, rising operating costs and changes in consumer habits among the reasons prospective operators had not proceeded. It concluded that the property was unlikely to be let again as a public house.
It also referred to other former pubs in Chiswick, including the Mawson Arms and the Duke of York on Devonshire Road, which had received planning permission for conversion to residential use.
The building began life as the Grove Park Hotel and has operated as a pub, with a few short breaks, over many years. It was renamed the Old Station House in 2008. Punch took over the pub in December 2020, although it remained closed for much of the Covid lockdown period before reopening in July 2022.
The timing of the closure in 2023 coincided with a council consultation on creating a piazza in front of the pub, a scheme intended in part to encourage commercial activity in the area. The building featured prominently in the council's visualisations of the proposed public space.
The current application has been made on behalf of Associate Properties. A company of that name based in Birmingham is believed to own the freehold, while the address given on the application is in Wimbledon.
When the pub's closure was announced in March 2023, the freeholder had given Punch notice to quit without offering an extension to its lease, and the pub chain said it had not been told what the owner's intentions were. At the time, it was understood that the existing planning condition required the ground floor to remain in pub use, leading to expectations that the pub would reopen once building work had been completed.
The owner had previously secured permission under application P/2020/3154 for a second-floor side and roof extension and the formation of a basement, allowing four flats to be created in the building. A condition attached to that consent restricted the ground floor to pub use.
A subsequent proposal, P/2022/2425, sought to change the ground-floor pub to residential use, alongside extensions to the upper floors and a new two-storey element, to enable six flats to be built. That application was refused by the council's planning committee in November 2022.
At that time, Hounslow Council emphasised the importance of protecting community facilities. Tom Bruce, then the council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development, said the developer would need to demonstrate either that the pub use was being provided elsewhere locally or that a robust marketing campaign to retain a pub had been unsuccessful.
To make comments on the proposal visit the planning section of the Hounslow Council web site and search using reference P/2026/2100.
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