Forum Topic

Massive dark kitchen complex planned  in Acton

See this story about what is being planned. The scale of it is jaw droppinghttp://www.actonw3.com/default.asp?section=info&page=conplan031darkkitchentower.htmThings are hard enough for hospitality businesses in Chiswick at the moment but if this monstrosity is built it will mean 200+ new competitors on their doorstep. Delivery apps are bad news all round for bricks and mortar businesses because they have no choice but to join but when they do the margins are terrible. Wherever possible, if you are a regular customer of a restaurant or cafe in Chiswick speak to them about how they would prefer to receive takeaway orders from you. Most keep much more of the money if you go to them direct.

Felicity Caborn ● 1135d10 Comments

Towers, towers, all around - this is not the kind of place I want to live in.

Claire Moran ● 1135d

There are already dozens, if not hundreds of production kitchens on the Park Royal Trading Estate.  They must reach saturation point at some stage.

N V Brooks ● 1135d

Given the amount of food delivery bikes I see whizzing round W4, I'm sure locals will love the idea of faster, hotter food from more local kitchens, despite what they do to High Street food businesses. As an aside, I have a neighbour who gets daily deliveries from Pret. The Pret that's a 90-second walk away from their door.

Gordon McDonald ● 1135d

https://www.just-eat.co.uk/restaurants-wendys-chiswick/menu

Julian Pavey ● 1135d

Selling overpriced food to lazy muppets.

Basil Finnis ● 1135d

Lots of people who work from home have food delivered.

Janice Evans ● 1134d

No fan of this hellish proposal (imagine working there!) but if towers are you main beef then it is a 12 storey building replacing a scheme which already had approval for 35 and 25 storey towers on the same site. Although there is no doubt it will harm businesses on the High Street in Acton and Chiswick High Road, there may be some upside. The moped riders outside Five Guys and Chipotle can be a menace, blocking and using the cycleway and there are always more of them than people actually in the restaurants. I wouldn't shed any tears if these two chains decided to move their operations to the new building in Acton.

Mark Evans ● 1134d

True and they should go back to the office just lazy let them pay for overpriced food 😂😂😂

Jayne Thorburn ● 1133d

This is going to significantly accelerate the shift from independent businesses to the gig economy model and that isn't really great news for anyone. There is a significant labour shortage in this country which has resulted in the sharp rise in average wages that we have seen recently. Hospitality businesses have been really struggling to get staff and some have just given up or reduced working hours.  Some have resulted to the use of illegal migrant labour and the government seemed to be turning a blind eye to this to encourage economic growth but just recently they have started to recognise the connection between small boats and the availability of work to anyone who can make it over here.  Some local restaurants have been affected including the Woody Grill on Uxbridge Road which was caught employing lots of people who shouldn't have been working in this country. However, more restaurants based on the gig economy are likely to increase the availability of work to illegal migrants. Companies like Deliveroo and Just Eat claim to check the credentials of all their delivery riders but they don't check substitute riders. Have a look at this very informative article from the Conversation on the subject . I don't think these food delivery companies are that bothered who is working for them. They seem unconcerned about riders at night with out lights, running red lights or speeding and the accident rate for them is three times the average. Also, imagine Border Force launching a raid on the mega-kitchen. It would be impossible so undocumented workers will probably make up a significant proportion of the staff as they allegedly do on a lot of food processing sites in the Park Royal area.

Andrew OSullivan ● 1130d

I have read the article you linked to and would say it is a must read for anyone who uses mobile apps such as Deliveroo.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1130d