Forum Topic

Good news/bad news on Chiswick Tower

Looking on the bright side, the news that the new owner of Chiswick Tower isn't going to knock it down and put up an even taller building has to be welcomed. The original build quality of the tower must have been pretty high if it is going to get a second repurposing in its seventh decade.However, I'm inclined to agree with the tone of the report which suggests there may now be no funds made available for Gunnersbury station improvements from this project but hopefully money taken from developers putting up other buildings nearby can be used to increase the capacity of the station.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 311d11 Comments

That's a fair point but maybe not designating the building to retained as office space was a quid pro quo for the submission of designs which the council thought had value.

Mark Evans ● 300d

I don't see the logic of not designating Chiswick Tower as a Key Area subject to the Article 4 direction. The developer has a year to advance their plans without planning permission but if they fail to go through with the project the site remains open to alternative plans which the council might find less welcome.

Andrew OSullivan ● 304d

We could be glass half full on this and assume the exclusion of the site from the Article 4 Direction map is due to Hounslow Council having had credible pre-application discussions with the developer. By leaving it out they lose a significant amount of leverage but if they have been presented with a scheme for the car park site that delivers a station entrance and a good proportion of affordable housing, they may have been persuaded it was worthwhile doing so.

Mark Evans ● 307d

Screenshot from CartoMetro showing the previous layout — the platforms used to be where the west car park is now. The names on the existing platforms refer to eastbound and westbound. There wouldn't need to be 2 additional platforms, one additional platform with separate access would be a big improvement. The map also shows the boundary for ownership of the line between London Underground and Network Rail and the track through the station and Gunnersbury station itself are owned by Network Rail. All the different parties involved complicates any improvements with National Rail as the owner, TfL as the operator of services, LBH as the planning authority all being involved with any plans from the developer.

Michael Robinson ● 309d

The car parks partly occupy the site of the two former platforms at Gunnersbury Station. If they are developed for housing that would put paid to any chance of reinstating the platforms. It would be good if LBH's planners insisted that any development there should not prejudice the reinstatement of the platforms, although I am not optimistic that they will do so.

Richard Greenhough ● 309d

Pocket seems to be a good landlord who hasn't exploited their position as freeholder in their developments but this unfortunately is increasingly rare. One interesting snippet I overlooked in the article on the Chiswick Tower development is that it has been excluded as a key site in the Article 4 direction on permitted development. This suggests strongly that discussions have already been held with the council which has agreed in principle to the change of use to housing. No planning permission required means no planning gain and therefore no money for station improvements. There are no details on the car park development but it is a big site so even with an affordable component, it may be able to deliver new access. As far as I can work out, if it doesn't happen with this development, it never will.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 309d

We scoffed at the tower of pokey ‘pocket homes’ recently built in Bollo Lane, with their communal rooftop space and other tricks to make the flats smaller, but now they seem to be occupied.

Peter Evans ● 310d

I wonder what the market is like for these types of flats. The description is more like student accommodation than anything else.With the excellent transport links it should be excellent for a younger crowd maybe just starting on the property ladder but working in central London or even key workers at West Middlesex hospital but the cynic in me wonders whether a significant number will simply end up as corporate apartments for the business part

Justin Stephenson ● 311d

Gunnersbury station is actually owned by Network Rail, not TfL.

Michael Robinson ● 311d

In an ideal world, redeveloping this site should present an opportunity to reinstate the two extra outer platforms at Gunnersbury station.  But who will pay?  It could be a TfL project, but they're probably too strapped for cash.  And I think we only got our lovely rusty footbridge from the Business Park to Chiswick Park station because it would take the pressure off Gunnersbury.  If nothing else, maybe we'll get some better signs and entrances so Gunnersbury Station isn't so hidden out of sight!

Peter Evans ● 311d

Gunnersbury Station badly needs a lift!I have to go the stairs backwards to be safe from falling.I've been using the Dtation for over 80 years!

Jim Lawes ● 311d