£4.8 million boost for Hounslow and Brentford town centres

Hounslow gets largest grant from Outer London fund

Hounslow and Brentford town centres are being given a £4.8 million boost thanks to the council, the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund (OLF), and private investment.

The £3 million from the OLF is the largest granted to any borough in London.

The money will be spent on further improvements to two town centres, with Hounslow set to receive £2 million, and Brentford just over £1 million from the OLF, and the council investing over £900,000 across both schemes.

Cllr Ruth Cadbury, deputy leader of the London Borough of Hounslow, said:

“This is a significant boost to our plans for these town centres and is a result of a lot of hard work by officers, councillors, partners and – most importantly – local people.

“We’ve already done a lot in these areas, but this money will give us a chance to take on some larger projects that will make a lasting difference to the towns.”

In Brentford, the funding will see a range of projects taking place to connect the Great West Road and Brentford High Street through: 

• A launch event along the Grand Union Canal with the Royal Opera House during the Olympics
• Improving access from the Great West Road to Brentford Lock through a new cycling and pedestrian junction via the canal’s towpath and new bespoke signage on the Golden Mile
• A project to improve signage in and around Brentford town centre
• A bespoke lighting scheme linking up the Great West Road with the towpath, bridge underpass, towpath, Piazza, High Street and Market Place
• Development of a new cycling junction outside Holiday Inn
• Improvements to entrances to St George’s Piazza, new lighting and signage and bringing empty retail units back into use
• Improvements to the north side of High Street, with new street furniture, lighting and further shop frontage improvements
• A one year long community programme to develop a spectacular performance for a celebration event in March 2014

In Hounslow, ‘a living street’ will be created through: 

• A new public realm initiative designed to high standards on the High Street, reorganising the pedestrian area with new spaces, footways, paving, and street furniture.
• Creation of a multifunctional, large scale events space on Bell Corner (West Square) to enable the development of a year around programme of events from summer music festivals to winter ice skating
• A new community space at the heart of the High Street, with new seating areas and improvements in front of Holy Trinity Church as a focal point
• A lighting and power supplies scheme to encourage permanent and temporary markets, help deliver more cultural events in the future and improve the feeling of safety after dark
• Further shop front improvements
• The delivery of ‘Seeing our Streets Differently’ urban arts festival in March 2014 to provide the community with an opportunity to celebrate their new High Street

To find out more about the first round of projects already taking place through the Outer London Fund Round 1, visit www.hounslow.gov.uk/outerlondonfund.

Mary Macleod, MP for Brentford and Isleworth added: “The future of our High Streets is central to the community and it is great news that the local area has received such a major award from Mayor’s Outer London Fund. I have walked with Boris Johnson down Hounslow High Street and Brentford High Street to show him the potential they have in developing the local economy and the need for support. I look forward to seeing the projects take shape as part of the overall programme of regeneration of our local town centres.”

  January 18, 2012