Borough Blueprint Moves Closer

Vision for Brentford Town Centre and the Golden Mile

The 15 year blueprint for future development across the borough has moved a step closer.

The draft Local Plan highlights the key areas for regeneration and investment across the borough between 2015 and 2030.

The plans, which have been shaped by a stakeholder consultation that took place last summer, include potential sites for 12,330 new homes and the community infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of Hounslow’s expanded population.

Development will be directed to areas that have capacity for change, including the borough’s town centres and around the Great West Road. The many landscape, natural and built heritage assets and distinctive residential characters found across the borough will be protected and enhanced.

The proposals for Brentford look as follows (with numbers relating to points below):

1. Encouraging redevelopment of the allocated sites including: BSkyB, Gillette, Reynard Mills and Brentford Waterside.
2. Regenerating Brentford town centre as a vibrant District Centre that celebrates the town’s heritage and waterside location, through:
- Maximising the centre’s vitality and viability by promoting an increase in town centre floorspace appropriate in scale for a District Centre.
- Reconnecting the High Street with the centre’s wealth of historical assets which have been undervalued and neglected for many years and a canal side environment which is unique in character, enjoyable and diverse in the variety of uses it provides.
- Supporting the new retail with a mix of employment, leisure, entertainment and cultural uses which promote greater use of the canal side, primarily on the Brentford Waterside site to the south of Brentford High Street.
- Securing the future of the Waterman’s Arts Centre including promoting its potential relocation to Brentford town centre.
- Ensuring provision of short-term shopper car parking within the town centre.
- Promoting improvements to the High Street to improve the environment for
pedestrians and to ease north-south movement.
- Identifying a site for the creation of a new market square in front of the old
Magistrates Court on Brentford High Street.
3. Promoting the Golden Mile as a strategic outer London development centre for digital and media by supporting the expansion of existing employers, seeking to deliver a fundamental change in the accessibility of the area by public transport, improving the visual environment including a reduction in advertisement clutter and retaining the commercial character of the roadside, as well as improving the connections to Brentford town centre.
4. Promoting the provision of major public transport improvements for the Great West Road and Brentford as a whole, including new rail links to the Crossrail line at Southall and from Hounslow to Brent Cross via the proposed west London transport interchange at Old Oak Common (links to Crossrail and High Speed 2).
5. Connecting the Golden Mile with development in the areas north and west of Chiswick roundabout and with Chiswick Business Park.
6. Supporting the relocation of Brentford Football Club to a site on Lionel Road South.
7. Supporting Brentford’s distinctive role for the provision of waterside industries and support facilities, and reconnecting the area with its unique waterside location.
8. Securing the restoration and regeneration of Gunnersbury Park and Mansions, and Boston Manor House and Grounds.
9. Targeting the social, economic and environmental improvements to the Haverfield, Brentford Towers and Syon estates as areas with high levels of deprivation (identified Areas of Regeneration).
10. Making provision for an additional 5 forms of primary school level. [What about secondary schools?]

Cllr Steve Curran, cabinet member for planning, regeneration and housing at the council, said:

“This plan is the blueprint for any future developments and setting out what we expect to see built in an area.

“It also sets out locations for potential new homes for families, where facilities such as schools should be built and where shops and services should be provided.

“But the local plan isn't just about building, it’s about preserving areas that we want to keep as they are, and protecting and improving the local environment.

“With such a wide scope, stretching over so many years, we’ve worked hard to get input from as many people and interested groups as possible, and their views have been taken on board in the draft plans we have produced.”

The plans outline how town centres will become hubs of cultural, leisure, community, and retail activity that supports the growing population. Town centres will also be promoted as locations for economic growth, as places to do business.

The quality of life and health of residents will be improved by providing supporting infrastructure and high quality design that respects and improves local character.

The plans were approved by the Council’s cabinet last week, and will now go to Borough Council for approval. If approved, there will then be a full public consultation, before they are submitted to the Secretary of State.

The report on the draft plans, and the plans themselves, can be found here.

February 19, 2014