Great West #1 by 3Fox

Great West

Investment destination: Hounslow

Great West Road: then and now

plane view: aviation industry

Changing the face of Hounslow We’re giving a massive makeover to the borough’s 259 miles of roads and 458 miles of footpaths. With an overall investment of £800 million over the 25 year project, the first 5 years will see a core investment of £100 million. Hounslow Highways will not only complete the installation of new and improved roads and footpaths by 2018, in the first two years, all street lights will be replaced with low-energy, carbonefficient LED lights. Greater attention will be given to the ‘street scene’ in the borough, with better street cleansing, new street furniture and greater community involvement through initiatives.

The investment in the borough’s infrastructure will be a cornerstone for Hounslow’s regeneration, as well as improving the customer experience and delivering a service of value to residents and local businesses. For more information and updates visit our website:

www.hounslowhighways.org

Executive editor: Siobhán Crozier Head of design: Rachael Schofield Art direction: Smallfury Designs Contributing editors: Lucy Purdy, Sarah Herbert Reporter: James Wood Head of business development: Paul Gussar Production assistants: Emily Corrigan Doyle, Emma Gasson Office manager: Sue Mapara Subscriptions manager: Simon Maxwell Managing director: Toby Fox

GW | Contents

Contents

Cover image: The Octopus Images: © The Decorators, Kinnear Landscape Architects, © Simon Periton, Hounslow Council, Morley von Sternberg (Assael), Barratt Homes, bptw partnership, St George, Brentford FC, Menzies Aviation, QVC, BSkyB, JCDecaux, GlaxoSmithKline, EnjoyWork, British Airways, Watermans Arts Centre, DHL, © PA, Michael Steele/ Staff / Getty Images

5 News

News update from the regeneration of the London Borough of Hounslow

A green borough of harmonious communities attracts multinationals

For the London Borough of Hounslow Civic Centre Lampton Road Hounslow TW3 4DN

15 Chiswick Park

Employees enjoy working at this multiple award-winning business park

Subscriptions and feedback: greatwestlondon.com

19 Projects

30 Aviation

Heathrow Airport is on its doorstep – and essential to Hounslow's economy

34 Connectivity

The connections that businesses need – from roads and motorways to trains, the tube and the world's busiest airport

37 Great West Road

London's only American-style boulevard has Art Deco gems, now highly prized as mulitnational headquarters

Published by: 375 Kennington Lane London SE11 5QY T: 020 7978 6840

9 Quality of life

A summary of various developments under way around the borough

Printed by: Tradewinds

42 Markets

Fast facts about Hounslow, at a glance

45 Regenerators

The team which leads the regeneration of this west London borough tells Great West readers about development plans and their vision for Hounslow

49 Arts and culture

Watermans Arts Centre is an inclusive local facility, successfully engaging Hounslow's communities, but is also a respected contributor to London's wider arts scene

© 3Fox International Limited 2013. All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly f orbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no r esponsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited or the London Borough of Hounslow.

BARRATT LONDON INVESTING IN HOUNSLOW’S FUTURE

Computer generated images of Great West Quarter, Brentford

Barratt London has been at the forefront of residential development in London for over 30 years and has completed 26,000 new homes. Barratt London continues to invest in Hounslow where we have delivered a number of schemes including our ﬂagship West London development Great West Quarter in Brentford, which will provide 787 new homes, a hotel, shops, cafés, offices and restaurants.

barrattlondon.com

GW | News

News

Waterside plans to revive Brentford Plans for a waterside connection between the Great West Road and Brentford High Street are moving closer. The project – Making the Connection – is set to create a route for walkers and cyclists to encourage more people to visit the high street. Councillor Ruth Cadbury, cabinet member for regeneration at Hounslow Council, said: “This project will make it easier for people on the Golden Mile to visit and shop here.

LHR: “better, not bigger” Hounslow Council with 11 other local authorities has demanded that Heathrow is ruled out from a list of potential sites for new runways in the south-east. Council leader Jagdish Sharma said Heathrow needed to be “better, not bigger” and that myths around the need for more runway capacity needed to be debunked.

"It’s not just about better signs and lights but making it easier for cyclists to visit, and improving the public space to encourage socialising and events.” The project is being funded by the London mayor's Outer London Fund, the council and local stakeholders. The design phase, led by Kinnear Lansdcape Architects, is due to be finalised in April with construction estimated to complete by March 2014.

Hounslow economy thrives Hounslow is in a prime position to attract investment and the borough has been identified as having one of the highest performing local economies in the country. The Business Location Index by Local Futures, a company which analyses underlying trends and future drivers of change, ranked Hounslow’s economic performance as the fourth best in the country, after looking at 325 local authority areas in England. The area scored particularly highly in terms of productivity, as a result of high performing local businesses, attracted to Hounslow because of its relative proximity to central London and the surrounding counties. A skilled workforce has resulted in an increase in the proportion of people of working age in employment over a 10-year period. John Fisher, director of Local Futures group, said: “Hounslow is really benefiting from high knowledge, high value companies. If we have a Silicon Valley in this country, Hounslow is certainly part of it.”

New home for Brentford FC Plans to create a new home for Brentford Football Club have progressed to public consultation. The club plans to move from its Griffin Park stadium to a purpose-built, 20,000-capacity stadium at Lionel Road. Brentford FC will submit a planning application to Hounslow Council following consultation. The Lionel Road site will also offer opportunities for residential development around the stadium. Brian Burgess, director of Lionel Road Developments, said: “Our proposal has two main purposes: to secure the long term sustainability of Brentford FC and to provide impetus and assistance in the wider regeneration of this part of Brentford."

Olympians honoured 6

Hounslow has honoured its gold-medal winning Olympians, long distance runner Mo Farah and rower Peter Reed MBE. Farah – who grew up in Hanworth and trained at the council's athletics track in Isleworth – won two Olympic gold medals in the 5,000m and 10,000m. Reed, who lived in Chiswick, won his second gold in the men’s coxless fours. Both athletes were given the Freedom of the Borough – the highest honour that a council can award – for their outstanding contribution to sport within the local area.

new Contract calls time on potholes Work has started on the first roads to be resurfaced as part of the new Hounslow Highways contract. The project is a partnership between Hounslow Council, VINCI Concessions, Barclays Infrastructure Funds and Ringway, which took on the responsibility for the borough's roads on 1 January 2013. Hounslow Highways will deliver improvements to the borough’s streets over the next 25 years. Services will include resurfacing and improving Hounslow’s 259 miles of roads and 458 miles of footpaths, replacing more than 16,000 street lights with brighter, more

environmentally friendly LED lights, installing new litter bins and deploying state-of-the-art street cleaning equipment. Council leader Jagdish Sharma said: "Hounslow residents and businesses deserve high quality, smooth, clean streets and that is what will be delivered through Hounslow Highways." Phil Jackson, CEO of Hounslow Highways Services, said: "The investment we will make and works we complete are all geared towards building a better borough and in turn, attracting new businesses and visitors and aiding economic development.”

£54m for school places More than £54 million will be invested to provide more primary school places across Hounslow. The plans will see the expansion of 15 primary schools to help meet the demand for places. Hounslow has seen a rapid increase in the number of school-age children in recent years. In order to provide the capacity to give these children the education they need, the council has been creating extra places at schools that have the potential to expand and where demand is highest.

Property prices in Hounslow are set to rise by 19.4% in the next five years, according to estate agent Savills. A five-year forecast of property price rises in London shows Hounslow among the boroughs expected to see the most growth. Popular

commuter suburbs such as Chiswick and Brentford help boost Hounslow’s property investment offer, placing it in 20th place in the findings. Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster came joint top, with predicted property price rises of 25.6%.

BP considers Feltham HQ Oil giant BP has signed a prelet to occupy a 12,500sq m headquarters in Scottish Widows’ building at Bedfont Lakes, Feltham, according to CoStar News. Jeremy Rodale, partner in national markets office agency for Strutt & Parker, who acted for Scottish Widows, told CoStar the deal represented the "largest letting in Heathrow and the third largest letting in the whole of the M4 corridor in the last five years". The arrangement, which is subject to planning, means New Square is fully occupied, CoStar reports, with neighbours including Birds Eye, the UK Border Agency, IBM and Lindt.

GW | News

Hounslow tipped as property hotspot

Feltham Arenas site improved Contractors have carried out work at Feltham Arenas to improve the site’s safety and to plan for future works. In December, council contractors Waterman tested the stability of slopes on the site and checked soil quality. The council is looking at options to bring the facility back into active use. The site has been secured and the car park area has been cleared to improve its appearance. Further works will take place in spring to improve the playing surface.

Chiswick Park HQ for Pokemon The company that fuelled the worldwide Pokemon gaming phenomenon has selected Chiswick Park for its new UK headquarters. The Pokemon Company International will move from its Fulham base as part of a 10-year lease deal. The group plans to occupy almost 930sq m of office space. Vacancy rates at the park have remained at less than

1% since global investment company Blackstone bought the 167,225sq m site for £480 million in April 2011. Swarovski and Absolut Vodka agreed to move their UK offices to the park in March and oil services group Aker signed a deal in June. Savills and CBRE acted for Blackstone on the contract, and Frost Meadowcroft acted for Pokemon.

Britain’s hub airport. Why start from scratch when you can build on strength? Three stations: totally tube connected

T5: voted ‘world’s best terminal’ 2012

Coming soon: our all-new T2

Heathrow Express: T3 to central London in 15 minutes

M4 corridor: the UK’s magnet for global businesses

Crossrail: the new connection to east London under way

The UK needs better connections with the world’s markets. Only one place is best positioned to provide them. That place is the UK’s hub airport: Heathrow. We’re already one of Europe’s best connected. Already a magnet for global business. Already investing some £11 billion in better transport links; new and better terminals; and a better travel experience (with another £3 billion to come). So ask yourself – who’s better placed to bring the world to your door – than the airport that already is? Find out more at heathrow.com/hub

Hounslow draws multinationals such as BP and IBM to quality office space on Heathrow’s doorstep. Famous residents and local Olympians Mo Farah and Peter Reed are honoured with gold post boxes. Its political leaders praise Hounslow’s harmony and cohesion, while developers promote its sense of community in marketing their schemes. This is a green borough with diverse attributes. Pamela Buxton reports ◆

GW | Quality of life

West side story

hich London borough has five stately homes, 200 parks and open spaces and is one of the greenest in the capital? Surprisingly perhaps, it is busy Hounslow, the west London borough more often associated with Heathrow Airport. While the airport on its doorstep is undoubtedly important to Hounslow – some 20% of jobs in the area are linked to its supply chain – the borough has far more going for it. Though, as council leader Jagdish Sharma MBE says, it may not have always shouted loudly enough about it. With excellent transport links, it has always been a useful route to and from other places – traditionally, a staging post for travel to the south-west from London, with important routes such as the Bath Road. But with healthy employment and education

opportunities, new affordable housing and a flurry of regeneration developments, it is increasingly becoming a place where people can put down roots. More are doing so than ever before – this year Hounslow’s population exceeded a quarter of a million for the first time. This is exactly what Councillor Sharma himself did when he arrived in England from the Punjab nearly fifty years ago. “I came to Hounslow in 1965 and thought it a marvellous place. I’ve never thought of moving. It’s a diverse but very cohesive community and all sections of the population work very nicely together,” he says. This community spirit is something that people in Hounslow often cite as one of the borough’s strengths. It has one of the longest established

GW | Quality of life

ethnic communities in the UK – 2011 Census data shows 19% are ethnic Indians – a community with strong Punjabi representation. There has recently been a significant growth in the number of people from eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Some 140 languages are spoken in total. Community organisations, along with the public and private sectors, are represented on Hounslow Together, a local strategic partnership (LSP) that coordinates strategies for local issues. Hounslow has key attractions both for individuals and businesses and connectivity is one of the most important. As well as its proximity to Heathrow, Hounslow has rail and underground links to central London, plus major roads such as the A4 and A30, with the M4, M25 and M3 just minutes away. As a result, more than 10,000 businesses

are established in the borough, including many international corporates, such as GlaxoSmithKline, along the ‘Golden Mile’ of the Great West Road, and at Chiswick Park, one of the UK’s largest business parks. Bedfont Lakes, less than a mile from Heathrow’s Terminal 4 is home to multinationals such as IBM, Lindt and BP. Hounslow’s air and road links make it particularly appealing to logistics companies such as DHL, which is based in the borough, and it also houses a cluster of media companies including BSkyB, a major employer. Other big names include Sega, in Chiswick, and Brompton Bicycle in Brentford. There are plenty of smaller independent businesses and a particularly large number of startups which Sharma puts down in part to the area’s ethnic character.

“It's a diverse but very cohesive community and all sections of the population work very nicely together” ◆ Far left: The Great Conservatory at Syon House inspired the design of Crystal Palace. Left: The borough has a large Punjabi community. Some 140 languages are spoken across Hounslow. ◆

◆ Right: Sky Studios in Osterley installed a wind turbine last year. ◆

“Punjabis are very hard-working and entrepreneurial in approach. They are not afraid of taking risks and having a go,” he says. Local success stories include Sunrise Radio, the first UK radio station for the Asian community. Part of Hounslow's appeal is affordability – despite good links with central London. Council tax has not risen for several years and this year saw a cut of 0.5%. In 2012, Hounslow built its first new council housing for many years and aims to build 2,500 affordable homes across the borough by 2014. Property prices in the more affluent areas such as Chiswick, Isleworth and Osterley have increased rapidly – but Hounslow still has a buoyant property market. According to local estate agent Bridge, there is a good first-time buyer market with one-bedroom flats in the more affordable areas of the borough such as Hounslow and Heston priced at around £140,000-160,000 and also plenty of three-bed 1930s semis with drives and scope for extensions at around £270,000-£325,000. Brentford Lock is a particularly up-and-coming area with new waterside developments such as the mixed-use Brentford Lock West. Led by Isis, a developer specialising in waterside projects, this scheme will provide new homes and commercial units in a retained Art Deco building. “One of the good things about Brentford is its great sense of community, which you don’t normally get in London boroughs,” notes Isis development director Katie Sully. She says that people there care about their environment and are prepared to get involved.

“Our marketing is that you’re buying into a community, not just somewhere to live,” she says. Isis is building 520 units including a variety of housing types on brownfield land from one-bed starter homes to four-bed houses, with designs by a group of award-winning architects. A fifth of the units will be affordable, with the first homes becoming available in winter 2013. Barratt’s Great West Quarter (GWQ), a mixed-use redevelopment of a five-hectare site on the Great West Road provides a combination of 787 private and affordable apartments, and will feature shops and restaurants, as well as a hotel when complete. Hounslow Council is keen to retain upwardly mobile residents and one attraction is the quality of local schools. All of the borough’s 13 secondary schools are rated by Ofsted as either good or outstanding, and Hounslow has the highest rated London primary school – the Blue School – which Ofsted rates as sixth nationwide. Quality of life is another plus, with abundant green open spaces. These are, says Sharma, one of Hounslow’s undiscovered secrets totalling 7,400,000sq m. As well as 14 parks including Lampton Park and Boston Manor, there are three countryside sites – Hounslow Heath, once the territory of Dick Turpin and a rare natural heathland in the capital, the former gravel extraction site of Bedfont Lakes, and Grove Park. “We have 45,000 trees in our parks alone – we’re a very leafy borough,” says Andrew Smith, the council’s client manager for grounds maintenance. He adds that parks have lately had a larger footfall due to the recession, and the council is responding

refurbished Spring Grove House, once the home of botanist Sir Joseph Banks and now part of West Thames College in Isleworth. Further regeneration is planned, not just in the development hotspot of Brentford Lock but also in the centre of Hounslow, where major plans are afoot to regenerate the High Street in a mixed-use project that will provide housing, retail and leisure. In the past, says Sharma, the borough may have been “a bit shy” of its attractiveness for businesses and investment. But with significant opportunities in the pipeline, it is increasingly ready to spread the word and get noticed, and not just for its proximity to Heathrow, but in its own right as well. ◆

GW | Quality of life

with plans to install natural gyms and refurbish existing playgrounds. Four of the five leisure centres have recently been refurbished – with the fifth at the planning stage – supporting the council's aim to improve participation in different sports. Local sporting heroes include Olympic gold medallist runner Mo Farah, who grew up in Feltham, and rower Peter Reed, who both have gold post boxes in their honour locally. Farah and Reed have also received Freedom of the Borough awards in recognition of their exploits at the 2012 Games. Historic houses are another attraction with several fine stately homes (see box). Others remain in daily working use, such as the recently

Hounslow’s Stately Homes Chiswick House (Pictured top) This 18th century stately home was built by the third Earl of Burlington in the grand Palladian style. Its 26-ha gardens, recognised as the start of the influential English Landscape Movement, have recently been restored and include a lake, cascade, terrace, conservatory and a new cafe. Osterley House (Middle) This neoclassical mansion and its grounds make up one of the last surviving country estates in London. It was designed by Robert Adam in the 18th century and is now a National Trust property. Syon House (Bottom) Across the Thames from Kew Gardens, Syon House is the London home of the Duke of Northumberland. The 18th century interior is by Robert Adam and the landscape by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. This includes a grand conservatory that was the inspiration for Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace. Boston Manor House This Jacobean manor house, built in 1623 in Brentford, is surrounded by parkland containing a lake and ancient cedar trees. The property is owned by Hounslow Council and known for the ornate interior of its state rooms, some of which are open to the public. Gunnersbury House This Regency mansion is the largest property in Gunnersbury Park. Listed Grade ll*, it retains a suite of grand reception rooms designed by Sydney Smirke in 1835-6 and a servants’ wing containing the original Victorian kitchens. It is also the home of the Gunnersbury Park Museum, the local history museum for the boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow, by whom it is jointly owned.

A view of the 12 storey Building 7 at the end of the lake on Chiswick Park

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GW | Chiswick Park

Park Life

Multiple award-winning Chiswick Park, in well-connected Hounslow, offers well designed office space in a landscaped setting. The Enjoy-Work philosophy has allowed companies to recruit high-calibre staff and is acclaimed as a great environment to work in. James Wood pays a visit ◆

hiswick Park is a pioneering business development focused on employee satisfaction. Maintained by the EnjoyWork team, it operates under a simple premise: that happier workers ultimately lead to better business. Picture the scene. A picnic rug is casually thrown down on the grass verge by the lake, swans glide by as a group of friends share stories over lunch and lounge on bean bags, one strumming a guitar. A football match is taking place behind them. But the scene is not taking place at a holiday resort. It is the product of blueprints originally thought up by Sir Stuart Lipton, former chief executive of developer, Stanhope, and influential, internationally renowned architect Sir Richard Rogers, whose idea for a new, different kind of business development park was fully realised. Chiswick Park is one of the country’s most modern

and attractive developments, employing 6,500 people and including such prominent occupiers as Paramount Pictures, The Discovery Channel and Swarovski jewellers. In the 1980s the location was an old London bus depot used as a filming location for On the Buses. It was torn down, leaving a stagnated 13.4-hectare brownfield site in its wake. Lipton and Rogers took over the site and had a clear vision. They wanted a business park that optimised the surroundings for the pleasure of those who worked there. City business parks at the time were almost exclusively insipid, concrete structures. Office blocks looked out on to dreary car parks. Lipton and Rogers changed this perception, deciding a lake surrounded with trees and shrubs should form the site’s centrepiece, with the car park built on the perimeter. Once construction was under way, the developers

decided to brand the place with an estate management team called Enjoy-Work. The idea was to use the team’s expertise to prioritise people over bricks and mortar and the Chiswick Park community began to take shape. Gemma McNeilis, Enjoy-Work’s communications manager, says: “The sense of community comes through in a number of ways. In creating it, you have to appeal to people on different levels. Trying to cater for every person’s needs is difficult, but this concept is very encompassing and we aim to appeal to the individual rather than the employee.” Spread among the striking office architecture with solar panels and full-height glazed windows, there are cafes, bars, a restaurant and a gym, but McNeilis explains that the Enjoy-Work team focuses on more than general wellbeing. “For more senior people at the site it might just be making their lives easier through car services and helping with groceries,” she says. “But there are so many options available. You can finish work and come in here and learn to play the guitar for example, or you can learn French.” Throughout the summer, Enjoy-Work offers a weekly events programme at the park. “The guests come out between 12 and two,” says McNeilis. “We’ve had the weird and the wonderful here, from llama-racing to dog grooming, from fairground rides to festival events. There are all these different elements and that’s so important within the Enjoy-Work brand.” It certainly seems to be working. From the barista in the cafe to the suited business executive perusing

the canopied broadways, people trade greetings and pleasantries as they pass one another. Louie Dupreez, who works for Vue Entertainment at the site, says: “It’s been three pretty quick years since I started working here and it really is quite unlike anywhere I’ve ever worked. You have to admire the effort. It takes me a bit of time to commute but it’s worth it.” The site is in a prime location to attract international business, being only a short distance away from Heathrow and central London. With rail links to the east and north, the site makes for an easy journey for commuters. Chiswick Park has been listed as one of the UK’s 50 best workplaces for five years in a row in a national poll by The Great Place to Work Institute,

◆ Previous page and right: Attractive landscaping forms the centrepiece of Chiswick Park. Below and opposite: Employees can enjoy a weekly event programme ranging from festivals to fairground rides. ◆

GW | Chiswick Park

most impressively being ranked at number seven in 2011. Specific praise was reserved for the care given to ensure the physical and emotional wellbeing of employees. Ana Santos, a Portuguese employee of Otis at the site, says: “It is the best business park I’ve ever worked in. You need a general sense of fun in life to be able to work well. I even get free coffee – what’s not to like?” More and more businesses are being attracted by Chiswick Park. Since its conception twelve years ago, the site has become home to 45 companies and 6,500 employees. With the construction of two new office blocks set for completion by 2014 and the news that Aker Solutions, a Norwegian Oil and Gas company, has taken out the lease for the whole of building six, the number of employees is projected to rise to 12,000. Enjoy-Work’s McNeilis says: “A lot of the original occupiers were very media focused, but it has become quite diverse here. I think what companies in the park have in common is they see the benefit of investing in their employees. Retention and recruitment are big reasons for businesses relocating here.” Chiswick Park has been owned by US equity firm Blackstone for the last three years and the global company has now shelved plans to sell the park, which had been given an asking price of around £800 million. CoStar News reported that Blackstone will continue to hold the lease for at least two more years and will now be focusing its efforts on a £600 million combined senior and mezzanine refinancing. The site has enjoyed a vacancy rate of less than 1% since the Blackstone takeover. Rent reviews have recently been completed, which have seen lettings increase in value. When Blackstone bought the site, lettings were typically rented for £30 per sq ft. Aker Solutions took a pre-let of their office building for a reported £46 per sq ft of their 215,000sq ft offices. Enjoy-Work helps companies adapt to the park. When QVC moved to the site, the organisation paid a visit to the company, to talk to their employees about what to expect in order to make the move as smooth as possible. Enjoy-Work has also been successful in involving the local community. A workshop was set up for Chiswick School, where pupils aged 13-14 were given the chance of five minutes of questioning with business representatives from Discovery, Paramount and Starbucks. On a summer’s weekend, children and their parents can also be seen enjoying the many facilities the park has to offer. A strong environmental focus helps maintain the impressive landscaping that resulted in the park winning the national landscaping award at the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) in 2007.

“Retention and recruitment are big reasons for businesses relocating here” Recycling waste and being careful with energy resources is crucial in achieving this. Employees are encouraged to separate their food waste and businesses compete against each other to lower their rates of energy consumption. McNeilis says: “It’s interesting to see the depths of corporate competition, whether it’s on the football pitch or reducing consumption.” Chiswick Park works under the simple premise that people who are happy at work do better work, ultimately leading to better businesses. As more and more companies set up base at the site, it appears to be a concept that is reaping rewards. ◆

A 4,000 sqm international hq office building by Chiswick roundabout, available to lease or purchase. Its 2,800 sqm LED media screens present the opportunity to create a worldwide branding presence at the gateway to London. mail@thelondonoctopus.com www.thelondonoctopus.com +44 (0)20 7602 7604

a landmark development by Galliard / London & Bath designed by Make Architects

GW | Map

Hounslow map Featured projects

Heathrow Hounslow

1 2 3 4 5

The City

Kew Bridge Brentford High Street Gillette Corner Brentford FC Goat Wharf

6 H ounslow town centre 7 Great West Quarter 8 Brentford Lock West 9 The Octopus

Central London Acton Town Stamford Brook Chiswick Park

Boston Manor

Turnham Green

7 Brentford

A4 Great West Rd

4 5

Gunnersbury

BRENTFORD

Syon Lane

Osterley London Rd Hounslow East

ISLEWORTH

Hounslow Central HOUNSLOW RICHMOND

Hounslow A310

Heathrow

Brentford FC

Great West Quarter

Brentford Lock West

The Octopus

WELCOME TO YOUR NEW WATERSIDE HOME Be part of this vibrant residential community on the banks of the Grand Union Canal. Be one of the first to purchase your new home at Brentford Lock West by registering now for our 1, 2 and 3 bedroom waterside apartments. NOW SELLING FROM PLAN Call us to register or to make an appointment on 01628 482276. www.brentfordlockwest.co.uk

Brentford high street

Kew Bridge The third phase of apartments at the Kew Bridge riverside development has now been released by award-winning developer St George. The scheme consists of one, two and three-bedroom luxury apartments and penthouses. Ian Dobie, managing director of St George West London, said: “We are thrilled with the success of Kew Bridge. Given the fantastic response by our customers we are delighted to be releasing this new collection of apartments and penthouses. Kew Bridge is designed to suit the busy lifestyles of our customers and has an exceptional specification, from the hotelstyle entrance, to the custom designed kitchens and bathrooms. The spacious

interiors have been carefully designed to make the most of the river views and Kew Bridge is becoming one of west London's most sought after addresses." Kew Bridge is designed around a European style piazza. The Thames-side scheme includes office space with retail units at ground level. The letting of a 352sq m retail unit to Sainsbury's Local marks a first deal between St George and the supermarket chain. Apartments have views over ponds and landscaped courtyards. Located less than 100m from Kew Bridge station, with a direct service to central London, the development is also near Gunnersbury and Kew Gardens underground stations. Prices start from £394,950.

The planning application for the redevelopment of the 4.8-ha site to the south of Brentford High Street was submitted to Hounslow Council by Ballymore Group in September 2012. Architects AHMM, Glenn Howells and Maccreanor Lavington have worked on the Brentford High Street masterplan, with the individual practices producing detailed plans for different sections of the first phase of the mixed use, residential and retail scheme. Maccreanor Lavington's design is for 113 apartments with 2,650sq m of commercial space. The mixed-use building will house an anchor food store along with high street retail and independent local shops. The apartments are located on the upper floors, around a communal courtyard in blocks of five, six and seven storeys. Construction is expected to commence in mid-2013. Grant Associates developed the landscape and public realm strategy, which aims to create new connections from the High Street to the waterside, as well as to the wider landscape and network of habitats. AHMM leads the teams who developed plans for this opportunity in Brentford’s historic ‘yards’ neighbourhood with its attractive waterside setting and mix of historic architecture.

GW | Projects

Projects

gillette corner

Gillette Corner, a prominent 4.15-ha landmark development on the Great West Road’s “Golden Mile” is currently being marketed. The site is owned by Bonnington Group, with Savills and Mason Owen & Lyons estate agents appointed to market the freehold interest in the former Gillette European HQ. Providing more than 46,000sq m of existing commercial property space, the development is strategically located on the main arterial A4 road to central London, just four miles from Heathrow Airport. It is also well served by rail and underground, providing easy access to central London. The Golden Mile is so named because of the international companies located there, making this one of west London's most dynamic areas for development. Approval has been granted for a high quality commercial complex, which will create a dynamic environment for commercial lets. Planning consent is in place and includes 86,000sq m of GIA floor space consisting of 47,000sq m of office accommodation, a prestigious 505-bed five-star hotel, two restaurants and a bar. A Grade II-listed clock tower building, which overlooks the site, is a distinctive feature of the development. Gillette Corner is located just a quarter of a mile from Syon Lane rail station, with a direct link to London Waterloo. Bids for this iconic site are anticipated in early April.

Brentford FC Brentford Football Club's plan for a new stadium is well advanced as the club contemplates plans to move from its existing home at Griffin Park to a purpose-built community stadium in Lionel Road South, Brentford. After several years of negotiation, the project took a significant step forward in June 2012 when the club bought a threehectare site in Lionel Road. Brentford FC is planning to build a stadium on the land with a capacity between 15,000 and 20,000. The stadium will also provide a new

home for the award-winning charity, the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, which works with more than 27,000 young people and also runs the Griffin Park Learning Zone and the Brentford Boating Arch at nearby Kew Bridge. The scheme offers three new opportunity sites for residential development adjacent to the ground, as well as at Brentford’s existing ground. The site, which is currently occupied by industrial tenants, lies between Kew Bridge station and the elevated M4 motorway near Chiswick roundabout.

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Goat wharf Work has started on the ÂŁ12.9 million, 86-home scheme at Goat Wharf, next to the River Thames and opposite the world heritage site of Kew Gardens. Notting Hill Housing commissioned architects bptw partnership and contractor Allenbuild Ltd South East to create a distinctive building. Design features are inspired by the wharf architecture of traditional river and canal side warehouses. Deep-set windows and metal panelling punctuate brick piers and a large landscaped central courtyard provides residents with private outdoor space. The homes are across a mix of tenures, including one, two and three-bedroom apartments and duplex penthouses, with the larger family-sized homes mainly for affordable rent. Completion is due by March 2014.

hounslow town centre Leading regeneration consultant and architect BDP has concluded a masterplan which will revitalise Hounslow town centre. The masterplan takes forward the 2009 strategy A Brighter Future for Hounslow, seeking to unlock the town

centre's potential and create a thriving and attractive metropolitan centre for west London. The strategy includes establishing three character destinations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Western Gateway, High Street Quarter and the Eastern Gateway. It also aims to

reinforce and improve links to existing tube and rail stations, intensifying the retail core. The masterplan also promotes the creation of more choice during the day and in nighttime activities and establishing town squares as thriving social spaces.

On the historic Golden Mile in Brentford, Barratt Homes' Great West Quarter development offers nearly 800 contemporary apartments set around a central piazza. A short walk from Kew Bridge rail station and South Ealing tube station, the M4 is also close, making it easy to get into central London or travel into the countryside. The scheme lies on a 13-ha site and was designed by architects Assael. It is made up of two converted and 17 new buildings, including the refurbished Art Deco, Grade II-listed Wallis House and a 25-storey tower building. It will provide 425 private and 348 affordable apartments along with bars, cafes, restaurants, a convenience store, nursery, health centre, surgery, art gallery, hotel and business starter units. The development is due for completion during 2013.

GW | Projects

Great west quarter

The heart

of Hounslow Investment in the 300,000 sq ft Treaty Centre has been a priority for new owners AG Quidnet, with over ÂŁ1.5 million spent modernising the car park and refurbishing the interiors.

ÂŁ1.5m

It demonstrates a commitment to creating jobs, and invigorating the local economy.

refurb of centre and car park

And it all adds up to better shopping in the heart of Hounslow.

annual footfall

Hounslow Council has approved plans for 520 new homes as part of ISIS Waterside Regenerationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposed mixed-use Brentford Lock West scheme. It includes plans for 7,000sq m of commercial space with 20% of the homes being made available for affordable housing. ISIS has set aside ÂŁ2 million for investment into local health and education facilities. The council has granted detailed planning permission for the first three buildings in the scheme, including 150 new homes which will all be sold privately. The first phase also includes a number of commercial units which will be housed in retained art deco buildings on the site. Delivery of the first phase of homes is now under way and will include a mix of one, two, three and four-bedroom apartments and townhouses. The first homes are due to be ready by winter 2013.

the octopus The asymmetrical, sculptural architecture of the Octopus will secure its place alongside the finest of modern London landmarks, according to MAKE architects who designed the structure for joint developers London & Bath Estates and Galliard. The building marks the gateway to London at the start of the M4. It also represents an enormous branding opportunity, standing at 50m and with 4,000sq m of high-spec offices and a roof garden/viewing gallery. The building is wrapped in a 2,600sq m LED mesh shroud, which will convey marketing messages via its west-facing advertising screen and offers possibilities for art installations. Its position at the intersection of the North and South Circular roads makes it one of the highest profile outdoor sites in the UK. Revised proposals were submitted and approved in 2011 after the scheme was previously rejected over concerns it would be distracting to drivers. Work on the detailed elements of the Octopus has already begun and it is planned to be open and occupied by the spring of 2015.

GW | Projects

Brentford Lock West

John Laing at the heart of Hounslow

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For over 160 years John Laing has shaped public sector services and assets, working with local communities to achieve real transformation. Our proven ability will save you money from the outset.

The London Borough of Hounslow’s library and cultural offer has undergone some major changes in recent years. At a time when other local authorities are closing library and cultural facilities, Hounslow’s partner John Laing, has brought life back into these essential community assets, in turn using them as catalysts for regeneration. By combining our skill in the management of risk, project financing, asset management and operations, and with a focus on community needs, we have implemented an extensive refurbishment programme. Through colocation, other services have been brought into the library space, enhancing the services now offered to Hounslow’s customers. This has also provided opportunities to rationalise the council’s property portfolio. Our service improvements have made a real difference to the users of the service, helped enhance the image of Hounslow and promoted local pride in community-based services. Our partnership has developed beyond core service delivery and John Laing are now working with Hounslow on their wider vision for assets, to support the need to drive efficiencies and stimulate growth. Together we are exploring how smarter asset management and estate rationalisation can be a lever to release capital and revenue over the longer term. John Laing is proud to be Hounslow’s strategic partner as it continues to shape the future of community services and supporting assets.

If you would like to know more please contact Paul Kelly, Business Development Director Email: paul.kelly@laing.com Tel: 020 7901 3200

◆ Jae-Jae and Melati, the male and female Sumatran tigers, arrive safely at Heathrow ◆

◆ Picture caption. Ga. Dipsusaperro essi odition sequist officiet quiamet eiciam ◆

GW | Aviation

Tiger economy Hundreds of businesses are based at London Heathrow Airport – and thousands of Hounslow residents work there or in the many aviation-related companies that feed the supply chain for the world’s busiest passenger airport. The contribution to Hounslow’s economy is huge, as Heathrow itself is a sub-regional economy, writes Paul Coleman ◆

very day Heathrow staff across the airport help a diverse range of customers from all over the world. But one team displayed special mettle last autumn when two VIP passengers, Jae-Jae and Melati (below), arrived at Heathrow on their way to London Zoo. Aircraft engineers, cargo handlers, security teams, pilots and drivers from international shipping firm DHL Express worked with on-board London Zoo keepers to swiftly and safely transport the male and female Sumatran tigers to Heathrow from Australia and the United States. The operation took less than 24 hours. Jae-Jae and Melati’s luggage included ten pounds of meat and two gallons of water. “DHL’s dedicated tiger team have done an excellent job,” says Phil Couchman, chief executive of DHL Express UK & Ireland. “We hope Jae-Jae and Melati enjoy their new home.” This tiger tale shows each shift can be very different for the 76,500 people who work at Heathrow. For instance, 6,422 staff work for Heathrow Airport Limited, (formerly BAA), daily managing Heathrow and overseeing the airport’s legion of companies and their employees. DHL staff also deliver retail goods, food and drink to 323 retail and catering outlets, pubs and restaurants across the airport from the Heathrow Consolidation Centre (HCC), a mile and a half from the airport. The vast HCC facility highlights Heathrow’s importance to the job market, stretching beyond planes, pilots and air crew. Hounslow’s family-oriented population, with a large cohort of young people, represents a local source of motivated labour.

An estimated 11,000 Hounslow residents work at Heathrow (LHR). But the airport has also spurred the development of an aviation economy across Hounslow. Air France-KLM’s UK and Ireland head office employs many local residents at Hatton Cross. SriLankan Airlines, national airline of Sri Lanka, bases its UK operations at Central House on Lampton Road, as does American Airlines on Staines Road. Menzies Aviation, a global provider of passenger, ramp and cargo handling services, develops its close relationships with airlines from its Bedfont Lakes headquarters in Feltham. For example, Menzies recently expanded their ground handling to Terminal 4, starting to work with Air India. Menzies Aviation’s Heathrow team also landed a contract to handle British Airways in Terminal 1. “It's a testament to the talent of the LHR ramp team that British Airways has had the confidence to award us their business in Terminal 1,” says Andy

“Our staff enjoy meeting different customers from all over the world at the airport” Boyd, senior vice president for Menzies Aviation. More than 29,000 people in Hounslow work for businesses connected in some way to Heathrow Airport, according to Aviation Foundation data. But Heathrow’s ongoing £1 billion redevelopment is also creating new jobs. Terminal 5 opened in March 2008 but has since added 12 more aircraft piers. Terminal 1 is set to be replaced around 2019. The impressive new Terminal 2 is due to open in 2014. Terminal 3 passengers enjoy a new forecourt and extended check-in area. Terminal 4 now hosts 45 airlines and accommodates the huge A380 aircraft. Martin Picken, British Airways’ (BA) manager of airport policy, thinks that Heathrow Airport and the people of Hounslow mutually “enjoy tremendous benefits by being next door to each other”. Picken says Heathrow is a sub-regional economy in its own right. BA itself employs about 2,000 people from the Hounslow area. Businesses like BA also raise the local tax base, money that can fund improved services for residents. People in Hounslow work as cabin crew or in baggage handling and check-in, tourism, hotels and hospitality, engineering, aircraft support, catering, security, border control, transport, waste

◆ Above left and right: Heathrow provides Hounslow's residents with a range of jobs from aircraft support to cargo handling. ◆

collection and reprocessing, and retail. “Heathrow is an industry, supplied by other local industries,” says Picken. “There’s cargo, warehousing, freight, delivery and dispatch drivers, office workers … it’s a long list of opportunities.” Multinationals like GlaxoSmithKline situated their staff in offices along the M4 corridor in west London on the way to Heathrow. The airport affords them easy access to their global customers and investors. Picken explains that cargo and warehousing jobs also expanded in Spelthorne and Hounslow due to Heathrow’s proximity. Similarly, many international business travellers fly into Heathrow and travel the short distance to attend conferences and meetings at the Waldorf Astoria’s London Syon Park hotel. “The hotel provides many jobs for the Hounslow economy,” he says. “Heathrow is a self-reinforcing magnet for new jobs,” Picken adds. He accepts Heathrow faces environmental – and now political – challenges. But the airport’s proximity also brings new highfrequency and faster bus, rail and tube links through Hounslow. “No two days working here are the same,” says Picken. “Our staff enjoy meeting different customers from all over the world at the airport. You’re at the centre of something big at Heathrow.” As new routes to China open and new airlines operate at Heathrow, such as Turkmenistan Airlines, Hounslow residents are able to seek new job opportunities and career paths with flexible hours and easier commutes. “Heathrow has grown as part of the international economy,” says Picken, bucking the national economic trend. “BA wants to try and grow with more flights to more destinations – and if Heathrow is able to expand we’ll need more people.”◆

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Every day, Hounslow’s extensive transport links whisk people around the borough, to the rest of London and into the world beyond. From the world’s busiest airport just around the corner to a multitude of planned improvements to rail, road and more, Hounslow’s excellent connectivity is a draw to potential residents, relocating businesses and investors. Estates Gazette’s Nick Whitten reports ◆

Touch the sky

eing sandwiched between one of the world’s largest airports and a global economic powerhouse certainly has its benefits. The London Borough of Hounslow, which abuts London Heathrow Airport and is within easy reach of the heart of the capital, is well positioned to take advantage of them. With millions of skilled workers on its doorstep and access to the engine room of the UK economy, it is a stone’s throw from a transport hub serving 193 destinations worldwide. Some of the world’s biggest blue chip businesses have already chosen Hounslow as their home, including British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) and GlaxoSmithKline.

Small businesses are also thriving in the borough’s towns such as Brentford and Chiswick – the latter is identified as one of 35 major centres in the Greater London Authority’s London Plan. Hounslow is a place that investors cannot ignore. Hounslow Council’s assistant director for strategic planning, regeneration and economic development, Heather Cheesbrough, says: “Businesses big and small see the benefits of locating in Hounslow. We offer fantastic connectivity in both a London and international context. No business can afford not to be within reach of its market and its customers.” Despite the borough’s many infrastructure advantages, the council is working hard to further

◆ Opposite and below: London Heathrow Airport connects Hounslow to 193 international destinations. Left: GlaxoSmithKline is just one of Hounslow's many blue chip companies. ◆

There is also potential for a new Hounslow-toBrent Cross service via the proposed High Speed 2 sub-regional rail interchange at Old Oak Common. Discussions continue on a direct link to Heathrow Terminal 5 from London Waterloo via Brentford through the renamed Airtrack Lite scheme. The council has close ties to Heathrow and is a strong supporter of the airport remaining a successful international hub. At just under 500,000 flights per year, capacity at the airport has increased by more than 150,000 flights per year compared with 1990, but the number of destinations served has dropped from 227 to 193. It is due to this that council leaders are against building a third runway. They say the case for expansion is based on the promise of more flights to emerging trading partners – but neither the airport nor the government can dictate where aeroplanes fly. More capacity does not automatically lead to better business connections for London, as airlines will always prioritise profitable routes, not those which serve the best interests of the UK economy, argues Hounslow Council leader Jagdish Sharma. “Heathrow is a vital part of our local economy but it needs to be better, not bigger,” says Councillor Sharma. “As community leaders, we need to debunk the myths around the need for more runway capacity. In essence it is simple – Heathrow and the airlines must make better use of what they have.” ◆

Hounslow’s neighbours City

Flight Time

Paris

1 hour

Frankfurt

1 hour

New York

7 hours

Dubai

7 hours

Delhi

8.5 hours

Beijing

10.5 hours

Tokyo

12.5 hours

GW | Connectivity

maximise its connectivity to both the airport and central London. Hounslow is one of just three UK local authorities – and the only one in the capital – to benefit from a new highways maintenance private finance initiative (PFI). Contractor Hounslow Highways will invest £100 million in the borough’s roads over the next five years, delivering some of the highest quality streets and most robust networks in the UK. Less maintenance work will mean less congestion and faster, more consistent journeys. And it is not a case of replacing like for like. Hounslow’s multimillion-pound Network 2020 programme will also upgrade the streets being renewed to best meet 21st century demands. This means better provision for sustainable transport such as cycling and walking. Transport for London (TfL) is proposing the longest Cycle Superhighway in the capital, which will arrive in the borough in 2014, alongside a renewal of public realm in Hounslow town centre. Improvements to the heavy rail infrastructure are also under way. Capacity on South West Trains serving Hounslow is increasing by 25% in 2013. TfL also proposes to significantly improve reliability, capacity and reduce journey times on London Underground’s Piccadilly line, which has five stations in the borough. Hounslow is well served by the District line, with a further three stations. Longer term plans will be developed to improve rail connectivity to Hounslow and Brentford, including direct links to Southall from Brentford via the Great Western Main Line, and via the £16 billion Crossrail project from 2018.

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GW | Great West Road

Western front

Hounslow’s Golden Mile is the Great West Road, where the clean, modern factories that went up in the 20s and 30s as Art Deco gems are now highly prized as prestigious multinational HQs, set impressively in London’s only US-style boulevard. Nadia Gilani explores ◆

he Golden Mile in Hounslow is a long and open road that has been synonymous with big business for decades. Formally the Great West Road, the Golden Mile opened in 1925 as a through-road to bypass the notoriously congested Brentford High Street and make it easier for motorists to travel in and out of the capital. Once built, an industrial site along the 2.5-mile stretch of the A4 in Brentford, from Gillette Corner in Syon Lane to Chiswick Park, created an attractive opportunity for businesses. It quickly became home to major manufacturing operations such as Gillette, Beechams, Currys and Smith’s, maker of potato crisps. Manufacturing has mostly moved away, yet the area remains a hotspot for investors, for its prime location and iconic original 1920s Art Deco buildings which can be seen from miles around. The area now houses about 200 organisations, employing nearly 25,000 people. Many multinational companies have headquarters alongside other mixed-use developments that flank the road, including international advertising space company JCDecaux, shopping channel QVC, global healthcare specialist GlaxoSmithKline, broadcaster BSkyB and developer Barratt Homes. With 57 empty properties of various sizes along the Great West Road corridor, Hounslow Council has ambitious plans for their future use. Brendon Walsh, the council’s director of regeneration, economic development and environment, says: “It’s a majestic stretch with some

◆ Previous page: The 1930's Art Deco HQ of JCDecaux. Below: Shopping channel giant QVC sells goods from its studio along Hounslow's Golden Mile. ◆

stunning Art Deco gems along the corridor – the closest thing we have in the UK to one of the great American boulevards. “The council is pro-development and regeneration and has a revolutionary approach to making things happen quickly,” adds Walsh. “We’re up for being brave and working with developers who have exciting plans for the area, in order to bring those projects through.” One such scheme – in the pipeline as part of Hounslow Council’s Brentford Area Action Plan (BAAP) – is the landmark Octopus building, rising up from Chiswick Roundabout. The 50-metre block will contain 300 offices in 4,000sq m, cloaked in an LED shroud, on which adverts and artwork will be displayed. Joint developer London & Bath Estates and Galliard envisage that a multinational HQ will occupy the building, using the LED shroud as a unique way of promoting its brand and products. The Octopus, which includes a rooftop garden and public viewing gallery, was designed by founder of MAKE architects, Ken Shuttleworth, who was also on the team behind the City of London’s famous Gherkin building. Excellent transport links are one of the Great West Road’s advantages. It is a wellplaced location for headquarters, close to a South West train line and the London Underground, making it easy for employees to get in and out. “Its proximity to Heathrow Airport makes it popular with those who have international business,

GW | Great West Road

“We have... broadcast operations here such as Sky News” so it’s a great location for HQs and at the same time we can see a mixed economy growing in the area in future,” Walsh says. The BAAP was established to address the Great West Road and issues facing Brentford as a whole, with projects designed for completion by 2018. Schemes identified include redevelopment of the vacant Gillette Corner site and expansion of BSkyB at Centaurs Business Park in Syon Lane. The former Alfa Laval Site and Baltic Centre is earmarked as a mixed-use development to include some affordable family housing. Its desirable location and affordability is what has prompted increasing numbers of companies and investors to move into the area in recent years. Many of the existing companies are based in the original Art Deco factories with white-finished frontages that tower high above the road. Philip Wilkinson, historian and author of The English Buildings Book, says: “About 100 years earlier, factories were large and imposing brick buildings which chugged out smoke. These were very different. “They were hygienic factories that were clean and great places to work,” he explains. “Big companies realised they could create attractive architecture and use that architecture to show off their work.” The UK HQ of French multinational JCDecaux is a prime example of a landmark 1930s Art Deco building comfortably housing a modern business. The world’s largest outdoor advertising company by revenue, JCDecaux is based in the former Currys factory, restored by Foster and Partners and now a Grade II-listed site. Marketing director David McEvoy says: ”Great design and innovation is at the heart of JCDecaux’s business. Our Great West Road HQ houses our Innovation and Development Centre where we develop the latest advertising technology, from digital screens to [near field communication] NFC – enabling consumers to interact with our advertising by swiping their mobile phones on the poster site." Clara Eldridge, corporate communications manager at BSkyB, says: “We’ve been here since 1989 when we started with a few portacabins in a muddy field and have grown from there.

“As we have a lot of our broadcast operations here such as Sky News and Sky Studios, having the space is a clear advantage.” Global pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), manufacturer of everything from Ribena to cancer treatments, is based at 15 locations in the UK with its London headquarters along the Golden Mile. In December 2012 GSK was named by Management Today magazine as Britain's Most Admired Company (BMAC) in the Health and Household category. The BMAC awards are identified via a survey created and conducted by Professor Mike Brown of Birmingham City Business School. Winners are selected by peer review, which sees top companies and their bosses asked to assess their rivals. Previously housed in Wallis House, another Art Deco building, the company moved its base to a towering building further along the Great West Road

◆ Above: Barratt has its west London HQ at Wallis House in Brentford, Hounslow. ◆

in 2000. It could be described as one of London's most striking examples of a glass-fronted building. Wallis House stands behind the Great West Quarter (GWQ) development and is home to the headquarters of Barratt West London. The company has been there for a decade and moved from elsewhere in Brentford. The move was mainly due to the area’s transport links, which sales and marketing director Peter Bromley describes as "pretty brilliant". “With the nature of development and house building, people often have to visit various sites every day – and getting to the area and out of it to go anywhere is brilliant,” he says. The GWQ project started in March 2007 as an urban regeneration scheme and is due for completion at the end of 2013. It is a visionary development of fantastic scale that will have a huge impact on the area's changing character. Set back from the M4, the 4.8-hectare site has been transformed into a development that contains more than 700 new homes. The focal point of the new neighbourhood is the central piazza. Extending to 0.4 ha in size, the site includes shops, restaurants, cafes and an art gallery, surrounding the central square, set off by a 25-storey tower. “Industry has changed very much in the last 10 years. Everything is evolving. It’s not just here on the Great West Road, but Brentford is undergoing a huge wave of regeneration across the area as a whole,” says Bromley. “It’s become a desirable location, for its transport links and as an affordable place to live and work, that is relatively close to the River Thames and Chiswick, which is beautiful but more costly,” he adds. “There’s lots of activity going on here and it’s become a place that young, prosperous professionals want to be.” More compact in size than the Great West Road’s multinationals, Brompton Bicycle is one of the few manufacturers on the site, having moved to the area in 1998 from nearby Chiswick. The move was down to inventor Andrew Ritchie who designed the folding bike in his flat in Cromwell Road, South Kensington. He chose the site, as it was within commuting distance of the flat where he still lives. “He still pedals into work on his bike every day wearing his wellington boots in all weathers,” says managing director Will Butler-Adams. Great West Road’s history of industry also formed part of the decision to move to the area. “It’s a great location,” Butler-Adams says. “If you have a meeting anywhere, it’s easy to get there. We have talent from a wide area commuting to this part of London – it’s brilliantly accessible. “We export a lot of our products, so being close to the airport is really rather good. It’s great being part of the Golden Mile; it’s a very cool and friendly place to be. We have regular networking meet-ups, so you

◆ Above: The central piazza of Barratt's visionary Great West Quarter scheme. ◆

get to stay in touch with others along the road." Since transport is such a top priority for companies based in the area, the Golden Mile Transport Group was set up to develop schemes aimed at further improving congestion on the road. It is a network of local businesses and transport providers working together to improve accessibility to the Great West corridor, finding ways to improve public transport and encourage people to move away from using private cars. Mark Frost, senior transport planner at Hounslow Council, says: "We’re seeking to build on the attributes that make the Golden Mile an attractive place for business to be based, while exploring opportunities to better plug it into the wider public transport network in London.” The group successfully lobbied to expand the H91 bus service so that it runs more frequently along the Great West Road. It also secured a 25% capacity increase on South West Trains, which means trains now have two additional carriages. With so much investment planned and so many opportunities to exploit, building on the Great West Road’s history as a thriving business destination, the future of the Golden Mile looks set to remain a hub for employment and innovative opportunity for decades to come. ◆

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Proud to be a member of the Berkeley Group of companies

Hounslow is 10.6 miles (17 km) west south-west of Charing Cross

Young 95% of its population is under 74

who speak more than 140 languages, and the second highest Indian population in London

Better qualified than the average area in England, with 71% of residents between 16 and 64 in employment

Hounslow has Four town centres

Hounslow, Chiswick, Brentford, Feltham

7 smaller centres Hounslow West, Old Isleworth, Bedfont, Hanworth, Heston, Isleworth and Cranford

the A315 GlaxoSmithKline, Sega Europe, AirFrance KLM, JCDecaux. Major offices for Agfa, IBM and Cisco Systems, British Sky Broadcasting's studio and Fuller's Griffin Brewery

A major road network

UK HQs:

56sq The 25th most densely populated London borough, with 37.9 people per hectare

Home to 253,957 people

Competitive property prices – average house price, £373,289. Detached houses average £705,833, semi-detached £447,761, terraces £392,920 and flats £294,285 Source: BBC

Hounslow was Scene of London’s first electric tram service in London, inaugurated in Chiswick in 1901

Birthplace of

Hounslow Heath, covers hectares and is home to bird species

132

10,000 businesses 20% less than two years old, 70% employing fewer than five people

One of London's largest nature reserves –

Shopping choice

and the M4

Pocahontas

the A4 Great West Road

Thriving high streets with many independent shops at Chiswick and Brentford, and bustling shopping centres in Hounslow – a metropolitan centre – and Feltham

the North Circular

lived in Brentford for 6 months

Phil Collins, and legendary The Who musicians John Entwistle and Peter Townshend

Home to Mo Farah, Olympic double gold medallist

Great West

Investment destination: Hounslow

Great West partners group Joining together to support Hounslow

Local Futures John Fisher john.fisher@localfutures.com Sitematch London速 Katie Rutherford katie@3foxinternational.com BSkyB bskyb.com SocInvest 13 Rory Kettles rory@3foxinternational.com 3Fox International Paul Gussar paul@3foxinternational.com

For more information about these companies, visit greatwestlondon.com/partners

GW | Regenerators

Sleeping beauty

From the industrial buzz around Heathrow to the urban roar of the Great West Road, from the chic London suburb of Chiswick to luxurious riverside developments at Kew Bridge and the calming Bedfont Lakes, Hounslow is a borough of huge contrasts and even bigger potential. A new team of regenerators is in place at Hounslow Council, poised to launch a raft of opportunities for high quality developments – and wake this sleeping beauty. At a round table discussion on how they will regenerate Hounslow, Great West editor Siobhán Crozier tuned in ◆

The Regenerators: JS: Councillor Jagdish Sharma, leader of Hounslow Council (centre) RC: Councillor Ruth Cadbury, cabinet member, regeneration and planning (second from left) MH: M ary Harpley, chief executive (second from right) BW: Brendon Walsh, director, regeneration, economic development and environment (left) HC: Heather Cheesbrough, assistant director, strategic planning, regeneration and economic development (right)

JS: Hounslow Council has stepped up its strategy on regeneration and inward investment, so we have recruited high calibre officers to help us deliver – and we’re taking Hounslow’s message to MIPIM. Our chief executive Mary Harpley has a strong track record in regeneration, as a former director of Advantage West Midlands. Brendon Walsh has moved from neighbouring Ealing as our director of regeneration, economic development and environment. Brendon’s long record of success in delivering regeneration projects includes Ealing’s Dickens Yard, the St George development which has attracted more that £150 million in private sector investment.

BW: The big advantage in pitching to investors is our proximity to Heathrow Airport and this borough’s excellent transport links. The council is very keen on investment and will go the extra mile to welcome developers. RC: In Hounslow town centre, the footfall seven days a week is really high. Hounslow’s many strengths include its transport and current customer base. It’s a town centre that is quite a long way away from potential competitors. We know there would be latent demand from residents, when we can get the retail offer right.

RC: We looked for talented people with a proactive approach to finding the right developers for Hounslow’s opportunity sites. Heather Cheesbrough, assistant director for strategic planning, regeneration and economic development, has a strong track record of delivery in both the public and private sectors. And as a team, we have a clear vision of our priorities for the regeneration of our town centres, particularly Hounslow, which is our biggest focus.

BW: We’ve worked with architects BDP on the masterplan for Hounslow town centre, which we’ll share with prospective development partners at MIPIM. The masterplan could go to cabinet in April. JS: Our target for MIPIM is to launch the big opportunity in Hounslow town centre, a mixed-use development, potentially with a couple of hundred homes, as well as a new cinema, restaurants, bars and larger format retail elements. Our regeneration priorities are Hounslow and Brentford town centres, transport and connectivity, and skills and training. RC: The masterplan identifies sites in Hounslow town centre and on the edge of it. We’re considering different uses for those sites – predominantly residential – with live active ground floor uses and potentially, some educational uses. Hounslow town centre is the metropolitan town centre – Brentford is smaller with important assets – primarily, the waterfront. We aim to make it a destination for leisure and of course, it’s got a good relationship with the Great West Road, one which we need to strengthen. MH: Some of these are long standing objectives, particularly around Hounslow town centre and to a lesser extent, Brentford. A current priority is to see those town centres under development with plans that best meet the needs of a continually growing population of increasing diversity.

“Hounslow is brave in giving permission to original buildings such as the Octopus” BW: A recent Experian report showed that we are one of the top 10 growth areas in the country, something which we’re keen to publicise and to build on. MH: We’re working to change perceptions of Hounslow as a place to invest and there is an ongoing step-change, with lots of investment. We want to change perception around what a fantastic place of variety Hounslow is. We’ve got a vast amount of open space. We’ve got the riverside. We’ve got the beautiful Chiswick, alongside lots of development opportunities in Hounslow, Brentford and Feltham and the opportunity area around Heathrow, where we’re very open to redevelopment.

GW | Regenerators

BW: Chiswick Park is one of Europe’s most successful business parks. The historic legacy of the Great West Road, traditionally a gorgeous location for large manufacturing businesses, is reengineering itself as a media and technology centre. GlaxoSmithKline and BSkyB have headquarters on the Great West Road – the challenge is to make people aware of the good company that they’d be keeping if they were to relocate. MH: A diverse range of smaller media businesses are in Chiswick Park and the Great West Road. HC: Our planning team responds to developers, working in partnership to encourage the right kind of development – and Hounslow’s welldeveloped pre-application process provides developers with certainty. BW: We’re proactive in finding ways to help developers deliver an appropriate scheme. We expect developers will understand that delivering a high quality product is good for their investment. MH: Hounslow is brave in giving permission to original buildings such as the Octopus – even the Audi and Mercedes showrooms are striking and prominent on the Great West Road. HC: And the Great West Quarter shows sensitive redevelopment of a listed building. We will protect our heritage, while coming up with innovative proposals to deliver distinctive buildings. JS: There’s a stubborn mismatch between job opportunities and local people, so we want to make sure that residents have the skills to access opportunities. We have an excellent college and we also have the University of West London with part of its campus here. MH: We’ve got good partnerships with skills and training providers. West Thames College launched a framework for training people to get into the logistics industry, which was backed by some major players in the field. JS: Heathrow has an apprenticeship college – we’re very job focused in terms of skills, training and apprenticeships. We’re working with large employers to promote apprenticeship opportunities. BW: Brentford Football Club is important to our regeneration priorities. The council has committed investment, with its half a million stake in the club and plans for building a new stadium. Planning is approved for the Isis scheme at Brentford Lock West. St George is completing Kew Bridge and

St James has completed at Kew Bridge West. The council is supportive of applications being promoted by Ballymore, for land south of the high street. HC: Brentford is a sleeping beauty. You can’t currently access the river and the Ballymore development has the potential to open up the riverside. It will provide a leisure destination for businesses on the Great West Road, somewhere to go at lunchtime or after work. There aren’t many such sites left in London – and we’re retaining boating and waterside activities there as well, an active and vibrant waterside with real character. BW: Opportunity sites include Gillette Corner, the four-hectare site with planning permission for offices and a five-star hotel. It is a listed landmark building on the Great West Road, with great access to Heathrow, the M4 and central London. BW: At Feltham Arenas, where Mo Farah did his training originally, Daley Thompson hopes to establish a facility of national significance for training excellence, so it could provide an Olympic legacy. JS: And our economy is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, as a result of our proximity to the airport. It’s a huge supply chain and massive logistics operation – Heathrow is the largest port in the world. MH: We have sought-after land, the highest value industrial land at Heathrow – some boroughs are releasing industrial sites because there’s no interest, but our industrial land market is very strong. JS: We want people to understand Hounslow’s massive opportunities and this council’s attitude to regeneration. We have land opportunities, with great transportation links – and that’s why we so successfully attract business. ◆

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GW | Arts and culture

Art and soul Among Hounslow’s cultural gems, Watermans Arts Centre pulls off a rare fusion – an inclusive facility, successfully engaging the community, while maintaining a reputation as a valued feature of London’s arts scene. Sarah Herbert reports ◆

rom the late Ravi Shankar to raves, Watermans has been at the heart of Hounslow’s arts scene since 1984, showing films, running theatre workshops and exhibiting art, all in a lovely parkland setting on the banks of the River Thames. Designed by Oscar Garry and Partners and managed by Hounslow Arts Trust, Watermans Arts Centre was established from the outset to provide opportunities for people living in Hounslow and wider west London, to experience and participate in arts and cultural activities. Its facilities include a 238-seat theatre, 125-seat cinema, two meeting rooms and a public space that can hold up to 300 people. The complex is also home to the Guru Tandoori restaurant and bar. Many of Watermans’ informal spaces, inside and out, look out on to the river. The very first event in the theatre was a concert by India's leading sitar player – guru to the Beatles – Ravi Shankar, and since then, it has actively promoted British Asian arts and established a reputation for live music (housing some of the early raves, much to the dismay of some local people). Today the programme is more integrated into the community and centres around arts-based services that deliver social impact. With the tagline ‘be part of the art’, its mission is to bring communities together through cultural participation, actively engaging black and minority ethnic communities. Over the past eight years, it has invested heavily in the Participative Arts programme, working with children, young people (including young offenders, those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those not in education or work – Neets) and people coping with mental health issues. Watermans also specialises in providing activities for young people and adults with learning difficulties, delivering a year-round programme both in Watermans and across six boroughs in west and south London. Activities can range from circus workshops for adults with learning difficulties, to film-making courses for young people and take

◆ Groundbreaking: Watermans hosted a festival of installations exploring new media and digital art last year. ◆

place in Watermans itself, in special schools, or even Hounslow High Street and Lampton Park, to connect directly with the local community. This dual purpose is reflected in Watermans’ business structure: half is run as a conventional company, while the other half is run as a social enterprise, working to social services provision contracts from national and local government, NGOs and other organisations. It also hosts the only all year round programme of interactive new media art installations anywhere in London, attracting exhibitors from all over the world. Artists and collectives are selected from an international open call for proposals. ◆

Hounslow culture Investment in art and design has enabled West Thames College to offer some of the best courses in the field in the capital. The college boasts brand new studios for photography, fine art, 3D design, fashion, animation and graphics and teachers who are practising designers with bags of industry experience. It is perhaps unsurprising then that many students progress to top universities and art schools, such as Goldsmiths and Central St Martin's.

Continuing this practical bent, in a converted Victorian stable block in Isleworth, Redlees Studios is Hounslow’s centre for crafts, both their practice and display. Centred around a gallery are 35 studios for painters, ceramicists and glass makers, multimedia and new media makers, and jewellers, with each one designed with the right space and light for its discipline. The versatile 13.5m by 6m gallery space can be hired out for exhibitions, workshops and corporate events.

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Bedfont Lakes, Bedfont

Gillette Corner, Brentford

Chiswick Park, Chiswick

• London’s gateway from Heathrow • In the top ten locations for growth potential • Prime development site opportunities from East to West • Vibrant, entrepreneurial, diverse • Affordable homes, great schools and more open space than almost any other borough