Great West #2

Great West

Investment destination: Hounslow

road less travelled: cool global brand

mile high grub: heathrow economy

BARRATT LONDON ENHANCING COMMUNITIES WITH BEAUTIFULLY CONSIDERED NEW HOMES AND PUBLIC SPACES

The Tower at GWQ, TW8

The Tower at GWQ, TW8

Laval House at GWQ, TW8

As one of the leading developers in the Capital, Barratt London is committed to delivering new homes and public spaces that truly enhance the local environment and benefit the community as a whole, through beautiful, thoughtful design.

Our local experience and an outstanding track record combine to create exceptional new homes and develop a better Hounslow. Evidence of this can be found at our landmark GWQ development where we have created a thriving destination of nearly 800 homes, new commercial and retail facilities, landscaped open spaces, enhanced transport links and a refurbished art deco icon.

barrattlondondevelopments.com Aldgate | Brentford | Edgware | Fulham | Greenwich | Hendon | Highbury | Lewisham | Rotherhithe | Royal Docks | Soho | Westminster

Investing in Hounslow A2Dominion is one of the country’s leading providers of high quality housing.

The Group is proud to be working in partnership with the London Borough of Hounslow to deliver a range of new homes for rent and sale.

With over 2,400 properties in management and 400 in development in the borough, A2Dominion is investing £80m into Hounslow over the next three years.

www.a2dominion.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @a2dominion

Computer-generated image of A2Dominion’s London Road scheme in Isleworth

Editorial director: Siobhán Crozier Head of design: Rachael Schofield Art direction: Smallfury Designs Contributing editors: Lucy Purdy, Sarah Herbert Reporter: James Wood Production assistant: Joe Davies Director: Paul Gussar Office manager: Sue Mapara Subscriptions manager: Simon Maxwell Managing director: Toby Fox

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GW | Contents

Contents

Cover image: Brompton Bicycle Images: London Borough of Hounslow, Assael, GlaxoSmithKline, Croft Capital, Brompton Bicycle, ISIS Waterside Regeneration, Crossrail, Alpha LSG, Enjoy-Work, Sky Academy Skills Studios, BSkyB, Barratt London, Willmott Dixon, St George, St James, Berkeley Homes, Brentford FC, British Airways, London and Bath – The Octopus

7 News

News updates on the regeneration of the London Borough of Hounslow

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A look at what the future holds for this gateway to west London

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

20 Brompton

Britain's largest bike manufacturer is an internationally recognised innovator

Subscriptions and feedback: greatwestlondon.com

28 Map

31 Projects

50 Heathrow economy

A summary of some of Hounslow's major development schemes

We profile one of the companies thriving in Heathrow's supply chain

40 High Street Quarter

54 Feltham

Focus on Barratt and Wilson Bowden's scheme for Hounslow town centre

44 Markets

Fast facts about Hounslow

47 Planning performance

Hounslow's efficiency drive

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

12 Golden Mile

The location of developments planned and under way in the borough

Printed by: Tradewinds

The shops, housing and connectivity being boosted by Feltham's masterplan

58 Sitematch

Hounslow regeneration chief talks Sitematch London and the borough's next big opportunity

© 3Fox International Limited 2014. 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.

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A Place You’re Proud To Call Home

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There are many developers that build houses and apartments. We are not like the many, we believe in building something beyond bricks and mortar. We believe that every home we create will be a Prime Place to live. Nothing less is good enough.

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Interior photography from actual development, exterior images are computer generated.

GW | News

News Barge sheds set for makeover

Gong for Brentford Lock West Brentford Lock West has won a residential housing award at the New London Awards.

The Grand Union Canal scheme is being developed by ISIS Waterside Regeneration and was marked out for its overall masterplan at the awards for the capital’s best examples of architecture, planning and development.

The waterside development comprises 520 homes of one to four-bedroom apartments and townhouses within a 4.45-ha site.

Commercial units are also being developed at the site’s art deco buildings.

Katie Sully from ISIS Waterside Regeneration said: “We are looking forward to welcoming our first occupants who will be moving into their new homes at Brentford Lock West this spring. With 45 homes in The Halyards already having been sold, there will be a substantial number of residents joining this fantastic community development as it starts to grow.”

Old barge sheds alongside the Grand Union Canal in Brentford are receiving a facelift as part of a regeneration package of £1.8 million.

The historic structures are being fitted with illustrated cladding, by prominent artist Simon Periton, to brighten up the industrial landscape of the area and help support the creation of new homes and jobs.

The project will also see the installation of better illumination under the Great West Road, in a bid to boost both the area’s appearance and its accessibility to the high street from the canal towpath.

Kit Malthouse, London’s deputy mayor for business and enterprise, said that the combination of public art and industrial heritage was an “inspired” way to make this stretch of the canal more accessible and attractive for businesses, helping to attract economic growth to the area.

The wider Brentford project is part of a series of initiatives which are supported by the London mayor’s Outer London Fund.

The scheme also includes a funding contribution of £557,000 from the London Borough of Hounslow.

Golden plans for Great West Road Architect Urban Initiatives Studio has revealed a glimpse of the forthcoming masterplan for the Great West Road.

Presenting to an invited audience of more than 120 local businesses, established developers, prospective investors and council officers and

members, Urban Initiatives consultant director Kelvin Campbell described a range of projects that could be delivered along the 2.25 mile-long stretch of the A4, now dubbed the Golden Mile.

These include the Sky Line – an overground route from Southall to

Chiswick Park via BSkyB's headquarters – on existing rail infrastructure, using a DLR-style shuttle.

Campbell also identified key opportunity areas along the Golden Mile, including Kew Gate, near Kew Bridge Station, which could become "London's next Earl's Court" using Brentford Football Club's new stadium as a catalyst.

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Going for gold

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Hounslow Council is hoping the government will accept proposals to link the borough’s rail stations to HS2 and Crossrail at Old Oak Common.

Speaking at a recent business conference organised by the council, councillor Steve Curran, cabinet member for housing, planning and regeneration, emphasised how the links would create huge benefits for the Golden Mile stretch of the Great West Road.

He said: “If we get agreement on our plans to connect Brentford, Syon Lane and Hounslow rail stations to the HS2 and Crossrail, it will make the Golden Mile even more of an attractive location for business.”

The Golden Mile is an important

investment location for major bluechip companies based there, such as BSkyB and GlaxoSmithKline.

Curran said: “The overwhelming feeling I gained from the excellent meeting was that Hounslow is brimming with potential, and places such as the Golden Mile are beginning to enjoy a renaissance, as illustrated by BSkyB’s existing plans to extend its campus.

“Brentford is buzzing with regeneration plans and the local football club is riding high. We also have one of the country’s largest ever infrastructure investment projects with £800 million being pumped into revamping our roads and pavements across the borough.”

St James buys riverfront site Berkeley Group developer St James plans to create 100 homes within a Grade II-listed building in Isleworth, which was previously a convent.

The firm has teamed up with Beechcroft Developments to produce a planning application for the 3-ha site, comprising family homes and affordable accommodation for people needing care. The plot was purchased in October from the residential land team at Jones Lang LaSalle. It had

been managed by a religious order, the Sisters of Nazareth.

Sean Ellis, chairman at St James, said: “St James was attracted to the site due to its riverside location in west London with the heritage buildings and open space presenting the potential to create a development of high quality homes with a strong sense of place.”

A planning application is expected later in 2014.

Chiswick Park sale finalised China Investment Corporation (CIC) has bought Chiswick Park in Hounslow for around £780 million.

CIC bought the 36,000sq m site from the American investment group Blackstone. The purchase represents Beijing’s biggest ever real estate purchase in Europe.

Blackstone bought the site in 2011 and went on to secure lettings for numerous international companies, including Pepsi, Swarovski, International Game Technology, Aker Solutions and Absolut.

Chiswick Park was designed by internationally renowned architect Richard Rogers.

Building 7 at the park is set to be finished in December 2014.

Fact about Hounslow.

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Beijing boosted Government officials from China visited the London Borough of Hounslow in December to find out about investment opportunities in the area.

The delegation from the Chaoyang District of Beijing were given a tour of Chiswick Park and Brentford’s Golden Mile on the Great West Road, the location of bases for multinationals such as GlaxoSmithKline, as well as media companies BSkyB, the Discovery Channel and Paramount Pictures.

The visit was prompted by a report indicating the benefits of Hounslow as a place for investment, which include the borough’s many business links and the importance of Heathrow Airport for generating thousands of jobs.

Hounslow Council leader, Councillor Jagdish Sharma, spoke in Mandarin as he welcomed the delegation from Chaoyang at a civic reception.

He said: “Hounslow is home to some of the world’s biggest brands, including IBM and GlaxoSmithKline, as well as oil and gas companies like Tullow Oil and Aker Solutions.

“We are proud of our international connections and thrilled to have hosted the delegation from Chaoyang and I look forward to establishing stronger bonds with our Chinese friends.”

◆

GW | News

Bonds with

If there are several facts, they are divided by a diamond, and the last one has a paragraph rule.

Green light for BskyB Broadcaster BSkyB has gained planning permission to build a three-storey 'showcase' building at the heart of its Isleworth campus.

The London Borough of Hounslow's planning committee approved proposals for the construction of a 3,900sq m training and office centre at BSkyB’s Centaurs Business Park complex.

The council officers' report to committee members said the structure would be named the Believe in Better Building and would provide an entrance building fronting a new arrival plaza on Grant Way. The bulk of its floorspace would house Team Sky Performance training facilities.

The building will also provide a support

facility for Sky Academy Skills Studios, a set of initiatives to inspire young people and help them reach their potential.

Around 960sq m of the remaining space will be allocated for offices.

A supporting planning statement described the 60m-wide, 21m-tall building as “a significant showcase design” that would “provide an image of Sky as an exciting, hi-tech innovative and desirable place to work and engage with”.

Recommending the scheme for approval, Hounslow's planning officers said the proposal was a further consolidation of the BSkyB operation at the site and had an acceptable impact upon the function of the business park.

High Street Quarter developer named Barratt and its commercial development arm Wilson Bowden have been selected to regenerate a swathe of Hounslow town centre.

They have been chosen by Hounslow Council to deliver 400 new homes, a multiplex cinema, and 10,000sq m of retail space as part of the new High Street Quarter.

Councillor Steve Curran, cabinet member for housing,

planning and regeneration, said: “I was very impressed with all three bids to regenerate the town centre.

The Barratt and Wilson Bowden tender was the best fit with our vision to transform Hounslow town centre into one of west London’s most vibrant shopping and leisure destinations.”

See page 40 for a feature article on High Street Quarter.

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Computer Generated Image depicts the townhouses at Napier Square.

Last few remaining

Golden years

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Hounslow’s famous Golden Mile has lost none of its sparkle, according to global companies which have made it home – and in an era of change on the Great West Road, the best is yet to come. Colin Marrs reports ◆

H

istorically the main artery connecting London to the West Country, Hounslow’s Great West Road is home to the Golden Mile, a stretch of tarmac that became renowned during the 20th century for its dazzling concentration of industrial occupiers and some impressive art deco architecture. In recent years, despite the presence of some internationally renowned companies, the Golden Mile has, arguably, been punching below its weight. But thanks to a

collaboration of the council, local businesses and landowners its fortunes look set to change.

In February, BSkyB (originally Sky Television) marked 25 years of broadcasting from its base on the Great West Road. After a quarter of a century the company has reaffirmed its commitment to the Golden Mile by drawing up plans for a major development to help consolidate its operations on the site. Nick Green, director of BSkyB’s property service group, says: “There is something of a heritage and history

GW | Golden Mile 13

now and we have developed a significant home here.”

Plans approved in October will see the company create a mixed-use building with a floor space of 40,000sq m and a new 105,000sq m media broadcasting and production campus, which will provide new broadcast studios, offices, technical spaces, amenities and open space for the workforce and wider public. The proposal has the potential to create an additional 3,000 jobs, resulting in an on-site workforce of 12,000. Green says: “Over the years, we have grown organically, because additional capacity was required, and this scheme brings it all together into an integrated whole.”

In November 2012, Sky Academy was launched, a set of initiatives that aims to use the power of television, creativity and sport to inspire young people and help them achieve their potential. As part of the

development plan for Sky's Osterley campus, there will be a new building in which to welcome young people taking part in some of these initiatives; it will also be a centre for training and development for Sky employees. Green explains: “Our outreach work with local schools has been a huge success and this initiative builds on that.”

The company’s commitment to the area is all the more impressive given some of the challenges that Green says Sky is helping to address. He adds: “We are actually struggling with transport links at the moment, and some of the rail services are not quite as frequent as we would like yet – particularly on Sundays.”

In addition, Green says that Sky is committed to working with the council to help improve services in the local area, to give staff more leisure opportunities after work.

Nearby, international healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline has had its UK headquarters here since 2001, following its creation through the merger of two other companies. A spokesperson for the firm tells Great West that the location, which is within easy access of Heathrow Airport, works well for the multinational. He says: “For particular job roles – mainly in the executive team – there is a need to be close to flights to all parts of the world.”

The company says that it would be unfeasible for the 4,500 workforce to be based in the centre of London.

◆ Left and top: The Sky Academy Skills Studios.

Above: The firm's Great West Road HQ in Osterley.

◆

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◆ Above: The A4 links easily to central London.

Left: Skilled workers at the Brompton Bicycle factory.

Opposite: The GlaxoSmithKline campus.

◆

“The two original companies were based in this part of London,” he explains. “The vast majority of today’s staff still live in the area. We are out of the centre of town but close enough to get there quickly if needed.”

The company’s site is almost a self-sustaining village, boasting a restaurant, shop and even a barbers.

Most staff remain on the site throughout the day, and although staff might use a nearby supermarket and football pitches, there is potential for the improvement of leisure facilities in the vicinity.

Ironically, despite the location next to the Great West Road, car transport is not a realistic regular commuting option for workers here. GlaxoSmithKline’s spokesman says: “If everyone wanted to drive we wouldn’t have enough space. We have a rota for parking, but we also make it easy for staff to get to and from Northfields tube station, by running shuttle buses.”

Brompton Bicycle has been in the area since the 1980s. A very English success story, around 45,000 bikes a year are handmade here and exported around the world – even to China. Managing director Will Butler-Adams says the Golden Mile location is ideal, enabling it to easily transport its bikes to the port of Southampton for export to global markets, while also giving it access to the capital’s talented labour pool.

He says: “The advantages we get from being in London outweigh the disadvantages. There is more to us than just making bikes – we need access to interesting designers, marketers, and programmers.”

GW | Golden Mile

“I can pedal to Westminster in 35 minutes ...

I can also jump on the tube at Kew Bridge” Despite its out-of-centre location, Butler-Adams says the area feels like ‘proper London’. “I can pedal to Westminster in 35 minutes and Oxford Street in 25 minutes. I can also jump on the tube at Kew Bridge.”

He continues: “We are so connected to central London, but you are literally sitting on the M4 meaning you can whizz out to Wales in 2.5 hours or on to the M25 which can help take you anywhere in the UK quickly.”

The firm has expanded from a modest two-person operation to employing more than 230 staff, and further expansion is on the horizon. Butler-Adams says: “We are trying to acquire four acres of land at the moment – we need to accommodate up to 600 staff in coming years.” Negotiations on an unnamed site are continuing, which he hopes will lead to many years of being based near the Great West Road.

Butler-Adams sits on the Golden Mile transport group, which meets monthly to discuss the issues facing businesses relating to accessibility.

Brompton has provided a bike docking station for GlaxoSmithKline and is speaking to BSkyB about a similar facility. But he agrees that prospective transport improvements would help, adding: “At the moment we have too many people turning up in cars at some of the Golden Mile companies.”

Heather Cheesbrough, assistant director of strategic planning, regeneration and economic development at the London Borough of Hounslow, says the focus now is to build on the existing base of high

quality businesses to help transform the area into a functioning place. She says: “These firms have created their own environments for staff but they are mainly internal, and are not yet properly connected to the wider area.”

To this end, the council appointed regeneration consultant Urban Initiatives to undertake a strategic planning exercise to create a vision for the area.

Businesses and developers flocked to an event aimed at stimulating discussion over their needs. “The encouraging thing to see,” Cheesbrough says, “were developers from outside the area who made the effort to come along, which shows they believe there is great potential here.”

With existing transport links identified as a major challenge, the council has now worked up proposals for two new rail routes.

The first would provide passenger services on an existing line currently used for freight, with a station located next to BSkyB’s site. Cheesbrough estimates the cost of the scheme at around £30 million and says initial discussions over feasibility with Network Rail have been positive.

The second link would connect the planned new Crossrail station at Old Oak Common to Hounslow town centre, via Brentford. Cheesbrough describes this link as highly deliverable and local businesses have all thrown their weight behind the proposal. She explains: “Once you connect that line then it changes the

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◆ Above: A new home for Brentford FC. Right: New homes are part of the scheme. ◆

transport geography and profile of the area – changes to infrastructure will make a real difference.”

As well as helping existing businesses, the council believes that rail improvements will encourage the redevelopment of a number of sites, in order to attract new businesses and residents. Urban Initiatives’ work has identified an opportunity for high-density development, which it says will help the new rail links pay for themselves.

The council is looking hard at the current mix of land uses, and talking to landowners about the incentives they might need to kick-start the process.

Cheesbrough says: “We are keen to ensure this is still an employment location, and to retain industry, but we have to reflect the changing nature of business.”

In order to achieve its strategic aims, Hounslow has identified the area for more detailed planning. It is bringing forward a local plan, to be worked on in 2015, when the Golden Mile will be earmarked for an area action plan, which will provide fine-grained detail on the proposed shape of development. Cheesbrough says: “This will give us the policy hook to demonstrate to developers that we are serious.”

Things are looking up and council action is set to give the Golden Mile back its shine. The depth of

Hounslow’s determination is demonstrated by another regeneration scheme, which will boost the economy.

In December, outline planning permission was granted for a stadium at Lionel Road to provide a new home for Brentford Football Club. The 20,000 capacity venue will be surrounded by 11 tower blocks of up to 17 storeys, containing 910 flats and a hotel.

Cheesbrough admits the application had been contentious but that the council carefully considered all the issues, held its nerve and granted it. The approval gives developers confidence that Hounslow Council is not only up for big development – it is also up for big, tough decisions in order to make it happen. ◆

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In the fold

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Brompton, once viewed as the small-wheeled, folding bike beloved of eccentrics, has emerged as an internationally recognised innovator, with its distinctive product exported to 44 markets. In an interview with Brompton’s charismatic CEO, Will Butler-Adams, we talk product quality, expansion plans and find out why they have remained here when production would be cheaper abroad. Lucy Purdy visits the Brentford factory ◆

GW | Brompton

F

resh from Brompton being shortlisted for a European Business Award, Will ButlerAdams is in an upbeat mood. His company’s turnover this year was £27 million with a £3.3 million profit, and the balance sheet topping off a ninth year in which growth has hovered healthily around the 20% mark.

Refusal letters from the likes of UK bicycle manufacturing giant Raleigh line the walls of its Hounslow headquarters, a reminder that Brompton has disproved the doubters: it is now the UK’s biggest bike maker.

With 230 employees, a new shop called Brompton Junction in London’s Covent Garden, a burgeoning Brompton Dock cycle hire scheme and new markets opening in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the company has come a long way since founder Andrew Ritchie sat down one night in the mid 1970s to sketch folding bike designs on “scrappy bits of paper”.

A long way figuratively speaking, but less than a mile geographically: the current base in Lionel Road South is a stone’s throw from where Ritchie began.

“And it is all because Andrew wanted to pedal to work,” explains Butler-Adams, managing director since 2002.

“Andrew made his first bike in his flat and needed to find somewhere that was cheap and pedalable. And the cheapest and pedalablest place was here in Hounslow.

That’s why we’re here.”

But why is Brompton still here? Butler-Adams admits that “strategically, you might think it was bonkers, to make bikes in London,” but his answer to the question says everything about a brand that has come to be synonymous with quality and reliability.

“There is more to the business than what appears on the face of it,” he says.

“The problem we had, up until two years ago really, was that we just weren’t able to make enough bikes. So the greatest asset we had was our staff who knew how to make them, particularly our brazers, who practice a very difficult skill.

“None of our staff would move, so we need to stay here. The idea that we would hoof off somewhere is ridiculous. We simply are our staff. If you cut them in half, they say Brompton. You can’t lose that.”

If you gathered together all the drawings to describe the bike, from parts and springs to tiny injection moulded parts, you would end up with about 20,000.

“But to describe the way we make the bike,” ButlerAdams says, “the jigs and fixtures and the brazing machines, there are probably 80,000.

“There is in fact more intellectual property in how we make the bike, than in the bike itself. So ironically, by making the bike in London, we are protecting our IP. After all, no other fruitcakes are making bikes in London. And of course, in parallel with that, we have also created this rather lovely brand. Not consciously – it’s just happened.”

The factory is located just off the Golden Mile,

“There’s nothing like being surrounded by supremely successful businesses” 21 the Brentford stretch of the A4, next to the likes of GlaxoSmithKline, Starbucks, BSkyB and JCDecaux.

Brompton’s first corporate dock scheme – an offshoot of its bike hire hub scheme Brompton Dock, launched in 2011 – is with Glaxo.

“It’s an interesting bit of real estate with some really cool companies, really vibrant, which has definitely been helpful. Some have been mentors. We’ve learnt from them, we’ve been to forums, visited their factories. There is a real sense of mutual support.

“And there’s nothing like being surrounded by supremely successful businesses because they raise your aspirations. The area gets you going. It makes you want to be more successful.”

The key to achieving Brompton’s lofty aspirations is a fundamental and non-negotiable insistence on quality.

Tangible from even the briefest of glances inside the 2,044sq m factory, it is clear the staff – who are friendly but fixated on their work – take this to heart.

Finely engineered yet elegant, a virtuoso of its type, Brompton has become a byword for the very best in British manufacturing. The company is continually refining its methods and every year injects cash into new machinery and equipment.

As well as conducting research and development in-house, Brompton has fashioned its own engineering

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solutions and makes its own parts: more than 500 different, purpose-built press tools, moulds, jigs and assembly fixtures. An orange handlebar stem sits in a box marked ‘rejects’. One tiny dent, barely visible even on close inspection, has placed it there, destined to be rebrazed and resanded. It simply does not make the exacting Brompton grade.

Brompton is all about the long game. While other bike manufacturers save cash by employing the latest technical advances, Brompton has never opted for cheaper, off-the-shelf products.

Ritchie, Butler-Adams and the staff who echo their values, prefer to implement the very best solution to any engineering challenge: more often than not, taking a much slower and more expensive route.

“I think there was a propensity, in the 1980s and 90s, to make incredibly cheap stuff,” says Butler-Adams.

“Everything was cheap, from lamps to hi-fi, and when they broke you chucked them in the bin and bought another one. I mean, who cares, right?

As it happens, I just don’t tick like that. My great grandfather’s pocket watch sits in a little wooden holder in my desk and I wind it up every morning. I also have my grandfather’s ink pen on the desk, probably from the 1930s. And I use those things every single day. They are beautifully made and they give me great pleasure. Not only that, parts are still available to ensure you carry on using them.

“Neither of them were cheap but both are extraordinarily good value. Of course there’s an environmental benefit to using stuff for years, but there’s also an emotional benefit. Like that old jacket: you’ve done things in it, you’ve been on journeys with it. And this is our philosophy, to do things really beautifully well, to refine them and take time getting the detail right and ultimately to create better value for the customer.”

The proof lies in the consistency of Brompton’s sales, and yet this is not a company with a mega-buck marketing budget.

“There was a time where if you spent enough money on advertising, you could persuade someone of anything,” says Butler-Adams.

“Now, word-of-mouth rules. What used to just be telling your friend or your neighbour is now telling someone in Japan or America. We have always believed that if we make a good enough product, the truth will out and it will sell itself.

“Our customers love their bikes. They’re such flipping aficionados that they won’t stop talking to their friends about it. Just to get them to shut up, their friends go and buy one. And in 15 years, maybe six of those friends will buy a Brompton. Rather than the firms which consciously design-in obsolescence, which may be able to persuade you to buy three dishwashers in 15 years but will make you feel sick in doing so, we’ve chosen to do our business another way.”

He emphasises the need for council and government support for the kind of jobs Brompton offers.

◆ Previous page: Brompton founder and inventor of the famous folding bike, Andrew Ritchie, with a staff member.

Right: Brompton has gone from ‘geek chic’ to stylish commuter staple.

Below: Nick Clegg and Vince Cable with Will Butler-Adams.

◆

“Jobs are not just jobs. It’s no good putting our kind of people into McDonald’s or a call centre. They need to be working with their hands, in a physical environment and to have a proper wage on which to bring up a family. If we’re going to deliver those kind of jobs, we need help.

“Of course, we could sod off, but that would be a shame. We would be letting down Hounslow.”

Butler-Adams now contemplates Brompton’s next steps – not without its challenges, namely finding a space which hasn’t been packed with quick-buck flats or sat on by investors in “pure greed” – in his words – into which the company can expand.

For Butler-Adams, it seems a vocation. He used to run chemical plants in Middlesbrough and admits he loved it, being a “reasonably enthusiastic person”.

GW | Brompton

The Brompton consists of some 1,200 parts, over three-quarters of which are unique to this bicycle ◆ All bikes are built to order by hand ◆ 80% of the componentry on Brompton bikes is designed and made for Brompton ◆ 50% of Brompton’s management resource is dedicated to design and development ◆ During final inspections, more than 100 checks are carried out on each Brompton bike ◆ Purpose-built machinery is used for much of Brompton’s work: from speciallyadapted hydraulic presses for tube manipulation to CNC machining centres to make the allimportant hinges ◆ Bromptons are brazed rather than welded.

Brazing is a highlyskilled and labourintensive method which introduces less heat to the metal than welding: this maintains a stronger frame with less distortion ◆ In the UK, USA, Canada and Ireland, Brompton sells directly to carefully-selected bicycle retailers; in other territories, the company sells to distributors who operate their own dealer networks

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◆ Right: Brompton Junction, the flagship London store in Long Acre, Covent Garden, opened in September 2013.

◆

24

“But let’s be honest, making hundreds of tonnes of chemicals, versus making a bike that makes people happy, it’s a total privilege.

“At Waterloo the other day, it was blowing a gale and pissing with rain and there were eight Bromptons waiting at the lights. Eight! I just think that’s so cool.”

With characteristic self-deprecation, Butler-Adams described his management style as simply “employing people who are better at everything” than him and then spending his time “farting around, talking about things”.

But he’s not fooling anyone. From the dogged commitment to quality which Butler-Adams has helped foster at every level of the company, to his insistence on organic growth and top craftsmanship, something intuitively felt rather than stemming from a cynical marketing campaign, Brompton in his hands feels as solid as one of its bike frames.

From flagship stores in five countries, to bicycle hire docks around England: a business subtly shifting up a gear each year: Brompton is here to stay. ◆

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

Great West Great West Investment destination: Hounslow partners group Joining together to support Hounslow Carter Jonas Iain Mulvey iain.mulvey@carterjonas.co.uk Child Graddon Lewis James Felstead james.felstead@cgluk.com Hilton Hotel Sashca Koehler sascha.koehler@Hilton.com Hounslow Homes Glyn Jones glyn.jones@hounslowhomes.org.uk Inquilab Jackie Thomas jackiet@inquilabha.org Octavia Housing Andy Brown andy.brown@octavia.org.uk BSkyB Nick Green nick.green@bskyb.com St James Paul Prichard paul.prichard@stjames.co.uk Vokins Chartered Surveyors John Vokins j.vokins@vokins.co.uk

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

Hounslow Highways

one year on Hounslow Highways, which manages the borough’s roads, began its contract on 1 January 2013. The year was packed full of improvement works that began the task of bringing the borough’s roads and pavements together with street lighting and other features, up to standard over the next five years.

Roads The first year of this £100 million five-year investment programme in Hounslow saw surfacing works completed at 228 road sites, equating to the distance from Hounslow to Reading. Works were also carried out at 224 pavement sites, equivalent to the distance between Hounslow and Winchester.

While improvement works were high on the agenda, Hounslow Highways also stepped up its safety inspection programme to ensure roads are kept up to standard and that any dangerous or serious defects are picked up and repaired quickly.

The public reported 1,066 potholes in 2013 and more than 2,500 potholes were repaired. That is up from 2,200 in 2011 and 1,800 in 2012 - a real investment in turning around the condition of the borough’s roads.

It is not just roads that are getting the investment.

Over 8,000 new energy-efficient LED street lights and signs were installed in 2013 and services dealing with street cleansing, drainage, bridges, trees and grounds management, street works, skip licensing, winter services and reactive maintenance services, were also improved.

Residents and businesses across the borough saw some form of improvements going on in their area, and together with over £20 million worth of new investment, the borough saw improvement schemes on Twickenham Road, Hatton Road and in Hounslow Town Centre.

Hounslow Highways will continue the 5 year investment programme in 2014 and beyond, transforming the borough and improving the transportation links.

For more information and updates visit our website:

www.hounslowhighways.org

Hounslow map Featured projects 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Great West Quarter The Octopus Heston Pool Brentford FC Kew Bridge The Boardwalk Brentford Lock West Balfour Green/The Balfour Gillette Corner

Train station Underground station

9

3

28 8

GW | Projects

LONDON Hounslow

The City

Heathrow

1

4

2

5 7

6

29

Travel times from Heathrow (in hours) New York: 7 Frankfurt: 1

Delhi: 8.5 Beijing: 10.5

Paris: 1

Dubai: 7

Tokyo: 12.5

FLUENT IN INDUSTRIAL, LOGISTICS AND DATA CENTRES ACROSS LONDON

507

1.2 MILLION

ÂŁ1.4 BILLION

30 HECTARES

58

CUSTOMERS

SQ M OF LETTABLE SPACE

PORTFOLIO

OF DEVELOPMENT LAND

ESTATES

With an attractive portfolio of existing property and an extensive land bank on sites adjacent to major conurbations and transportation hubs, we are able to deliver exceptional product in key markets across London.

SEGRO.com/propertysearch Heathrow | Park Royal | Greater London Data as at June 30th 2013.

GW | Projects

Projects

31

Great West Quarter The next phase of the development, the landmark 26-storey tower, has now been launched, with the first of the one, two and three-bedroom apartments to be completed in June 2014.

Floors 11-24 will be private residential homes, while floors 1-10 will function as serviced apartments.

When complete, the 5-ha Great West Quarter will be a mixed-use development of almost 800 private and other facilities.

There are three prominent elements to the scheme. The tower’s apartments feature winter gardens, with a full-height light sculpture. Additionally, there are new build elements at the centre and rear of the site. The Grade II-listed art deco building,

Wallis House, situated to the east of the site, had lain empty since 1995 and has now been refurbished to provide private and commercial accommodation.

The development, by Barratt London, includes courtyards, a playground and a 0.2-ha piazza, designed as focal points for the community.

The piazza will be a venue for public events and the setting for public art.

The site on the Great West Road in Brentford was previously a collection of disused industrial and office buildings.

The entire scheme is completely permeable, providing access for pedestrians and buses, with rising bollards to prevent entry by car.

The Octopus

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Work is progressing to enable development of Make architect’s scheme, the Octopus, for London and Bath Estates and Galliard Homes. The 50m-tall, asymmetrical building on the Chiswick roundabout, will be wrapped in a 2,600sq m mesh 'shroud' incorporating LED screens, which will display advertising or artworks.

Planning permission for the site was granted in 2011 and plans for retail space at the lower levels of the Octopus will be enhanced by landscaping and planting, integrated into the fabric of the elevations.

This aspect of the design will help to make the building appear grounded within a natural context, improving the public realm, and countering the otherwise harsh environment around the site.

As well as 10 floors of premium flexible office space, the scheme includes a public viewing gallery and a roof garden, designed to act as a communal breakout space for occupiers and will offer far-reaching views.

The location of the Octopus at the start of the M4, where it crosses the intersection of the North and South Circular roads, makes it one of the highest-profile outdoor sites in the UK, with more than 100 million advertising 'hits' each year.

The dedicated west-facing advertising screen makes the Octopus ideal for a brand-conscious multinational, which could use the LED shroud and the three lower level screens to display its products and services. The shroud also offers the advertiser artistic opportunities to interact with the local and wider community.

Brendon Walsh, Hounslow Council’s director of regeneration, economic development and environment, said: “We welcome this type of innovative architectural project in Hounslow, which will contribute to the economic development of the borough."

GW | Projects 33

Heston pool Hounslow Council is redeveloping Heston’s leisure centre. It will be completely rebuilt to incorporate a seven-lane, 25m swimming pool, teaching pool, state-ofthe-art gym, two studios, soft play area for children, cafe and new changing facilities.

The plans include improvement to, and better links with, Heston Park and a revamp of outdoor play areas near to the fairground site. New outdoor floodlit sports pitches will also be installed to provide better facilities for local people and teams. The scheme will also include external landscaping and new parking facilities.

Morgan Sindall is the contractor for the project, being built on the site of the old pool, which has been in poor condition for years. Demolition started in February, with the centre opening in November 2015.

Ajmer Grewal, cabinet member for leisure and public health at the council, said: “The current leisure centre was built in the 1930s and is in need of new equipment and redevelopment, as it is no longer cost-effective and unable to compete with more modern centres.

“As well as the new leisure centre, the scheme will also improve Heston Park and the play area for families, giving local people facilities they can be proud of.

“All our other leisure centres have been refurbished in the last few years, so it’s good to see this last piece of the jigsaw coming together.”

The scheme is being funded through the sale of nearby land for residential development, which included 88 new affordable family homes.

Brentford FC

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Deputy London mayor for planning and policy, Sir Edward Lister, on 18 February announced his approval for a brand new stadium for Brentford Football Club.

It will see the club move to a 20,000-seater stadium in 2016, in a scheme which could also include up to 910 apartments, community facilities, a hotel and retail units.

Planning permission for the 3-ha site, between Kew Bridge railway station and the M4, was given consent by Hounslow Council in December 2013 but also needed the approval of the London mayor’s office.

Brendon Walsh, Hounslow council’s director of regeneration, economic development and environment, said: “This is fantastic news for Brentford FC and for the regeneration of Hounslow.

"It has taken a long time to reach this stage and we look forward to having a 21st century stadium for the club, which is going from strength-to-strength, with massive support from its loyal fans.”

Brentford FC – which has played its home games at the 12,763-capacity Griffin Park since 1904 – has selected Willmott Dixon as its preferred development partner.

GW | Projects

Kew bridge Another apartment building at St George’s Kew Bridge riverside development came to the market in February.

The eight-storey Quayside House comprises 71 apartments and penthouses, with views across the River Thames.

The Kew Bridge development incorporates a European-style piazza, featuring office space and retail units, including a Sainsbury’s Local.

Ian Dobie, managing director of St George West London, said: "Quayside House launches at a time when buyers are

looking for the ultimate blend of location, specification, quality and amenities."

Situated on a picturesque stretch of the Thames, opposite the Royal Botanic Gardens, residents of the Kew Bridge development will enjoy river views and great transport links.

The development is located within a short walk – less than 100m – from Kew Bridge station, which provides a direct service to central London, and is also a short walk from Gunnersbury and Kew Gardens underground stations.

The Boardwalk Formerly known as Goat Wharf, this £12.9 million Notting Hill Housing scheme, next to the Thames and opposite Kew Gardens, is due for completion in March.

The scheme comprises 86 mixedtenure apartments, in a design inspired by riverside warehouses with deep-set windows and brick piers centred around a courtyard, providing private outdoor space.

Notting Hill has also just started work on a riverside scheme nearby, called Kew Bridge, comprising 35 units – 19 in shared ownership and 17 for the open market.

Preparatory demolition has started, but been delayed by the discovery of Neolithic flint and Bronze Age pottery. English Heritage is investigating the finds and the rest of the site.

Notting Hill has also refurbished an existing Chiswick apartment block, called Claremont, bought from Thames Valley Housing Association last February, turning all apartments into three-bedroom units.

Its 18 flats, over three blocks with common room and car parking, are now available for market rent.

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36

Balfour Green/The Balfour Two options have been drawn up by Croft Capital to develop a 8,360sq m office building in Hounslow town centre.

The site occupies a 0.87-ha site fronting Lampton Road, and is located around 100m from the high street and in close proximity to Hounslow Central underground station.

Planning permission for the Balfour Green residential-led option was granted in November 2013.

This proposal would see the building converted into 102 private residential units, as well as space for offices to support local SME businesses and opportunities for

residents to work in the same building in which they live.

Alan Camp Architects has designed Phase One of the residential side of the scheme, which includes over 1,950sq m of roof terraces and a residents’ amenity hub, complete with gym, concierge, cycle repair station and multi-use activity space.

Planning consent for external changes to complete the scheme is expected by March 2014.

A further 100 unit extension (total 200 units) is planned for Phase Two. A second option to extend the existing

office building is also being considered.

Jones Lang LaSalle is currently marketing the Balfour building, with the aim of attracting new occupiers to locate in Hounslow.

Award-winning architect Barr Gazetas has designed the scheme.

It includes a new facade with a double height and extended entrance hall, expansive roof terraces, two covered and light-filled atriums with a feature spiral staircase and fully glazed fourth and fifth floor extension, providing office and restaurant space.

Residents of the first phase of ISIS Waterside Regeneration’s development will move into their homes this spring.

Altogether 66 homes have been reserved off-plan, including apartments, townhouses and duplexes from the first two elements to be completed – the Halyards and the Arbor.

The 6.4-ha development – which transforms a former industrial site into a new waterside neighbourhood – will eventually comprise 520 homes, 35% of which will be three and four-bedroom family homes and 20% of which will be affordable. It will also include 7,000sq m of commercial space, to help create around 300 new jobs, with £2 million investment earmarked for health and education facilities in the area.

The development features high-quality public realm such as waterside communal courtyards, green space for residents and businesses, as well as private roof terraces, gardens and balconies. Apartments have been designed with flexible living spaces to maximise outdoor and indoor living.

Streets through the site will connect Brentford and the development with the water, while a new bridge will link the site to the parkland across the canal.

The first phase, which forms a gateway to Brentford Lock West from Commerce Road, comprises 150 apartments and townhouses ranging from one to fourbedrooms, together with commercial units that retain the original art deco facades of factory units.

GW | Projects

Brentford Lock West

37

Gillette Corner The iconic Gillette Corner building, which has been empty since 2006, is now set to be redeveloped in a £150 million, office-led scheme of 86,100sq m.

The 4.2-ha site includes the main 45,000sq m former Gillette HQ with its listed frontage and distinctive clock tower, and has planning permission in place to provide mixed-use space.

Gillette Corner Holdings – no connection with the razor manufacturer – bought the site for £23.05 million in August 2013, from the Bonnington Group, which had owned it since 2003. Bonnington did have planning permission for a hotel and leisure complex, which was expected to generate 2,300 jobs, but work failed to begin.

The site is on the arterial A4 road, four miles from Heathrow and near rail links.

38

Alfa Laval Carlton Properties has contracted United House to build 69 homes in Brentford.

The scheme forms part of Carlton's mixed-use redevelopment of Alfa Laval's disused Great West Road office block.

The £12.3 million deal will see United House construct the first phase of the Assael Architecture-designed scheme between now and September 2014.

The facade of the office building, which has been derelict for the past 15 years, will be retained during construction, as it is used as an advertising display for traffic

on the M4. However the remainder of the 11-storey building and its elevated carparking areas may be demolished to make way for the scheme.

New homes will range from onebedroom apartments to four-bedroom houses, split between a five-storey apartment block and a terrace of houses.

A United House spokesperson said the scheme’s second phase would incorporate hotels, commercial office space, a car showroom and additional residential and community facilities.

GW | Projects

WATERSIDE LIVING AND WORKING An exciting new collection of contemporary homes and commercial property situated along the banks of the Grand Union Canal.

Offering home buyers and business owners a unique opportunity to secure a new, residential or commercial property which benefits from a host of community features and green initiatives.

Residential enquiries should be made with the Brentford Lock West sales team by calling 020 8569 7449, emailing brentfordlockwest@stubbingsltd.co.uk or visiting www.brentfordlockwest.co.uk Business owners interested in the commercial opportunities at Brentford Lock West should contact John Vokins of Vokins Chartered Surveyors by emailing j.vokins@vokins.co.uk or calling 020 8400 9000.

39

Late developer

40

Hard lessons from the recession have taught us that what worked in 2007 may not be right for the 2014 market. Hounslow did not rush the regeneration of its town centre but its lack of precocity now plays to its advantage, as it is able to take full account of the new reality, writes Estates Gazette markets editor, Noella Pio Kivlehan â—†

GW | High Street Quarter

S

ometimes it's good to be behind the times, as Hounslow has found. For the past 10 years the borough has watched regeneration schemes transform other parts of London, with updated retail and leisure units, new housing or even new commercial districts being established, while Hounslow was left behind, thanks both to incomplete development and the recession.

Now that is all set to change.

November 2013 saw developers Barratt and Wilson Bowden selected to upgrade Hounslow's High Street Quarter, with a multiplex cinema, over 90,000sq m of retail and leisure, 400 homes and public realm. An investment of £2 million from the Outer London Fund will support the scheme for repaving the high street and other public realm improvements.

The appointment was formally signed in March 2014 at MIPIM in Cannes – one of the world's largest property shows.

What this really means, and why it is good Hounslow is late in initiating regeneration, is because the borough will have the most contemporary and up-todate developments.

In a nutshell, the property sector, and in particular retailer's property demands, have completely changed in the last few years, as the sector turns increasingly to internet shopping. The impact of this is yet to be fully played out and analysed.

Brendon Walsh, director of regeneration, economic development and environment at Hounslow Council, says: “The large format shop units that we might have built six or seven years ago would have been wrong for the market today: we need to look at a mix of sizes of units to accommodate changing requirements.

“With the change in trends of shopping to more 'click and collect', Hounslow will be right at the front of that curve, so we will be providing units fit for purpose for today’s way of shopping.”

It is hoped the development will get planning this autumn, with building starting in 2015 and lasting up to six years.

Says Walsh: “There will be further design iterations on the scheme that Barratt and Wilson Bowden have submitted. There's work on land assembly but with a reasonable push we should be putting a spade in the ground in 2015.”

That spade will end two decades of waiting for change. “You could say that there’s been a 20-year aspiration for the regeneration of Hounslow town centre,” says Walsh.

A first phase of redevelopment was delivered 10 years ago and included the Legal & General-owned Blenheim shopping centre.

But, a second phase stalled when the developer of the first phase ‘disappeared’, as Walsh puts it. Then, in 2007, came the four-year recession.

“We fell into difficulties generally in the financing market and no developers were able to come forward with sensible proposals,” says Walsh.

This lack of regeneration has caused Hounslow's high street to suffer, as the space was not built and the high street was not joined to the Blenheim centre as had been planned (see panel, page 42).

Walsh says: "We have insufficient mass to attract people so we have lost spend in our town centre to other shopping destinations like Kingston, Uxbridge and Ealing, to an extent. It would be fair to say we are

41

people of Hounslow can be proud of. The focal point of our proposals is the creation of a series of new public spaces, that will be designed to accommodate a range of activities and events that will bring a real vibrancy to Hounslow town centre.”

Robinson adds: “Families will be able to go to the cinema and enjoy a meal in Hounslow town centre, while also visiting a wide range of shops.

"The regeneration project will also provide a range of much needed new homes in Hounslow, including a number of affordable homes.”

The High Street Quarter is designed to show that even though it is coming in behind other London regeneration schemes, it will be at the forefront for new innovation and giving the market what it wants. ◆

Retail sustained

42

“Actually having people, a community, living in the town centre will add to the vibrancy” ◆ Above: Over 90,000sq m of retail and leisure space will form part of the High Street Quarter.

◆

playing catch-up as Hounslow really is one of the last metropolitan centres to receive any significant injection of development.

“There are no restaurants, really, to speak of in Hounslow town centre. So, at 5.30pm the shutters come down and the town centre closes for business, whereas in other places it carries on until midnight.”

Walsh firmly believes that the new multiplex cinema, and the knock-on effects it will have in attracting other leisure operators “will bring a much-needed addition to our evening economy”.

Helping to fuel that night-time economy will be the new, centrally based, residential homes.

“Putting homes in the centre is the right thing to do,” says Walsh, adding, “actually having people, a community, living in the town centre will add to the vibrancy of Hounslow".

The council's aim is for 41% social housing in the new development scheme.

William Robinson, development director, Barratt and Wilson Bowden, emphasises how important residential and other regeneration will be for the area.

“The High Street Quarter has been talked about for many years and is the missing piece of the town centre jigsaw. Our aim is to deliver a development that the

Hounslow bucks the retail trend. Despite being one of the last London metropolitan boroughs to undergo regeneration, Hounslow has not seen the same level of retail closures as the rest of the UK. Brendon Walsh, director of regeneration, economic development and environment at the council, says: “Hounslow town centre still performs very well and we haven’t had the same levels of shop vacancies as other places, so we think it will be attractive to retailers to come into the town centre.”

Walsh cites retail giants Next and H&M signing for the Treaty Centre as “encouraging us greatly that others will want to come in, but we haven’t had the space available to them until this development”.

Walsh refers to the joint venture between Hounslow Council and Barratt and Wilson Bowden that will see, within the next six years, the High Street Quarter completely regenerated.

The £2 million contribution from the Outer London Fund will deliver enhancements to the public realm – new paving, street furniture, lighting and performance space.

Walsh says connecting the Blenheim Centre with the high street is very important. "Because the centre formed the first phase that was built out a decade ago and it was anticipated that this initial phase would be working back towards the town centre, we are effectively finishing the job with this scheme,” he says.

William Robinson is development director, at Barratt and Wilson Bowden, the appointed developers on the regeneration of the High Street Quarter. He says: “For Hounslow town centre to be successful, the whole town needs to be seamlessly linked together and High Street Quarter will complete the link of the Blenheim Centre into the heart of Hounslow.”

Map from Google Maps

Pick Everard is one of the leading independent property and construction consultancies in the UK. From concept to feasibility studies through all stages of design, to site supervision, project management, cost control & commissioning, we provide integrated teams to meet client’s and project requirements.

Visit our website for more details.

Hounslow will Be a ‘distinctive, and thriving borough with a happy, high achieving community at its heart’ Have a young population, almost a third will be under the age of 19 by 2030 Have a growing

lation

popu

set to rise by 9.8% by 2031

in Hounslow

hop

social space

schools

books

expanding

Launch a brand new refect ory

Have £54 million to spend on

library

44

See property prices rising by 19.4% in the next five years, according to Savills

(Vision for Hounslow 2030, Hounslow Together)

at the heart of the University of West London campus

3,000 new homes from 2014 to 2019

Look £267 million is being spent on upgrading or improving roads, pavements, street lights, street cleansing, signs, benches and other street furniture, trees and drains – making a significant difference to the look and feel of the place

zoo

adjacent to Hounslow Urban Farm with designated classrooms and lecture theatres and a living forest with exotic animals from all over the world

Include a major development on the Golden Mile at Gillette Corner – planning consent is in place for 47,000sq m of office space, a 505-bed five-star hotel, two restaurants and a bar 45

better

86,

£3

Have

00

from the Heritage Grants programme to help restore Gunnersbury Park House, developing and expanding the museum in order to promote a better understanding of local heritage

Provide a new home for Brentford FC – outline planning permission has been given for a new

GW | Markets

Have a new tropical

Be on course for

Benefit from a revitalised town centre in Hounslow

seat football stadium surrounded by 12 tower blocks containing 910 new homes

uwl.ac.uk/ greatwest

Fortune favours the brains.

Earn up to 20% more with a postgraduate degree.* Employers love our industry focussed postgraduate degrees. *Sutton Trust Report. The postgraduate premium-earning potential over a 40 year career period for a Masters degree.

Smooth operator Hounslow’s forward-thinking planning department is introducing earlier community engagement and giving developers a smoother ride, Mark Smulian reports ◆

“We want to engage early ... with developers who are investing ...” process for major schemes so problems can be resolved before the clock starts ticking on the formal 13 week application period. “We work with them to explain our policies and our needs, and introduce them to local groups,” she says. “That means when the 13 week period starts, most of the issues will already have been resolved and we can give them a very smooth ride. We want to engage early and have a good relationship with the developers who are investing in the borough.”

GW | Planning performance

W

hen Hounslow found itself unexpectedly and accidentally at risk of its planning service being taken into ‘special measures’ by the government, it was time to pull the stops out to ensure that applicants were getting a good and rapid service.

Special measures would have seen developers allowed to bypass the council and go to a planning inspector for a decision. This threat arose not because of any defect in Hounslow’s service but by an accident of timing.

The target was to decide 60% of major applications within 13 weeks and ministers looked at two years’ worth of data. This included the final quarter before April 2012 during which projects that gained planning permission could avoid liability for the community infrastructure levy (CIL), applied by London mayor Boris Johnson.

The sudden surge of planning permissions being granted, that had previously been held up by more than 13 weeks by complex planning gain negotiations, thus led to a fall in performance figures at several London boroughs, including Hounslow.

During that quarter the council was under pressure from developers to conclude legal agreements, says Marilyn Smith, head of development management at Hounslow Council. Many were already more than 13 weeks old, and so – when the government retrospectively took account of that quarter’s figures – Hounslow looked bad.

“To avoid special measures we became much more efficient,” Smith says. “We became very target-driven and provide a much better service.” Developers are now encouraged to go through a pre-application

47

48

Another step taken to improve Hounslow’s ability to work with developers to deliver regeneration, homes and employment has been the production of a local plan. The council intends to start public consultation on a new plan in March, with a view to its formal adoption in March 2015.

Ian Rae, head of regeneration and spatial planning, explains: “The planning process and decision making will be helped by having an up-to-date plan.” One key feature is that the town centres of Hounslow and Brentford will become the focus for growth, with regeneration through leisure opportunities to make them more attractive for residents and others to visit.

They are intended to become more residential, as they have substantial capacity, mainly on brownfield land.

Another aspect of the plan is for a new town square in Hounslow and a new market square for Brentford.

The second feature is the designation of the Great West Road corridor for employment growth, in particular in the digital and media spheres and in line with emerging changes to the mayor’s London plan.

Hounslow also hopes to create better pedestrian links to stations on London Underground’s Piccadilly line and to the town centres. There is also the possibility of a railway line, at present used only for freight, providing a passenger service from the Sky Television campus at Osterley – a major local employer – to Southall, and this line could eventually be extended over a removed section to its original destination in Brentford.

“Heathrow is obviously a major factor, we want to retain its economic benefits in Hounslow and very much oppose the idea that it should be closed and relocated to the Thames estuary,” Rae says.

The council consulted on options for its local plan last year, when it proposed 45 development sites, with provision for more than 7,800 new homes and 200,000sq m of office floorspace. Housing may now be revised up, to 12,500 homes during 2015-30, across 71 sites – in line with changes to the London Plan.

Hounslow expects to start charging its own CIL – separate from the London mayor's scheme – on developments from April 2015. This will largely replace the old Section 106 planning gain system, other than for site-specific infrastructure. Rae says this will be, “set so it is low enough to encourage development, but still ensures we get some financial benefit.

“There is a huge infrastructure demand here, including the need for three new secondary schools and strategic transport improvements, and it will go towards that.”

A report for Hounslow’s cabinet notes: “A modest and simple set of CIL rates has been opted for in preparing the first Hounslow CIL. This will minimise the complexity of collecting and paying CIL, for the council and developers respectively.”

Taken together the new local plan, competitive CIL rate, the pre-application process and the improved efficiency of development control should show clearly that Hounslow is open for development. ◆

Hounslow Central Underground

H&M and Next coming soon

BALFOUR GREEN Hounslow High Street Treaty Shopping Centre

High Street Quarter: 400 homes, shops, restaurants and cinema planned by Barratt & London Borough of Hounslow

Balfour Green...

An exciting new development in the heart of Hounslow Town Centre.

For further information visit www.balfourgreen.co.uk

Mile High Grub

GW | Heathrow economy

With ambitions to become the world’s leading airline catering company, Alpha LSG has launched a £10 million premium kitchen concept in Hounslow. The company aims to transform the expectations of passengers on long-haul flights and bring about radical improvement in the standard of in-flight meals. James Wood tucks in ◆

M

istrust and negativity surrounding airline food is ingrained in the opinions of regular flyers – few would declare themselves fans of in-flight catering. Just look around at the suspicious faces on any given flight, as passengers gingerly pull back the wrapping of the lukewarm metallic tray to peer warily at the contents inside – questioning not only the edibility, but trying to distinguish exactly what is being served up.

Meanwhile, interest in cuisine generally has soared – we watch it on television, read about it and talk about it. Around the globe, the quality of food contributes to the overall reputation of the destination – one which is rarely in evidence during the flight.

This paradox is hardly surprising. Evidently, there’s a limit to what can be achieved by the large-scale levels of production necessary to service flights with decent meals and quality airline food remains a rarity, at least in economy class.

But as passengers on long-haul flights begin to expect better meals, increasing numbers of carriers are now recognising the demand and seeking out innovative companies, aiding the emergence of a new era for airline catering.

The merger of two of the biggest, most prestigious names in the industry, Alpha and LSG Sky – both of which had bases in Hounslow – brought together combined revenues of more than £300 million and 3,400 employees, to form Alpha LSG in October 2012, which has been servicing airports throughout the UK ever since.

Heathrow has inevitably been a priority, and a major investment here underpins the scale of the company's ambition. At the end of January 2014, Alpha LSG launched its £10 million “premium kitchen” concept to service airlines using Heathrow.

The company is taking the opportunity to change perceptions of the industry, offering airlines the means to improve their in-flight catering services and potentially enhance their own reputation in this competitive market.

Axel Bilstein, Alpha LSG’s acting CEO, says: “We want to create something Heathrow has not seen before and we believe that what we are doing here is going to set the benchmark for in-flight catering in the future.”

The evidence for this commitment to quality is demonstrated at the new facility at Heston. A stylish customer lounge where in-flight meals are sampled, resembles the set of MasterChef, and the impressive

51

array of international cuisines at the launch is indicative of the breadth of Alpha LSG’s market.

The 16,350sq m centre will have the capacity each day to cater for 68 flights and provide up to 76,500 meals; it will work with 50 different suppliers a week, with 2000 different specifications.

The variety of cuisines on offer takes into account religious and cultural requirements. For starters, the 4,830sq m production centre contains the only dedicated halal kitchen service available to airlines using Heathrow. A Japanese and Asian kitchen offers such delicacies as an ox cheek dish alongside a wholesome and equally exotic monkfish curry.

◆ Top: Alpha LSG's Premium Kitchen customer lounge.

Above: Chefs display presentation skills at the Premium Kitchen launch.

◆

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“This is something for the world of airline catering to look at and match” Adjacent to the production area, a modern and high quality 11,520sq m logistics centre pools the skills and experience of the two organisations to offer an improved service. Production started at the centre in early February and it is expected to be fully operational by the end of March.

But Alpha LSG is not resting on the laurels of the respective companies' reputations – it is also tapped into a generation of budding chefs.

This is achieved through a partnership with the respected Craft Guild of Chefs, which is offering opportunities to up-and-coming trainees from what is widely considered to be one of the UK’s best catering colleges – Westminster Kingsway.

Alpha LSG’s appointment of Chris Barber – who served as a personal chef to Prince Charles for more than 12 years – in an advisory role, signals to ambitious chefs that they may be wrong to dismiss airline catering as a career path.

Barber says: “It is fantastic to be involved in this business. This is something for the world of airline catering to look at and match.

“Alpha LSG has an exciting and dynamic vision for the future of its catering operations and I’m delighted to be asked to advise them on turning their vision into reality.”

Students studying for their Professional Chef Diploma will be eligible for two five-week placements from the academic year starting in September 2014.

Marc Warde, a hospitality specialist, and food expert who has considerable experience in servicing the cultural sector, museums, heritage locations and the arts and leisure sectors throughout the country, chairs the project.

He says: “Food and people are at the heart of our business and our Culinary Academy is situated at the heart of Premium Kitchen.

“It will allow our chefs to showcase their skills across various cuisines and use the latest in kitchen technology – providing the ideal space to do things differently, think creatively and stand out from the crowd.”

Paul Mason, head of the Culinary Academy, adds: “Alpha LSG has a strong history of investing in the training and development of its existing chefs and we have now made a commitment to support promising young talent.”

Travellers are becoming less tolerant of substandard airline food – it’s not difficult to carry on an appetising meal rather than put up with a tray of indeterminate gloop. With a growing percentage of the world’s population using air travel each year, people from different countries have never been more connected. This influence is becoming clear on cuisine, as people the world over discover and are being inspired by new and interesting food.

London's Heathrow Airport was listed as the third busiest by passenger traffic globally in data from the Airports Council International in 2013.

Few places in the world have the level of interest Heathrow receives from airlines who want innovative solutions to improve catering standards.

Alex Forbes, Alpha LSG’s chief operating officer, says: “The aim is to become the world’s leading airline catering company.”

It is an ambitious objective, but one that Alpha LSG seems confident of fulfilling. ◆

93% of readers say these magazines influence their opinion of places to invest * Adventures in Brewtopia The business of beer is booming, with microbreweries focusing on the perfect pint

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Fresh start

Often overshadowed by its bigger and brighter neighbouring town centres, Feltham high street is busy, thriving and a historic hub. And a new masterplan can only further its fortunes, with the aim of boosting its shops, housing and connectivity. David Gray says watch this space â—†

GW | Feltham

F

eltham, complete with its village pond, may now be seen as one of Hounslow’s leafier residential areas. But in fact, it has long been an urban hub, with the high street built just after the railway arrived in 1848. The original shops were demolished in the 1960s and 1970s, and they in turn were replaced by Thornfield Properties’ The Centre, opened in 2006 with 1,665sq m of retail space, anchored by Asda and Tesco. Next door, the Leisure West complex includes a bowling alley and Hounslow’s only multiplex cinema, while the town centre also includes restaurants, cafes and pubs, as well as a large library, medical centre and a 115-bed Travelodge hotel.

Yet despite this relatively recent regeneration and retail boost, and its low vacancy rate, Feltham’s town centre still suffers from fairly poor awareness and perception, especially in the wider context of west London.

To compete with other centres, such as the larger Chiswick and Hounslow, it needs to keep the momentum going, integrate more fully with the surrounding area and, in particular, attract more nighttime activity.

To this end, the council is undertaking a wideranging visioning and masterplanning process to improve the town centre and make more intensive use of surrounding sites. The plan will align with the principles of the borough's emerging Local Plan.

Consideration of the Heathrow Opportunity Area is under way and will be subject to more detailed planning and design consideration over the next couple of years. Hounslow – and London's – critical need for new homes and job creation will set the context for this.

It will identify interventions and priorities for action that both protect current assets and encourage the development of new ones, for the next five to 10 years.

Priorities include retaining the existing level of retail floorspace against the trend of shop closures in so many other areas, improving the public realm, and encouraging new restaurants and cafes to increase activity in the evenings.

Another priority would be improving physical links between the town centre and nearby sporting and leisure attractions such as Feltham Arenas, the Longford River and the historic grounds of Hanworth Park. Much of this is already under way, such as a 10km network of greenways for pedestrians and cyclists, to be completed by the end of 2015, while major regeneration of the area around the rail station, to facilitate longer trains, is being scoped with partners at Network Rail and Transport for London. This work will both help improve pedestrian access to the town centre, via a ‘statement’ bridge linking the residential area to the west with the centre, and help address traffic congestion.

The new masterplan will also seek to encourage mixed-use development around the town centre, including greatly extending the local primary school

55

◆ Left: Feltham's bustling high street.

Above: St Dunstan's church in Lower Feltham.

◆

“The plan will align with the principles of the borough's emerging Local Plan”

56

and building new homes. Planning permission for 130 such homes had already been given by the start of 2014. In the longer term, sites around the town centre, particularly the industrial land on the North Feltham Trading Estate, offer excellent growth potential for Heathrow-related business operations.

To further the focus on Feltham, not only will its town centre be a key part of Hounslow Council’s emerging regeneration strategy over the next year (with early marketing at the MIPIM 2014 conference in Cannes),

◆ Top: Feltham's masterplan aims to encourage mixeduse development around the town centre.

Above: The district is now seen as one of Hounslow’s leafier residential areas.

◆

but council officers will also be promoting Feltham station as a key rail gateway to Heathrow, following the chancellor’s autumn 2013 announcement of significant funding to support new rail access from the south of the airport.

Importantly for regional connectivity, this link could also be extended past Heathrow to link directly to the growth areas of the M4 corridor via the Great Western mainline. This would also improve orbital connectivity between south-west and west London.

On the downside, Feltham’s good name has inevitably been blighted by its media association with the Feltham Young Offenders Institution (FYOI), notorious for London gang conflict and heavily criticised by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in 2013 as ‘unacceptably violent’.

The future of this site is under consideration by the Ministry of Justice, which announced in January 2014 that a feasibility study on the FYOI would be completed within the next six months. Any proposal to pull down the old institution would almost certainly be welcomed by prison campaigners and inmates’ families, as well as many local people, with its replacement no doubt the subject of impassioned debate.

Whatever the outcome, there is far more to Feltham than its ‘bad nick’ – the district has the potential to be a powerful regional magnet for employment, retail and leisure. ◆

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We have a long-term interest in the homes we develop and make profit to fund low cost homes and invest in communities.

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Sitematch Q&A: Brendon Walsh

Hounslow’s director of regeneration, economic development and environment offers an insight as to the origins of Sitematch London, and discusses the borough’s next opportunity with Huub Nieuwstadt

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1 How did Sitematch begin and how were you involved?

The idea for Sitematch originated when Toby Fox [managing director of 3Fox International] and I were travelling back from MIPIM in 2011. We discussed how we could develop a platform for London’s local authorities to secure the benefits that MIPIM offers, to talk informally to developers about potential sites. We did not come to any firm conclusions at that time, but the following morning, the idea of a speed dating format came to mind and I sent Toby a text containing the words “speed date, Boris, velodrome”. The original idea was to host Sitematch London at the Olympic cycling track with Boris Johnson as facilitator. Since that text, Sitematch has become a great success story.

2 How does Sitematch fit with Hounslow’s regeneration strategy?

Sitematch has provided a platform for promoting the borough’s plans for regeneration. Last year we used the website and the event to promote Hounslow High Street Quarter – a major scheme in Hounslow town centre. As a result, we ended up with a strong field of suitably qualified developers

with an interest in working with us. It was a tricky job shortlisting those to take forward to the formal tender stage but we have now signed a development agreement with Barratt and Wilson Bowden at MIPIM 2014.

3 What are Hounslow’s current key development opportunities?

We've had success in keeping development moving forward in Brentford and Hounslow town centres during the recession. The next challenge is to kickstart investment in the Golden Mile which is the section of the Great West Road that runs parallel to the M4 elevated section. This used to be the heartland of manufacturing company headquarters in the 1930s and 40s but has faded in recent times. We think we can turn the fortunes of this area off the back of major investment from GlaxoSmithKline and BSkyB who bookend the corridor. We are also planning a push around the under-developed railway station in Feltham.

Hounslow Council representatives will attend Sitematch London on 2 April 2014. For more information visit sitematchlondon.com

3

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• 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 Interested in making the most of Hounslow?

For general enquiries about relocating to the borough, contact: enquiries@investhounslow.com

www.investhounslow.com