Student accommodation close to North Acton station

A 24-storey tower block near North Acton station has been given the go-ahead.

Ealing Council has approved plans by student accommodation provider Downing for the 424-bed scheme.

Holbrook House - located at the junction of Victoria Road and WalesFarm Road, on the corner plot of land site is currently occupied by a three storey building, dating back to the 1960s.

It's in the Mayor of London's Old Oak & Park Royal Opportunity Area and the proposal is for a complete redevelopment of the site to create student beds within a single building, increasing height from 16 to 18, up to 24 storeys (including ground floor). The building’s form is broken into three blocks, and bedsits, maisonettes and retail units on-site will be demolished to make way for the new development.

Paul Houghton, development director at Downing, said: “We welcome the decision taken by members of Ealing Planning Committee to approve our plans to redevelop Holbrook House. The proposals for the site demonstrate our commitment to delivering high-quality, well-designed student accommodation schemes in London and will go some way to tackling the huge shortfall of student beds in the capital.

“This site represents a significant investment in North Acton building on our exciting development, ‘The Lyra’ building. We now look forward to working with Ealing Council, the GLA and the local community to get the accommodation delivered, so that we can welcome new students to the area as quickly as possible.”

The scheme commits to providing affordable student rents – with a proportion of the rooms available at a discounted rate – in order to meet new GLA planning guidance on student accommodation. It is the first student accommodation scheme in London that has been subject to the new guidance, which was published at the end of Boris Johnson’s tenure as mayor, earlier in 2016.

The application was approved by Ealing Council at a meeting of the authority’s planning committee with the scheme now subject to a stage 2 report from the Greater London Authority (GLA) before its planning consent is formalised.

28th September 2016