New Tower Block on Steyne Estate Gets Green Light

Council approves its own project for 188 flats including 20-storey building

An visualisation of the new tower block (right) on the Steyne Estate
An visualisation of the new tower block (right) on the Steyne Estate

Participate

Council Submits Plan to Build Tall Tower in Centre of Acton

North Acton Residents Accepting of 'Mini-Manhattan'

Green Light for New Housing Next To Acton Park

St Dunstan's Gardens Care Home Plan Rejected

Proposal for 'Monstrous' Playground Rejected

56-storey Tower Just First Stage of One Portal Way Plan

Sign up for our Acton newsletter

Comment on this story on the

A new 20-storey tower will be built next to two large blocks of flats in the centre Acton to provide more affordable housing in the borough. But some neighbours have said they are “appalled” at the plans to bring another big tower into the area.

This new development will be ‘genuinely affordable’, councillors heard on Wednesday, 19 October.

The new tower block will be built alongside the 22-storey Moreton and Rufford Towers in the Steyne Estate. Two smaller blocks, designed for families and over 55s, will also be built in the area.

Speaking at the meeting, resident Robert Stoner said, “A major cause for concern is the impact of 188 new households on the borough’s existing infrastructure of health care schools transport and so on. ”

The Moreton Tower resident questioned the height of Block A, pointing out that none of the new buildings in the Acton Gardens redevelopment, just a short walk away, are as high.

He said, “From my window on the 21st floor, I can see the shrouded corpse of Grenfell tower. If a fire was to break out in this new tower the strong winds will blow flaming cinders into the balconies of the adjacent towers.” Mr Stoner added: “In the immediate footprint of this proposed development is the occupants of Lucas House, Rosemont Road, and Lexton Road who will suffer the most.

“They are appalled by the prospect of loss of privacy and light caused by the new eight-storey block on the other side of the road, not to mention the long shadow that the proposed 20-storey tower will cast across their windows and gardens.”

The new development will bring 188 new flats, 85.6 per cent of which will be affordable housing. A one-bedroomed flat is expected to cost £180 per week.

A total of 111 new flats will be in the massive tower block, while Block B will be just six storeys tall and provide homes for residents aged over 55. The third block will be much shorter and will have just six homes for families.

There will also be an increase in open space, with more playgrounds for children. Just 34 trees will be removed for the construction, with developers promising to plant 91 new trees and shrubs in the estate.

Plans were submitted by Ealing Council in collaboration with Broadway Living, the council-owned company tasked with creating new homes to tackle the affordable housing crisis.

Adam Towle, head of new business at Ealing Council, told the committee, “There are about 11,000 Ealing families on the housing waiting list because they don’t have a suitable safe and secure home they can afford over 2000 are living in temporary accommodations such as B&Bs.

“The best way to reduce the number of families in this unacceptable situation is by increasing the supply of suitable permanent places to live. So it’s important we support high-quality projects such as this.”

Councillors approved the plans and it is expected that the new towers will be ready by 2026.

Megan Stanley – Local Democracy Reporter

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.


October 20, 2022

 

Bookmark and Share