Topping Out Ceremony Held at Women-only Housing Block
Completion of 102 new flats on Gunnersbury Lane approaches
Members of the construction team and councillors at the topping out of Brooke House. Picture: L&Q
June 11, 2025
A new block of flats on Gunnersbury Lane, which will only be available to women, is approaching completion.
A topping out ceremony was held recently at Brook House with members of the construction team joined by Ealing Council’s Leader, Cllr Peter Mason, Deputy Leader Cllr Louise Brett, and former Mayor Cllr Yvonne Johnson, as well as senior directors from Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH) and L&Q.
WPH, which owns the site, is a Registered Social Housing Provider and a Cooperative and Community Benefit Society, formed in 1920 by suffragists to provide housing across London for single women, particularly those who face inequality, abuse and other disadvantages.
The new building will consist of 102 social rented flats, replacing an older 39 home estate. The new housing will be allocated to a combination of Ealing Council nominations and existing WPH residents. The council currently has over 600 single women on its housing waiting list and overall, there are almost 8,000 households in the borough waiting for a socially rented home.
Despite some opposition from residents concerned about the height of the buildings, it was approved by Ealing Council in 2023.
The development, which contains three attached towers of 15,13 and 11 storeys, will also include a range of landscape improvements, including recreational spaces for residents and the first residents are expected to be able to move in next summer.
The original estate at Brook House, located opposite Acton Town underground station, was built in the 1930s, with additional homes and blocks built in the 70s.
Tracey Downie, Chief Executive at Women’s Pioneer Housing, said, “Women’s Pioneer Housing has worked for more than 100 years with single women, including in Ealing, and we strongly believe that providing more good-quality, affordable homes for women is critically important, particularly during this cost-of-living and energy crisis. We are more than just ‘bricks and mortar’ - we support our residents’ independence and wellbeing and this new building will provide a real home for many single women in dire need."
A visualisation from the developer of the completed Brook House
Cllr Mason, said, “The 102 new flats being built at Brook House will provide a safe, secure, genuinely affordable place to call home for some of the hundreds of women on the waiting list for social housing in our borough.
“Many of the homes will be let to women who have experienced domestic abuse and other dangers. There is a big need for this type of specialist women-only accommodation. Almost 3,500 cases of domestic abuse were recorded in Ealing in the last 12 months.
“London’s affordable housing crisis disproportionately impacts women, who still face a gender pay gap that sees them on average earn less than men, constraining their ability to afford rent. With Ealing acutely affected by the national affordable housing crisis, the flats will be a lifeline for women who are unable to privately rent.”
Jacqueline Esimaje-Heath, Development Growth Director at L&Q, added, “One of the key aims of L&Q’s mission as charitable housing provider is to help tackle the housing crisis and deliver much needed life-changing affordable and social housing – on L&Q owned sites or by supporting others. The ongoing cost-of-living crisis has pushed so many onto housing waiting lists, and it is often with the help of SME builders and specialised housing associations that we can push forward and create truly inclusive and diverse communities.”
“This is why we are honoured to support Women’s Pioneer Housing and to have reached this important site milestone for Brook House. “
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