Five-fold Increase in Student Rooms at North Acton Site Proposed

Imperial College to submit changes to masterplan for One Portal Way

An overview of the planned development site shown within a red border. Picture: Imperial College

February 12, 2026

Imperial College London has set out new plans to significantly expand the amount of student accommodation at its One Portal Way development in North Acton

It is proposing to increase the number of student bedrooms from 384 to 1,926. The updated proposals will be submitted to the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) as a Section 73 amendment application in late March.

If approved, the revised plans would make student accommodation the dominant use on the eastern part of the site, reshaping the balance of housing and employment space originally proposed.

The move comes two years after OPDC granted outline planning permission for the wider One Portal Way masterplan in March 2024. That approval followed several years of consultation and marked the latest chapter in the long redevelopment of a prominent brownfield site that has been earmarked for regeneration for more than a decade.

One Portal Way sits at the heart of North Acton’s rapidly changing cluster of tall buildings. The land was formerly occupied by low-rise commercial units including the Dixons Carphone Warehouse HQ.

Earlier proposals for the site date back to the mid-2010s, when developers first sought to bring forward a mixed-use scheme. After several iterations, Imperial College London acquired the eastern portion of the land and brought forward a hybrid planning application, approved in 2024. It included 1,325 new flats for sale and rent with 35% affordable housing across the site and 384 co-living or student rooms

In October 2025, OPDC also approved a temporary science and technology hub to activate the site while the main development is built.

Imperial says its updated plans respond to a growing need for student housing across West London. By the 2031/32 academic year, the university expects demand for up to 6,000 additional beds, making new purpose-built accommodation essential to support its growth and maintain London’s competitiveness as a global centre for higher education.

The revised proposals would see two of the approved buildings re-planned to accommodate the additional rooms.

Building E which was originally planned to deliver 413 build-to-rent apartments, Building E would instead provide 1,350 student rooms. Imperial says the building’s height and massing will remain unchanged, with only internal layouts altered. As Building E was approved in outline, the Section 73 application will establish the principle of the new use, with detailed design to follow through a Reserved Matters Application.

Previously approved for 384 co-living or student rooms, Building F would be redesigned to deliver 578 student rooms while retaining co-working space on the lower floors. The building would gain one additional storey — rising from 19 to 20 floors — but Imperial says the overall height in metres will remain the same, resulting in no noticeable change to its appearance.

Across both buildings, 35% of student rooms would be offered at affordable rents, in line with London Plan definitions.

Imperial argues that concentrating student accommodation in a well-connected location like North Acton will help create a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood while easing pressure on the private rental market for local workers and families.

The Section 73 application will include updated plans and assessments showing how the changes affect the original permission. Once submitted, OPDC will run a statutory consultation, with documents available for the public to view. A decision on the changes is anticipated by the middle of this year.