Transformational scheme approved in Ealing as TfL helps tackle the capital’s housing crisis

The ambition

The Bollo Lane site encompasses land that is currently used for operational space by TfL (including buildings and staff parking), as well as some small local businesses. As part of TfL’s wider commercial development programme, the long, linear Bollo Lane site was identified as being suitable for redevelopment and provided an opportunity to deliver hundreds of new homes to help tackle the capital’s housing crisis, while also offering a range of improvements for the local community.

JLL was instructed by TfL to devise an ambitious planning strategy that would realise the transformational redevelopment of the site to become a residential-led, mixed-use scheme. The vision for the site was to deliver a complex range of uses including replacement train crew accommodation and third party employment floorspace, new retail opportunities, up to 900 new homes, new public open spaces and a significantly improved public realm. The scheme needed to help transform this underused and inaccessible stretch of Bollo Lane into a vibrant and active part of the wider Acton community.

How we achieved it

This complex site has a number of significant planning challenges: it is a protected Locally Significant Industrial Site (LSIS); the existing topography of the site required careful planning solutions; and there were significant heritage considerations including the demolition of a locally listed building, the proximity of an adjacent Grade II listed station and other sensitive heritage assets including Kew Gardens World Heritage Site.

Working closely with officers at the London Borough of Ealing and the GLA and other statutory bodies, JLL Planning was able to devise a clear planning strategy. We identified planning risks from the outset of the project and formulated effective, clear mitigation strategies. This helped deliver solutions that unlocked the full potential of the site. Working with great architects at HOK and a fantastic technical team, JLL oversaw the preparation and coordination of this complex, but hugely rewarding planning application.

The results

JLL successfully secured a resolution to grant planning permission (subject to a s106 legal agreement) at planning committee for a hybrid scheme that will deliver up to 900 homes (50% affordable) along with new employment floorspace and retail spaces. The four-phase scheme will be delivered across 9 blocks, ranging between 4 to 25 storeys in height and is anticipated to start on site in 2022.