08/10/2025
🚨 🏗️Brentford Police Station Site Planing – Serious Concerns 🏗️🚨
A new planning application (P/2025/2496)-12 August 2025- has been submitted for the Half Acre Police Station site (TW8 8DH).
The proposal includes demolishing the old station, building 111 flats and a smaller Arts Centre.
But there are serious concerns London Borough of Hounslow
⚠️ Overheating 🔥& Noise Conflict🔊
The proposed flats risk becoming too hot to live in comfortably. The development has no active cooling (such as air conditioning), only Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR), which may not cope during future heatwaves. Planning documents even suggest residents may need to use portable fans – hardly a sustainable long-term solution.
At the same time, the Sound Impact Assessment confirms the site already suffers from aircraft noise (54 dB, section 11). This could worsen if a third Heathrow runway goes ahead.
The Sustainability Statement (section 4.27) admits that residents cannot rely on opening windows for ventilation.
This creates a clear conflict:
On hot days you would normally open a window for cooling.
But because of noise, windows are expected to stay shut.
Without proper cooling, residents are left with poor options.
This is a common flaw in high-density developments near flight paths, and it risks making the new homes uncomfortable and unhealthy.
⚠️ High construction carbon ♨️– far above London climate benchmarks.
The Whole Life Cycle Carbon (WLCA) assessment for the Brentford Police Station site shows the development would generate around 760 kgCO₂e per square metre during construction. This figure is well above the Greater London Authority’s aspirational benchmark of 500 kgCO₂e/m², and considerably higher than comparable nearby developments such as GSK and Watermans.
In the context of a declared Climate Emergency, it is not acceptable for new housing schemes to lock in such a high carbon footprint from the outset. Construction emissions are one of the largest and most difficult to offset, and the proposal falls far short of what London should be aspiring to achieve.
This is a missed opportunity: more careful design, reuse of materials, and innovative low-carbon construction methods could have delivered a scheme aligned with London’s climate commitments. Instead, the current approach risks undermining both local sustainability goals and the London Plan’s expectations for responsible, future-facing development.
⚠️ Lack of Social Housing 🏘– Only 17% “Affordable,” With No True Social Rent
The proposed Brentford Police Station development provides 111 new flats, yet the overall affordable housing offer across this site and the linked Albany Riverside (Watermans) site is only 17% – well below both London Plan and local policy targets.
Even more concerning, none of the homes appear to be allocated as genuinely affordable social rent. Instead, the tenure mix is heavily weighted towards “affordable intermediate” housing, which can be set at up to 80% of market rent. In practice, this is unaffordable for many local residents, especially given Brentford’s rising private rental costs.
Hounslow’s proposed Local Plan aims for 20–33% of new housing to be social rent, reflecting the urgent need for genuinely affordable homes. This scheme does not meet that requirement. The community is being offered far less than what is needed – and far less than what local policy expects.
The scheme therefore fails to tackle the housing crisis or support those most in need. Instead, it risks prioritising developer returns over community benefit, at a time when access to secure, genuinely affordable housing is more critical than ever.
⚠️ Access to doctors👩⚕️ – all local GPs are already over capacity.
Local Surgeries Already Over Capacity
The Health Impact Assessment for the Brentford Police Station site confirms that all nearby GP surgeries are already operating above capacity. Adding 111 new flats – alongside the 219 at the Albany Riverside (Watermans) site – will place hundreds of additional residents into a local health system that is already under severe strain.
While the planning documents make vague reference to “council arrangements” to address this shortfall, no specific or guaranteed measures are outlined. There is no evidence of new GP provision, expansion of existing practices, or investment in local health infrastructure to meet the increased demand.
Without firm commitments, this development risks worsening the already difficult situation faced by residents trying to access a doctor’s appointment. This is not just inconvenient – it undermines the health and wellbeing of the community, especially vulnerable groups such as children, older people, and those with long-term conditions.
In short, approving more high-density housing without properly addressing the shortage of primary care services is short-sighted and unsustainable.
⚠️ Urban greening 🥀– below the London Plan standard
The proposed development has an Urban Greening Factor (UGF) of just 0.34. For primarily residential schemes, the London Plan (Policy G5) requires a minimum UGF of 0.4. This means the Brentford Police Station scheme is falling short of even the basic policy standard.
Urban greening is not just a “nice to have” – it plays a vital role in:
Reducing urban heat and helping homes stay cooler in hotter summers by providing the following:
🌳Improving air quality, especially important in an area affected by traffic and aircraft emissions.
🐝Boosting biodiversity, by supporting plants, insects, and birdlife.
👩👩👧👧Enhancing residents’ wellbeing, offering access to greenery and natural spaces in a dense, urban setting.
By under-delivering on greening, the scheme misses a key opportunity to improve local quality of life and environmental resilience. At a time of climate emergency and rapid urbanisation, Brentford deserves developments that raise the bar – not ones that cut corners on sustainability.
And more!
On the positive side, there are solar panels, air source heat pumps, and high biodiversity gain – but overall, the scheme raises big questions for Brentford’s future.
Note📕: this is a variation of a previous 2017 planning request (P/2017/3371). As such this note only covers the variation and not the original proposal which has already received planning permission.
To find out more about the new planning application, please visit this site on the Hounslow.gov.uk website.
https://planningandbuilding.hounslow.gov.uk/NECSWS/ES/Presentation/Planning/OnlinePlanning/OnlinePlanningOverview?applicationNumber=P%2F2025%2F2496
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With thanks to Tony Firkins for carrying out this analysis 🍏
