Working with the community to revise Friary Park planning application

Ensuring the community in and around Friary Park remains at the heart of design and development decisions, the joint venture partners have been exploring a range of new options designed to create a win-for-all, without compromising on delivering the community benefits that the proposed application had in its sights. These new options respond to Ealing’s recently published Tall Buildings Position Statement by keeping the height of the tallest buildings at the levels previously approved by Ealing.  Detailed design work will be informed by Ealing’s new Housing Design Guide, and carried out in collaboration with experts from Ealing and the Greater London Authority (GLA).

The revised design will retain all of the outside space and amenity improvements, whilst maximising affordable housing delivery and not compromising on the design quality of the new buildings.  The joint venture aims to deliver an additional 106 affordable homes in phase one as part of these proposals.

Marcus Bate, Partnerships and Communities Director at Mount Anvil, added: “Our business is built on collaboration and listening. We’ve listened to concerns about the proposed increase in height to the four tallest buildings at Friary Park and we are collaborating closely with Ealing’s planners to find a better solution which achieves the same community benefits.  We will ensure the revised design will retain all of the outside space and amenity improvements which we’d promised to residents, whilst maximising affordable housing delivery and not compromising on the design quality of the new buildings. Our new proposals will help deliver an outstanding healthy working community at Friary Park.”

Richard Smith, Managing Director of New Homes London at Catalyst said: “I’m delighted that we are able to further revise the plans to keep our promises to residents and mean new affordable homes are coming to Ealing sooner than originally planned. Those community-oriented communal outdoor spaces and enlarged balconies for all homes are going to really enhance the lives of Friary Park’s residents.”

The Friary Park regeneration first received planning permission for 990 homes of which 45% would be genuinely affordable in 2019. In response to the pandemic, Mount Anvil and Catalyst are seeking to enhance the planning application to deliver an additional 106 affordable homes as part of phase one with the additional private homes being deferred to a later construction phase. In addition to the new homes, the plans would provide improved commercial spaces, of which 40% will be affordable workspace and 6% dedicated to local independent businesses, more sustainable green spaces, a new children’s play space, cycle hub and an improved community facility, all just a few minutes’ walk from the Acton Mainline Crossrail station.