Questioning the Viability of the Albany Riverside/Watermans Scheme
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert reports back
Brentford West councillor Guy Lambert
November 21, 2025
As predicted, I made a trip to Armenia on Thursday. Well, really the enclave of Armenia in Brentford at the Armenian church centre which used to be the Princess Royal. The lengths that people will go to to avoid being renamed Ann Mountbatten-Windsor.
There were few people there when I attended but the ubiquitous John Dale and his sidekick Robin. Oh sorry, I'm confusing him with Batman - his sidekick is called Barney. He was digging the turf with my Green comrade Tony Firkins. Tony had done something I hadn't got to, which was examining the viability assessment on the Albany Riverside aka copshop/Watermans proposal. I hadn't got past seeing that the statement was 134 pages long, seeing that when I tried to print it out it didn't work on my printer. I used to think I had persistence, but then I was also conceited. I got over that and now I know I am perfect.
Well, Tony had uncovered that one of the two versions of the viability assessment said it had a deficit of £35M. The other one said a deficit of £45M. That means that the income that could be extracted from the development was £40M less than it would cost to build. Tony reasonably concluded that it therefore had no chance of proceeding. The man from the developer said they were aware of that but were working to improve it. I wrote to Tom Bruce and the redevelopment team at the council.
Tom says, "The process we’re currently going through - S73 planning - is helping get the sites in to a position where they should be deliverable and also means they meet the building safety requirements." GLA are running their own Viability assessment which may come to different conclusions and of course there is a possibility of some subsidy emerging from somewhere - GLA, Housing Ministry, Arts Council whilst these assessments are very subject to volatile changes in the market, interest rates, building costs etc. The Cabinet have been confident for well over a year that a viable solution will be found, despite my scepticism, and the fact they have been robust in their confidence makes me more hopeful. And getting this done is so critical for our town, so we have to find a way.
Of course, Tony is the expert on Green reservations about the construction, and I am looking for a time to explore that properly with him, because this is way beyond my expertise and it will be helpful to understand his angle properly.
On Friday I had a meeting with the Green team to talk about how we will approach next year's election. The first big date is 27th November in the Free Church, where we will have a speech from Caroline Russell, one of the 3 Green GLA Assembly Members. I will also make a speech which I have already drafted " Hi, my name is Guy" but somebody tells me it needs to be longer. We'll be sending out invitations to this event shortly but here's a preview - it will start at 6.45pm - don't miss it!
After that I had a meeting with a resident in the Digital Dock, which then moved to the Magpie and Crown. No, we were not craving beer, but we wanted to talk to the landlord, Scott about what we might do to engage local businesses in Brentford via the Chamber of Commerce or some other means. Helpful meeting but I need to follow up!
Then it was Saturday, and I decided to take a leisure ride down the Thames to Hammersmith via Dukes Meadow, which I do often, even when it is cold. I went into Hammersmith centre and there was some kind of festival on, with King Street closed with market stalls and all that. Great excitement because the Morris Dancers were out. If there was any sense of history they would have updated themselves to be British Leyland Dancers but people have no idea.
Somebody has been asking on Brentford TW8 forum about a cove called Charles James Cross who would be 198 if he was still around. He seems to have been a very distinguished man and a member of the Brentford Urban District Council, though of course we 21st century councillors are much more distinguished. I suggested a couple of ways to trace him (I doubt he is still alive, to be fair) and he was not on my nearest plaque to councillors and I haven't got around to look elsewhere.
Lots of Cs but no Cross associated with that Brentford tourist attraction the Brentford Sewage Pumping Station erected AD 1883. People would pay a lot of money to live near that. I will happily sell you my handily placed flat for a bargain price - £1M perhaps?
Over the weekend I was looking over some old photos I have hanging around The one of me in my bath as a baby has been banned by the censor but this one was when I was a bit older and surprisingly had a girlfriend. Yes I have given up smoking now, since you asked.
This one records my expertise as a water skier. The world is very unfair, and I never made it on to the Olympic team.
Just to prove my life is less busy these days, I decided to go to the Tate on Monday. I am trying to do things I have not done before and my attention to art galleries has been a bit scanty. I paid £24 of my own pennies to see an exhibition by Lee Miller, the famous model and photographer. It was fascinating but my favourite was a painting in the 'free' bit of the gallery. A beautiful scene talks to the soul of a grumpy old git like me, even.
The main thing that has been new this week is the proposal to change the parking arrangements in the area around Brook Road South. This was news to me, or I suspect I had heard of it when the traffic people did an informal survey. But this was done 2 full years ago so I had forgotten it. Residents had been asked and as always with these informal consultations the traffic team provides detailed reports of what people say. There were some mistakes in that and the first local people heard of it (well they probably did 2 years ago) was notices on the lamp posts. The first I heard of it was when various locals complained to me and then Ruth Cadbury did the same.
Not Guilty, Your Honour. Traffic had forgotten to tell me this was coming, but now I have had an apology and an acknowledgement that the report from early 2024 is too old to justify a change at least until notice is taken of the changed circumstances after the effluxion of 2 years and new changes in local circumstances.
People of the Principality of The BRS CPZ, make your opinions clear to the traffic team (and me) because it is important that we don't do anything that we all regret.
Other things that I have been worrying about (but not getting far) are the parking situation around Orchard Road, York, Glenhurst and Windmill which I have been trying to progress for 3 1/2 years. And the situation at Holly House, where again there has been a problem for at least 4 years but no progress since the spring this year. We had a promise of quick action back in October, but the officer we were dealing with seems to be away for a while, his boss has allegedly left the council, and I have hod no response yet from the CEO or the Head of Assets. Frustrating for me but far worse for the residents, and both of these problems started before the 2022 election when this was not even in my ward.
Also I heard of yet another of the Brentford victims of the Hounslow fly tipping extortion racket. An elderly lady who lives in the block next to the bin I pictured last week.
This is where she is supposed to place her recycling, and she tells me she did that but it either blew off or somebody extracted it. Kerching, that will be £1000. She tells me she often sweeps this sorry little cul de sac because it offends her what a mess it often is. This woman had read my diatribe last week. None of the Labour councillors and the Cabinet are only interested in boasting about how many fines they are making
In my opinion, they should all be hanging their heads in shame.
Oh, I was going to finish, but I saw a murder outside my window!
I often see crows over in Brentford Dock but this is the first time I have seen a Murder of Crows. Hope they don't get you.
Councillor Guy Lambert
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