Plans Submitted for Chiswick Police Station Redevelopment
Average age of residents in new building expected to be 85
A visualisation of the development provided with the planning application. Picture: Birchgrove
June 28, 2023
A planning application (P/2023/1632) has been submitted to Hounslow Council for the redevelopment of the former police station on Chiswick High Road.
The designs are substantially unchanged from those published last year by Birchgrove during a public consultation.
It is proposing to build a care community six storeys high with fifty rooms for elderly residents at 205-207 Chiswick High Road.
Originally opened in 1972 at the location of Linden House and the former fire station, the site ceased to operate as a police station in 2021 and was bought by Birchgrove, a specialist developer of retirement communities, in April 2022.
Although the building will not be as tall as the police station, the highest part of the original building was recessed so the new construction will appear to be higher when viewed from the High Road.
Visualisation of the building looking west up Chiswick High Road. Picture: Birchgrove
The new apartments will be available for rent only and will provide integrated care for residents with the facility registered with the Care Quality Commission. Support services will be available 24 hours a day.
You will need to be at least 65 to rent one of the units and documents submitted with the application state that the average age of residents is expected to be 85 with the average age of a new tenant 83. Couples will be allowed to share rooms in the development which includes one and two bedroom apartments. However, Birchgrove says that the typical resident will be single and living alone and will have taken the decision to rent a unit because their mobility, health needs and social circumstance have started to mean that it has become harder to live
independently in their family home.
An earlier design now abandoned of the building shown during the consultation. Picture: Birchgrove
There will be communal facilities on the ground floor some of which will be open to local residents on a controlled basis. A dedicated community space will be located on Chiswick High Road which will be available for local groups, charities and individuals to hire at ‘minimal cost’.
Local groups, particularly those providing activities suitable for the elderly will be given access to the communal space as will the police to hold community meetings. The organisers of the local monthly markets have expressed interest in using space for meetings, storage or even informal sales space.
A visualisation of the interior area of the building. Picture: Birchgrove
Some changes have been made to the designs consulted on earlier including the removal of some balconies overlooking Linden Gardens after complaints from residents. For the same reasons, the original mansard roof design for the section on Linden Gardens has been removed although retained on the High Road.
The entrance, which was originally planned to be on the corner of the site has now been switched to face directly onto the High Road.
Comments can be made on the application the details of which can be found by searching using the planning reference on the (P/2023/1632). It is likely that the application will come before the borough planning committee before the end of the year.
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