Brandy Melville Withdraws Fishers Lane Planning Application
Clothing company was seeking permission for storage and distribution hub
The Garment Building on Fishers Lane
July 31, 2026
The retrospective planning application submitted earlier this year to regularise Brandy Melville’s use of the Garment Building on Fishers Lane has been withdrawn. The proposal, lodged under reference P/2026/0612, sought permission to convert the former serviced-office complex into a storage and distribution hub for the fashion retailer’s online business. Hounslow Council’s planning portal confirms that the application was formally withdrawn earlier this month.
We were unable to contact the company and its planning agent did not respond to requests for comment. The company’s own website suggests that customer returns are handled from the Garment Building, indicating that the site continues to play a role in its UK operations despite the withdrawal of the application.
Brandy Melville Online Ltd acquired the freehold of the building in early 2024 and began operating it as a distribution centre shortly afterwards. Planning documents stated that the site functioned as a small-scale fulfilment hub, receiving goods—primarily via Heathrow Airport—before picking, packing and dispatching orders to customers across the UK and Europe. Around 30 per cent of the floorspace remained in ancillary office use, with weekday operating hours between 8am and 4.30pm.
The application argued that the change of use was justified by the long-term decline of the Chiswick office market. The Garment Building had been auctioned in 2023 after the previous owners entered administration, operating at only 30 per cent occupancy. Two former operators, IWG and Podium, had been unable to make the site viable, and an Office Market Assessment submitted with the application noted that Chiswick had an oversupply of office space, with vacancy rates around 18 per cent and fifteen competing buildings offering available floorspace.
Transport assessments accompanying the application stated that the distribution use generated significantly fewer vehicle movements than the former office use, with three to four two-way trips during peak hours compared with up to nineteen previously. All servicing took place within the building’s private forecourt, avoiding loading on Fishers Lane. A Noise Impact Assessment concluded that the limited operational hours and low number of vehicle movements meant the use did not give rise to adverse noise impacts for nearby residents.
The Garment Building sits within the Chiswick High Road Conservation Area, and the application proposed only minor external alterations, including roller-shutter doors. The planning statement argued that these changes would not affect the character of the building or the wider streetscape.
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