Battle For Reynard Mills ...Part Two

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Campaign group and residents vow to fight new proposals

A new planning application for the Reynard Mills Trading Estate (on the Ealing/Brentford border) has been submitted but local residents say the changes don't go far enough.

Owners of the site, LP Brentford Limited, submitted their first application earlier this year. Proposals for the former estate - which is just off the Windmill Road - included several tower blocks - housing up to 1,000 more residents.

Residents said the scale and density of the development was completely inappropriate for the surrounding area.

There was huge opposition to the proposals, and, following discussions with Hounslow Council, the company withdrew the original plans.

The new application includes 40 fewer homes and a 'significant increase' in the amount of green space, which they claim will help with 'further enhancing the positive contribution the residential development will make to the area'.

More specifically, changes to the application include:

- A total of 275 homes comprising town houses and apartments

- Replacement of an apartment block with six town houses

- A new public space

- Reduced height with one storey removed from the tallest apartment block

- ‘Green gaps’ included between town houses to increase the sense of space

A spokesperson for LP Brentford said: “We have worked closely with Hounslow Council to make improvements to the development proposal and we are confident that our revised scheme has addressed the concerns raised during our earlier consultation process.''

However local campaigners from the Windmill Road Action Group - which sent a record number of objections to the Council over the scheme - say not enough changes have been made and are vowing to fight the development.

Spokesperson Mark Trowell said: '' We are disappointed that following the huge local opposition to the original application, the site’s owner and their advisors have not chosen to consult at all with the local community before submitting a fresh application.

''They have made limited changes to their original scheme and the majority of reasons why there was such strong opposition last time round remain valid for the new scheme.

'' The local community will need to work together to again seek to influence how this site should be developed, we are planning a public meeting to restart this process and would ask that anyone who wants to be involved to write to windmillroadaction@gmail.com.

''It is important for everyone who was opposed to the last application to be aware that they will need to make a new objection to this new application as their previous one will not count.

 

 

A decision on the proposals by Hounslow Council is expected early next year.

 

15th November 2011