19/11/2013
6th November 2013
Hounslow High Street Developer Chosen
A MULTI-SCREEN cinema, 400 homes and dozens of shops and restaurants are set to be built in Hounslow town centre.
A new public square would also be created on the car park site by ASDA, under proposals announced this week.
Barratt Developments PLC was last night chosen by cabinet members to redevelop the 5.3 acre site, just off the High Street.
It beat rival bidders Centros and Legal & General Property, owners of the Blenheim Centre, which is home to ASDA, for the right to take on the £100 million project.
The announcement came as a surprise to many, who believed L&G were strong favourites, having previously signed an exclusivity agreement with the council to redevelop the site.
Barratt Developments teamed up with TP Bennett, the architects behind the new-look London Bridge station, to produce the winning design.
It will now work with council planning officers to draw up detailed plans, with a formal application expected in July 2014.
Should the scheme get the go-ahead, work is set to begin in April 2016 and be completed by July 2018.
Councillor Steve Curran, cabinet member for housing planning and regeneration, said:
We were impressed with all three bids, which were of the highest order. However, we found Barratt’s tender was the best fit with our vision to transform Hounslow town centre into one of west London’s most vibrant, exciting shopping and leisure centre developments.
Barratt’s plans include 10,000 sqm of shops and restaurants – roughly equivalent to the size of one-and-a-half football pitches, an underground car park and 41 per cent affordable housing.
The firm also claims the development, rising to a maximum of eight-storeys, will improve links between the High Street and the Blenheim Centre, and provide space for events and performances.
It is now six years since the the Tory-led administration cut links with the developer behind the Blenheim Centre, due to concerns over it plans for the second phase of the major regeneration project.
Blenheim’s plans included nearly 18,000 sqm of shops and restaurants, a nine-screen cinema and 350 apartments. But council leaders had lost faith with the developer, partly due to disappointment with the first phase, completed in late 2006.
