An application for the redevelopment of 42 Hastings Road and 50-54 Drayton Green Road, to be replaced by a high-rise Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA), has been submitted to the London Borough of Ealing (“L B Ealing”) seeking full planning permission.
The applicant Tide Construction has become notable for their track record in the delivery of projects using their accredited off-site manufacturing system – Vison Modular Systems. Modular construction provides substantial benefits, including reduced construction programs (up to 50%), and enhanced quality due to the factory-controlled
environment, significantly reduced on-site disruption with up to 80% fewer construction vehicle
movements and reduces embodied carbon by 40-45% when compared to a traditional build.
The Site is highly accessible with a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 5, as it is within a short walking distance (1 minute) of West Ealing Station (Elizabeth Line), as well as several TfL bus stops/services including Superloop.
The immediate area around West Ealing has been subject to other tall buildings including, a site adjacent to West Ealing Station, known as 55 West, which was granted an appeal in 2021 for the redevelopment of the site to provide 144 (100% affordable). More recently consultations were held for the redevelopment of Waitrose West Ealing to include a replacement supermarket and 430 homes across four residential blocks ranging between 11 and 20 storeys, an application for this site is yet to be submitted to the London Borough of Ealing.
Proposals would deliver 448 purpose-built and managed student bed spaces (including 35% affordable) with a mixture of 312 studios, 46 accessible units, and 90 cluster rooms; commercial space: A total of 154sqm of flexible commercial space fronting Hastings Road delivered in a building of up to G+6-storeys along Hastings Road; G+8 and G+12; and G+20 storeys to the northwest corner along the railway.
The scheme would be a car-free scheme aside from the two on-site disabled parking spaces (for PBSA); alongside
336 (for PBSA) 2 long-stay cycle parking spaces within the lower ground floor and 10 external short-term cycle spaces.
At the local authority level, HESA data identifies 27,000 full-time students living in the London Borough of
Ealing against 1,247 PBSA bed spaces. This creates a ratio of 22.6 students per bed space. If the number of
students identified as living at home with parents (28.9%) is excluded, the ratio falls to 15.3:1.
The development pipeline for the borough of 650 bed spaces brings the ratio down to 10.1:1. However, this
assumes no future growth in student numbers, whereas, in reality, this will continue to grow given that full
time students living in the borough has increased by 34% since 2016/17.
The application was initially submitted to the Ealing Council at the end of August 2023, this was followed by minor aesthetic amendments that were submitted to the Ealing Council in December 2023 and don’t change the scale of the proposal.
