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Hillingdon Council has approved plans for a six-storey block of flats in West Drayton saying the risk of an appeal meant they needed to be "careful".
The council received 36 objections to the plans which have been described as “overbearing” by locals and lacking in natural light. An earlier version of the scheme was previously approved but was never built after becoming financially unviable.
Under the new plans, the building will comprise 31 flats, private and shared amenity space, a children’s play space and cycle parking - only one car parking space will be provided and it will be accessible. The development will provide 17 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom, and 4 three-bedroom homes on brownfield land near to West Drayton station on Tavistock Road.
None of the homes will be affordable, due to a verified £160,855 deficit which it was agreed makes upfront affordable housing provisions unviable. There will be reviews during the development stages to assess whether affordable housing can be provided if the financial outlook has improved.
A petition signed by 29 residents of neighbouring Padcroft Works (Firtzroy Court/Yardley Court), alongside 36 individuals, strongly opposed the scheme. Residents raised concerns about daylight loss, stating that 15 of 41 tested windows fail to meet architectural standards.
Hillingdon Council originally rejected an application to build an eight-storey building of 32 flats due to concerns about building height and the loss of light for neighbours. However, the developer appealed to the national Planning Inspectorate, and an independent inspector overturned the council’s decision and approved the scheme in September 2022, which was not built within the three-year time limit.
Justyna Farhat, the lead petitioner, said: "Daylight is not a luxury, it is fundamental to a decent home… 15 out of 41 assessed windows fail Vertical Sky Component tests, and two windows receive no winter sunlight after development. New homes should not be achieved by making existing homes darker.”
Responding to these concerns, a council planning officer said: “The inspector reviewed daylight/sunlight in detail at appeal. BRE guidance leans away from safeguarding bedroom windows because residents spend less time awake in them… the six-storey scheme offers an improved compliance rate over the approved eight-storey scheme.”
Councillor Sophie Dror, the Reform UK councillor for Yiewsley, supported residents opposing the application. She said: “There have been 36 individual objections and 29 signatures… These concerns deserve proper weight.
“Housing targets must not come at the expense of the existing residents' quality of life… I urge the committee to refuse this application.”
Compared to the initial 2022 scheme, the newest version reduces the building height by two storeys and provides one less flat. It also has a higher daylight compliance rate - however residents remain concerned. The developer initially offered a small contribution towards affordable housing in the borough, however under this scheme it has offered none.
The reduction in scale of the development was put down to economic issues including global conflicts and inflation pushing up costs.
Some councillors cited the potential costs associated with a future appeal if the council refused as being among their reasons for approval. Cllr Philip Corthorne, Chair of the committee, said: “It is difficult, we’ve heard all people have said and you know, we take it all on board. But, we don’t have a completely free hand to act, and we do risk a far worse outcome if we are not careful.”
After the plans were approved, Cllr Corthorne, who represents Ruislip, said: “I’m sorry if that's not the outcome people wanted but if you’ve seen the report, you’ll have a sense of where we are.”
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