NEWS another developer will be submitting plans for the controversial Reynard Mills site has been met with grave concern by residents.
The Windmill Road Action Group (WRAG) is worried Notting Hill Housing Group will try to overdevelop the area.
It follows three unsuccessful bids by LP (Brentford) Ltd to gain permission to demolish the industrial estate on the Ealing/Brentford border and replace them with flats and houses.
Previous plans went to the planning inspectorate and were dismissed by communities secretary Eric Pickles in March this year.
Notting Hill announced it wants to build both private and affordable homes on the site and will be holding consultations with residents, community groups and councillors, with an exhibition later this year before submitting a planning application to Hounslow Council in 2014.
The announcement comes
just over a month after
investment company, Schroder Real Estate, on behalf of LP (Brentford) Ltd, sold the 170,000 sq ft site to Notting Hill for £20million – £7m more than their original estimate.
James Guest, of the Windmill Road Action Group which represents 400 residents, said: “We are concerned the money the new owners have committed to pay for the site will tempt them to overdevelop it.”
The group said the proposals also need to reflect the concerns of the surrounding residents, including respecting the local character of the neighbouring low density and low rise Edwardian and Victorian housing, traffic congestion and parking, public transport along Windmill Road – which is currently poor with just one infrequent bus service and a shortage of school places and GP surgeries.
Notting Hill planning manager Kelly Harris said the group was excited by the potential of regenerating Reynard Mills. She reassured residents, saying: “We are confident we can provide the right scheme that meets the justifiably high aspirations of the local community."
