Last Ditch Attempt To Save Historic Southall Arches
Council approved plan to build four tower blocks on site
Visualisation from the developer of the planned buildings
Moves to build four huge tower blocks in Southall face a backlash from locals fighting to save the site’s historic margarine factory arches from demolition.
Permission has been granted for the apartment blocks on the site of the Arches Business Centre.
The vast buildings would range from 15 to 23 storeys high with 575 flats, as well as over 2,000 square metres of office space and room for commercial units.
The plans for the buildings, approved by Ealing Council in December, have window sizes maximised to increase the amount of sunlight getting in.
Designed by architects Cartwright Pickard, each building will feature a roof garden and residents will have access to communal gardens.
To make way for the development, a row of historic arches is planned to be demolished. They were part of the former railway loading shed belonging to the Maypole Dairy Company.
This was once the biggest margarine factory in the world, making 35,000 tonnes of margarine every year during the 1910s.
The factory arches were granted local listed status by the council which does not provide protection against demolition or redevelopment but is a recognition of the structures’ local significance.
The Arches Business Centre. Picture: Alan Murray-Rust
The Ealing Civic Society objected to the planning proposals, saying, “In our view, the justification for the demolition of the arches takes insufficient account of their historic value.”
The society also objected to the height of the buildings, saying they would be far higher than other developments in the area and therefore “unacceptable”.
A previous planning application was submitted to Ealing Council for the redevelopment of the Arches Business Centre in 2018 which was granted on the condition of several revisions, including to the planned amount of social housing that would be included.
Plans for the development were resubmitted in 2020.
In 2018, the council said the factory arches had lost some of their significance because they had been turned into a business centre.
Ealing Council has been approached for comment.
Lisa Haseldine - Local Democracy Reporter
February 9, 2022
