Detailed Plans Submitted for Massive Margarine Factory Scheme

First phase of Southall development includes over 800 flats and a hotel

CGI of the Maypole margarine factory scheme in Southall
CGI of the Maypole margarine factory scheme in Southall. Picture: Assael Architecture and Montreaux Developments
Participate

Council Blames Government for Town Centre Project Delays

City Hall Gives Rubber-stamp To CP House Scheme

Construction Begins at Former Cattle Market Site

Concern Over Tree Loss Following Kellogg Tower Development

CGI Images Show How Southall Could Look in the Future

Residents Groups Unconvinced By Ealing's New Planning Policy

Sign up for our weekly Ealing newsletter

Comment on this story on the

January 5, 2023

The first homes to be built on the former site of the Maypole margarine factory in Southall are closer to becoming a reality more than four years after the plans were revealed. Over 2,000 flats and a new hotel are to be constructed right next to the Elizabeth Line station.

Assael Architecture and Montreaux Developments Ltd submitted plans to Ealing Council in 2018 for ‘The Margarine Works’ on the site of the factory that was opened in 1895 by a Danish manufacturer. The factory was home to Maypole Dairy, which was one of the world’s largest producers of margarine, according to website Lets Look Again: A History of Branded Britain and the Evening Standard, but the last factory closed in 1970.

The Southall factory was mostly demolished in the 1980s, with just the original factory façade along the western boundary remaining. The old Sunrise Radio building also remains on the site and is part of the huge building project.

Outline consent for the developer’s ambitions, which includes 2,083 housing units on the site, was approved by Ealing Council in 2019. Developers also secured approval for a new hotel, shops and cafes, plus office space on the former factory space.

Plans have now been submitted for the first part of the project. Plot A and B, approximately four acres of the land, form the first phase which includes 867 flats, the hotel and new shops and cafes. The remaining flats, will be included in plots C and D – the second phase of the development.

Southall Margarine Works Visualisation
Southall Margarine Works Visualisation. Picture: Assael Architecture and Montreaux Developments

If councillors approve the plans for the first phase of the scheme, it will be built within the next few years. New shops and cafes, plus the cycle route along Healum Avenue, are included in this phase.

According to the documents, 30 per cent of the 867 flats will be affordable housing, split between shared ownership and affordable rent. The buildings will range in height from four to 27 storeys, with a range of flats from studios to three-bedroom flats.

There will be communal podium gardens for residents to sit, rest and play, with areas of seating, lawn and play spaces. Developers hope to provide residents with a communal gym and fitness suite, a lounge and co-working space, plus a games room, events spaces and a private dining room for events.


An aerial map of the proposed development. Picture: Assael Architecture and Montreaux Developments

The hotel, which is set to have 180 rooms, will also have a restaurant and bar which looks onto the hotel plaza on Healum Avenue, which will be enclosed by plants and green landscapes. Rooms will be a mix of standard and double rooms to accommodate different parties, with rooms across all 15 storeys of the building.

The development is part of the changing landscape of Southall and is close to other huge projects which are replacing closed factories and buildings. More than 1,900 homes are set to replace the closed Honey Monster factory, and hundreds of flats will be built on the sites of Esso and Honda garages.

Southall Sunrise Radio
Southall Sunrise Radio in 2018. Picture: Google Streetview

Ealing Council is yet to make a decision on the plans for the first phase of the Margarine Works, but the public is still welcome to make comments on the planning application. All the documents can be found by searching planning reference 224785REM or online here.

Megan Stanley - Local Democracy Reporter


Bookmark and Share