Opposition Grows to Planned Restaurant by Lammas Park

Proposal is for conversion of ground floor of Northfield Avenue HMO

185 Northfield Avenue is right by the entrance to the park. Picture: Google Streetview

January 13, 2026

There has been a strong reaction from householders living near Lammas Park to a proposal for a new restaurant.

A planning application has been submitted to convert the ground floor of 185 Northfield Avenue, W13 from a small House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) into a restaurant, with the upper floors retained as HMO accommodation.

The proposal, lodged under reference 254683FUL, also includes a two-storey rear and side infill extension, a roof extension to create additional habitable space.

The application has been made by Acorn Assets Ltd, whose sole director is Vijay Bhandari, a hotel and property entrepreneur who also runs Uno Hotels, a growing chain of boutique and country-house hotels including the Hickstead Hotel in West Sussex. The submitted drawings show only a generic “restaurant” sign above the shopfront, and no information has been provided about the type of cuisine or operating hours.

The building, which backs onto Windermere Road, appears to have been in residential use since its construction. The proposal would formalise the HMO use on the first and second floors while replacing the existing ground-floor HMO with a commercial restaurant.

The application comes at a time when Ealing Council is tightening its oversight of HMOs, following years of rapid growth in shared housing across the borough. Since 2023 the council has introduced:

• Borough-wide additional licensing , requiring all HMOs to meet higher management and safety standards.
• Stricter planning scrutiny , particularly where HMOs are proposed in family-housing areas or where cumulative impacts are a concern.
• A shift in policy emphasis , with the emerging Local Plan signalling a desire to rebalance neighbourhoods where HMOs have become concentrated.

Against this backdrop, applications that retain or intensify HMO use—as this one does on the upper floors—are increasingly being examined for their impact on residential character, amenity and local services. At the same time, the council has been encouraging active ground-floor uses in town-centre locations, though Northfield Avenue sits at the edge of the commercial area and transitions quickly into residential streets.

Several objections have already been submitted, raising concerns about noise, odour, privacy, parking pressure and the impact of the proposed extensions on neighbouring homes.

One neighbour, whose garden directly adjoins the site, warned that the proposed first-floor outdoor terrace would overlook their home and garden, causing “an unacceptable loss of privacy” and “significant harm to residential enjoyment.” They also raised concerns about late-evening noise, mechanical plant, cooking smells, and the potential for increased rodent activity.

Another resident argued that Northfield Avenue is already “flooded with restaurants,” and that introducing another would “invade and significantly destroy the character of this area,” which they described as a quiet residential stretch adjacent to Lammas Park. They also highlighted the risk of overshadowing and loss of daylight from the proposed two-storey extension.

The application is open for public comment until 13 January . Residents can view the plans and submit representations via the council’s planning portal.

All comments submitted will be publicly visible and cannot be treated as confidential.