Gurdwara Plans Six Storey Building on The Green

Facility on vacant site would house existing and visiting preachers

A visualisation from planning documents of the planned development on The Green

April 23, 2026

A full planning application has been submitted for a six-storey mixed-use building at 52 The Green, Southall, on a site formerly occupied by a community facility run by the local Sikh community. The proposal, brought forward by Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Southall, would deliver a ground-floor commercial unit with 15 self-contained residential rooms above, intended as accommodation for existing and visiting preachers serving the Gurdwara’s two major sites at Park Avenue and Guru Nanak Road.

The application follows a series of earlier permissions on the site, including approved schemes for office and community use in 2016 and a mixed community-and-residential proposal in 2018. The previous building was demolished in 2017, and the plot has since remained vacant.

The Gurdwara committee says it has undertaken a review of accommodation needs for preachers who support daily religious services, which run from 4.30am to 10.30pm and require multiple teams working in rotation. While some preachers are permanently employed, many are visiting volunteers who stay for periods of two weeks to two months. The new building is intended to provide modern, purpose-built accommodation for these visiting preachers.

The document states that the use would be less intensive than previously approved schemes and would not generate additional traffic, as preachers typically walk between the two Gurdwaras. The accommodation includes shared kitchen, dining and lounge spaces on each floor.

The ground floor will contain a Class E commercial unit, replacing the community space previously proposed. The applicant explains that community facilities will instead be expanded at the Park Avenue Gurdwara, avoiding duplication and reducing the risk of under-used space.

The commercial frontage has been designed with extensive glazing to create an active street presence on The Green, responding to feedback from Ealing Council’s pre-application process.

The proposed six-storey height is taller than earlier schemes—around one and a half storeys higher than the 2018 approval—but the architects argue it mediates between the low-rise St Anselm’s Catholic Church to the south and the 10-storey TRS Apartments to the north.

The building is designed in three “registers”, a glazed, human-scale commercial base, four middle floors in two tones of brick and a recessed top floor in darker brick.

The northern elevation, facing the TRS Apartments, includes only corridor and stairwell windows with frosted glazing to prevent overlooking. Residential rooms face south toward the church car park.

Each floor contains three en-suite rooms and a communal living/kitchen/dining area, with private balconies or terraces. The rooms exceed Ealing’s minimum HMO size standards. The staircase and lift core have been designed to allow the building to be converted into self-contained flats in future if required.

The scheme includes air-source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, biodiverse roofs on the main roof and stair core, an intensive green roof above the commercial unit, green roofs on the bin store and cycle parking for residents and visitors.

The development will be car-free, in line with council policy and the site’s PTAL 4 public transport rating.

A public consultation ran from 3–18 March 2026, with flyers distributed to neighbours, the church and local councillors..

The site is within a Neighbourhood Centre and a designated Development Site. It is not in a conservation area and contains no listed buildings. The council’s pre-application advice indicated that a six-storey building could be supported if it demonstrated high-quality design and strong street activation.

The residential element is explicitly described as ancillary accommodation for Gurdwara preachers. It is not general housing, not open to the public, and not available for private rental. The building will operate as a Housing in Multiple Occupation (Sui Generis) solely for individuals serving the Gurdwara.

The commercial unit at ground floor level will be publicly accessible, but the residential floors will not.