23-storey Tower Block Approved in Southall
Building on The Green will have over 400 rooms for students
CGI of the tower block set to be built in Southall. Picture: Tide
January 16, 2025
A new block of student accommodation is set to be built in Southall containing over 400 rooms in a 23-storey building. Ealing Council’s Planning Committee granted approval to the project on Wednesday (15 January).
The site on The Green had previously been granted permission to build residential flats, however these will no longer go ahead. All councillors present voted in favour of the proposal apart from Councillor Anthony Young who did not vote. This is the third time this site has come before the Ealing Planning Committee.
The council believe altering the plans to provide purpose-built student accommodation will still help the local rental market. Documents state that the aim is to free up residential dwellings currently occupied by students, making them available for people looking to rent.
The block will provide 424 student rooms across a single tower. The previous plans for residential flats included three blocks reaching 23, 19, and 14 storeys respectively, providing 95 flats.
Currently the site is occupied by vacant commercial spaces that are between one and three storeys high. The plans will involve the complete demolition of the existing buildings.
Deputy Mayor of Ealing Cllr Anthony Kelly told the committee he was ‘very happy to grant this application’. He said: “I think a student accommodation will add to what is already a very vibrant area in Southall.”
At the planning meeting an objection was raised by Angela Fonso, a local resident. She said, “There are no higher education facilities in Southall. It is not suitable for student accommodation, we need family homes.”
CGI of ground view of the block in Southall. Picture: Tide
To mitigate the loss of commercial floorspace and impacts on the nearby town centre, a contribution of £60,000 will be made by the developer to fund improvements in the area. In addition, £40,000 will also be contributed to ‘support delivery of town centre initiatives aimed at strengthening Southall’s local economy’.
The tower block will be in an area of Southall which has seen significant development over the last few years, many of which have been tower blocks. The development is expected to lead to 452 jobs during the construction phase, and an additional five on-site jobs once the block is open. The council predicts Southall could see over £6 million reinvested in local businesses by students once open.
During consultation concerns were raised about congestion, antisocial behaviour, and overdevelopment. However, council officers did not thing these issues warranted blocking the application. The development is ‘not considered to have adverse impacts on nearby occupiers’, they claim.
The demolition of the current site is expected to take place by April 2025, with the development ready for students to move in by the start of the 2026 academic year.
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter