Plans Submitted For Massive Friary Park Redevelopment

Over 900 new units in project that could take eight years to complete

Artist's impression of proposed redevelopment

Developers have finally submitted plans for the complete redevelopment of the Friary Park area with a scheme that would see over 900 new homes built. The whole development would take six to eight years to completion and will be done in a number of phases.

There will be three tall towers at the centre of the scheme the tallest of which will be 24-storeys high with the others reaching 22 and 19 storeys.

The application has been submitted to Ealing Council by Catalyst, a housing association, and Mount Anvil, a private sector property developer which is part financing the huge project..

The plan is to demolish all buildings on the Friary Park Estate and its surrounding roads, and build new homes of mixed type (social rented, shared ownership, private sales).

The proposals show 930 new homes with a mix of 225 social rent homes, 174 shared ownership homes and 534 homes for market sale. The latest plan has increased the number of units in the development with Catalyst saying that changes to the London Plan requiring increased housebuilding targets for local authorities.

Friary Park is owned and managed by Catalyst which is one the country’s largest housing associations, providing more than 22,000 homes in London and the South East, through a wide range of rental and homeownership types. They say that all existing social housing tenants on the estate will be offered a new home in the development. They claim there will be an increased number of family-sized homes for social rent to meet the needs of the families currently living on the estate. However, some residents whose homes are due to be demolished in the first phase of the development will be required to move out during the construction phase with the option of returning once it is complete. Households placed in temporary accommodation by the council will be rehoused by the council before their homes are needed for the redevelopment and will not be entitled to a new home on the estate.

Over view of completed scheme. Picture: Catalyst

Catalyst say they are working with the Residents Steering Group to draw up a ‘binding ‘Residents’ Charter of their rehousing commitments.

On their web site Catalyst say, “We have been talking to residents about their homes, and they are unhappy with a number of features. The main causes of residents’ dissatisfaction with their homes are down to poor design, size and layouts. These things cannot be dealt with by maintenance or refurbishment, which is why we are proposing complete redevelopment.

“Improvements to the local transport infrastructure offers us the opportunity to redevelop Friary Park to provide high-quality social rented homes and shared ownership homes by building additional homes for sale and shared living homes at below market rent.”

New community facilities are part of the proposed redevelopment. These facilities will be built before the existing Friary Park community centre is demolished so that there is a space available throughout the redevelopment process.

The Catalyst owned homes on nearby Emanuel Avenue and in Antillies House are not part of this scheme.

All units above seven storeys will be for private sale and shared ownership.

The application reference number is 193424HYBRID and the deadline for comment is 13 September.

August 29, 2019