Imperial plans mixed-use digs in Acton
Imperial College London has submitted plans to Ealing Council for a major student-led mixed-use scheme in North Acton.
Located within a 15 minute commute from Imperial’s planned 23-acre educational campus at White City, the scheme, at 140 Wales Farm Road, will provide 736 student beds, 85 residential units and 67,000 sq ft of flexible office space. It is expected to complete in September 2020.
The Wales Farm Road site, which makes up around half of the Perfume Factory site, was acquired from build-to-rent specialist Essential Living for £30m in February. Essential Living had originally gained consent for 534 homes across the whole Perfume Factory site, and has since submitted an EIA application for the northern portion of the site, which it still holds, for 480 private rented homes.
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Imperial College London has submitted plans to Ealing Council for a major student-led mixed-use scheme in North Acton.
Located within a 15 minute commute from Imperial’s planned 23-acre educational campus at White City, the scheme, at 140 Wales Farm Road, will provide 736 student beds, 85 residential units and 67,000 sq ft of flexible office space. It is expected to complete in September 2020.
The Wales Farm Road site, which makes up around half of the Perfume Factory site, was acquired from build-to-rent specialist Essential Living for £30m in February. Essential Living had originally gained consent for 534 homes across the whole Perfume Factory site, and has since submitted an EIA application for the northern portion of the site, which it still holds, for 480 private rented homes.
When combined, both sites represent a substantial increase in density from the original 2015 534-home plan. Together, Essential and Imperial’s sites will now provide 565 homes and 736 student beds.
A street to run between the Essential Living and Imperial College sites will have a “high street character with active frontages” according to planning documents, as well as the potential to connect to the SEGRO-owned Victoria Industrial Estate to the east, “should this come forward for development in the future.”
A spokesman for SEGRO said: “Victoria Industrial Estate has been designated by the OPDC for residential development as part of the long-term overall regeneration of Old Oak Common. The time-line for this to happen is within the next 10 years.”
“However, in the meantime, SEGRO’s priority continues to be to create and operate a broad range of high quality industrial space.”
The OPDC Local Plan confirms the site is capable of delivering a minimum of 1,100 homes.
The college has a growing involvement in North Acton. In addition to this site, it opened its Woodward Halls student residence in 2015, and purchased the freehold, 4.5-acre Carphone Warehouse site nearby at 1 Portal Street in December 2016 from Crosstree Real Estate Partners for £83.5m. The Carphone Warehouse site has consent for a 1m sq ft scheme comprising 764 residential units across eight buildings.
If Imperial decides to build more student housing, at the same density, it could realistically expect to develop around 1,500 student flats, more than double the size of its Perfume Factory site.
Imperial said: “The asset has been acquired by the college’s endowment, whose purpose is to generate investment growth and regular unfettered income to support the college’s academic mission. The 4.5-acre site has been acquired subject to an existing lease with Carphone Warehouse that runs to 2030.”
Paul Cockburn, director in the central London investment team at Savills, which sold the site on behalf of Crosstree Real Estate Partners, said: “Imperial College will review its options over the coming years, while benefitting from the income security.”
To send feedback e-mail paul.wellman@egi.co.uk or tweet @paulwellman eg or @estatesgazette
