The Collective plans 376-bed Hayes co-living scheme

The Collective has lodged plans for a 376-bedroom long stay co-living scheme at Keith House in Hayes, west London. The site is adjacent to U+I’s Old Vinyl Factory and would be the developer’s first with Hillingdon council. It currently holds a 1980s two-storey warehouse occupied by Yodel. Plans from AHMM and Gillespies architects would see one acre at the eastern side of the site turned into a nine-storey co-living building to be managed and operated by The Collective. The 128,520 sq ft development will include 4,360 sq ft of Class E commercial space at the ground floor. The Collective has proposed 15,000 sq ft of amenity space, with a lobby and lounge, gym and fitness room, a cinema, library, co-working space and shared kitchen and dining room. The scheme includes three different sizes of room with the standard at 16 sq m (14%), standard+ at 17 sq m (76%) and accessible at 24 sq m (10%). Rooms will be offered with a minimum stay of three months. The height has been proposed in keeping with residential development on the western half of the site, where developer Vesta Group secured consent for 150 homes in March. The proposals follow consultation with the council, with a number of meetings after July 2020 and a virtual exhibition in October. The Collective has continued to expand in London over the past year, despite recent financial challenges. The directors have been pursuing a company sale amid mounting debt, following delays in development and reduced income from operational assets as occupancy slumped during the pandemic. A company sale would include assets in Old Oak, Canary Wharf and a development site in Stratford, with consent for almost 300 short-stay hotel beds, as well as the 120-employee management business The Collective (Living) Limited. The company is yet to file its annual results for the year ended March 2020. However, an addendum to the 2019 filing made public in November 2020, highlights problems for the developer caused by Covid-19. In order to continue trading the company said it was reliant on financial support from parent company The Collective Group, which was in the process of raising capital. Last September, the co-living developer lodged plans for 300 beds at No 1 Blackhorse Lane in Waltham Forest, which would be the east London borough’s first development of this kind. This was approved in December 2020. The expansion follows schemes in Westminster  and Wandsworth, which is being funded by DTZi’s COLIV fund. A spokesman from the Collective said: “The proposals include flexible enterprise space to accommodate local businesses, alongside new public realm and initiatives to promote green travel locally. We will comment further as and when the planning process progresses.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@eg.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @EGPropertyNews Photo: AHMM/Gillespies