The Minister of State for Housing, Lee Rowley MP, had decided to overrule the Planning Inspector’s recommendation and allow the developments at the Tesco and Homebase in Isleworth to proceed.
Hounslow approved the developments, which will see a Homebase store replaced by a Tesco and 473 new homes, of which 35 per cent will be affordable. The second element is the replacement of the Tesco in Syon Lane, Isleworth, with 1,677 new homes. We covered this here.
The Secretary of State called in the proposals after complaints by local conservatives and the Osterley and Wyke Green Residents Association, which we covered here.
The letter dated 11 December 2023 states the Minister’s view:
“The Secretary of State disagrees with the Inspector’s conclusion in IR14.34 that the proposal would result in significant harm to the character and appearance of the area.
Overall, the Secretary of State considers that the development would not appear excessively large in its context but would rather create a gateway position on GWR and create an appropriate transition in scale to the residential areas on Syon Lane. Unlike the Inspector, he finds that there would be moderate harm to the character and appearance of the area via a relatively small landscape setting for the development and some inactive frontages creating an unattractive public realm around roughly half of the building perimeter, this carries moderate weight.”
The victory for Berkely Homes will see many new homes developed on brownfield sites.
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