Ballymore plans for Brentford High Street

Resume of meeting held with representatives from the Ballymore group and their architects on 06 september 2011 in the residents’ clubroom

Collective of architects appointed to redesign Brentford High Street

A collective of architects is redesigning the south side of Brentford High Street. The developer, Ballymore Group is asking for community members, businesses and groups to feed in ideas and concerns over the design proposals as they progress. They hope to deliver a scheme that works for the area that ties together elements of the High Street, the canal with places to live and work.

Click sketch for larger and more detailed image

In more detail

Ballymore Group is looking to introduce the following in this redesign:

  • From 800 – 1000 dwellings
  • A new revitalised high street
  • A medium-sized food store
  • Yards linking the canalside to the High Street
  • Quiet spaces for contemplation
  • A busy working boatyard
  • A vibrant waterside with activities, working boats yards, boat related retailing and potential for water related leisure uses
  • Architecture that works in harmony with the rest of Brentford, but brings a distinct identity for the place
  • A meanwhile strategy to bring life and safety to the site whilst it develops over time

Next steps

A number of meetings with Brentford Dock Residents’ Association will be arranged, and we will let you know about upcoming public events and activities. Ballymore will be inviting local people and groups to take part in the development process to share their aspirations and concerns for the site at this essential stage, before plans are fixed.

Contacts:

Soundings, who are organizing the community engagement strategy on behalf of the Ballymore Group:

Brentford High Street at Soundings, 148 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AT
Caf or Rachel on 0207 729 1705
Email brentford@soundingsoffice.com



Jennifer Corbin
Chairman
Brentford Dock Residents' Association


 

Nicky Plant, Chairman of Brentford Dock's Board of Directors, did take very detailed notes from the meeting and they are available here as a 7 page pdf file.

Notes


 

Your Comments?

If you would like to add to, or comment on our articles, please use our Feedback Form, so we can share them.

Feedback Form
 
Read Feedback
 
 

Feedback on Ballymore Plans for High Street

Feedback form at the bottom of the page

Gated Community suggested for Brentford Dock

  • OCT 18, 2011

  • Jeff Birnberg

The prospect of hundreds of new Brentford residents arriving with the completion of the Ballymore project is met with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the influx of educated and financially stable residents (hopefully) means that the Brentford experience will improve. On the other hand, it's likely that those same new residents will want to visit the dock to enjoy the ambiance; one we all value greatly.

I regret to say this, but the presence of many more visitors is not welcome by me as it will most certainly eliminate the peace and quiet we presently enjoy. I propose that Brentford Dock be transformed into a gated community with access only for residents and invited guests.

Issues of concern

  • OCT 17, 2011

  • Mil Vukovic
  • The number of dwellings proposed is very high (800-1000). That is greater than the Dock currently has. How is the area going to cope with this?
  • A proposal for a 8-10 storey building is not listed in the summary of Ballymore’s plans though it is mentioned in the notes from the meeting on 6 September. The concern here is not only that it impedes the view for Dock residents but it also disturbs the overall landscape ecology of the Dock as it is right up on the canal. A building of that height will inevitably stand out, becoming a landmark, which will change the area dramatically, compromising the quality of life around the canal, and lead to abuse of access to the Dock.

Overall, the current proposal seems very nice in theory but very confused in practice. There is far too large an increase in number of dwellings without adequate support infrastructure. The current landscape should be protected and new buildings in keeping with what is already there – so, any development of buildings beyond current heights around the canal and in Brentford Dock vicinity should be challenged. Finally, having Waitrose food store around would be nice but is not going to resolve a need for good quality community facilities with meaningful narrative and identity for the area such as playground, youth club, leisure and fitness facilities. The consultation exercise should address these issues otherwise we all might end up wandering about in despair in those newly proposed contemplation spaces.

Signage requirement

  • SEP 18, 2011

  • Duncan Walker

There will be an inevitable filter of people over onto the Dock.

We already have a problem of non-residents treating our private estate as a public park and Thames pathway, which it certainly is not, and with 1,000 more dwellings (about 2,000 people?) it becomes even more important that we introduce our new signage, in order to make it clear that this is a private estate for our residents only. There needs to be:

  • signage at the Augustus Close entrance
  • signage and a gate at the end of the pedestrian bridge over the canal at the residents clubhouse, directing people down onto the canal bank
  • signage at the Thames Lock, directing people from the canal path down Dock road
  • signage at the ends of Dock Road both on the High street and on our estate.

The Board have already been looking at new signage requirement for a long time now.

 

Feedback form