Locals Challenge Plans For 'Exclusive Gated Community' in Centre of Chiswick

Claim development of 60 flats at Devonhurst Place unsuitable for Conservation area

Local residents close to a planned development described as 'an exclusive gated community' at Devonhurst Place are challenging a plan for sixty flats by IndigoScott. The residents say that the plans are not consistent with it being in a Conservation Area.

Prior Approval status was granted last November for the conversion to residential of a four storey office block overlooking Turnham Green, but locals claim that developer IndigoScott "took advantage of the summer holidays" to apply for two further applications to turn the mansard roof into a completely new floor with a further new fifth floor of penthouse suites.

A spokesman for local residents said: "IndigoScott’s required Energy report was posted four days after the consultation period closed and, no wonder, because it called for a mini solar energy farm to be installed on the penthouse roofs, all 48 panels of them."

The application is now the subject of a 'call in' for discussion, by Cllr Ranjit Gill at the next meeting of the Chiswick Area Forum on Tuesday, 4 September. A total of 39 objections have been made to the planning proposal on grounds such as design, harm to neighbouring amenity, lack of affordable housing, and others.

The residents also say that the development is not consistent with a Conservation area- it is located within the Turnham Green Conservation Area, immediately behind No. 2A, the Grade II Listed Building, and adjacent to No. 9 the old Army & Navy Depositary.

They say it offers absolutely zero “affordable housing”; offers 38 single bedroom flats of which, they claim, 15 fail to meet the minimum national space standards (NDSS); And they say that it was marketed on its Open Day for large corporates as serviced apartments for visiting senior executives.

Locals believe that IndigoScott gave the impression that the development would address London’s housing shortage, and they say the reality is that this development will contribute absolutely nothing by way of affordable homes.

Last year, IndigoScott paid Blackstone over the guide price of £10 million for the 23,000 sq ft unit which is next door to the main Post Office.

Devonhurst Place is a courtyard development arranged as a terrace and vertically divided into six buildings each with their own dedicated entrances and with 30 car parking spaces at basement level. Indigo Scott plan to provide 60 apartments at the site with an underground car park as part of an ‘exclusive gated community’ with work originally due to commence in Spring 2018.

Concerns have already been raised that increasing the amount of flats in the area may create licensing issues for nearby pubs and restaurants such as the Lamb.

August 31, 2018