The Hounslow Council Planning Committee has decided to approve plans to build a new 11-storey block for self-storage in Great West Road, Brentford.

The site is part of the formal Alfa Laval, which the redevelopment was approved in 2010. The residential and hotel elements of the plan have been completed, but the application site, meant to be an office space, remains empty.

Councillors voted unanimously to push forward plans of a 11-storey building for self-storage facility and light industry workspace units, with six car parking and twenty-eight cycle spaces.

It is expected that the plans would create 67 jobs, fewer than the previously approved applications, but more than the existing vacant site.

In the Planning Committee's report for the application, it says: "The tall building does not go against with the existing landscape of the site.

"The design of the building has adopted an Art Deco style to complement the historical context of this part of the borough."

Consultation efforts involved 1068 neighbouring properties, Brentford Community Council, Brentford High Street Steering Group, Brentford TW8 Residents Association and more.

The Planning Committee received nine responses with some mentioning that the design of the building was " incompatible with the residential character of the area" and "extremely bulky, oppressive and overbearing."

The report responded by saying: "While the proposed building would be 36.5m tall, which is shorter than the approved building by almost 10m and not taller than numerous building fronting Great West Road nearby, the proposed size and scale of the building would not appear out of keeping with the existing townscape, and the proposed redevelopment of the site is therefore supported."

An image of the proposed storage facility on a vacant site in Brentford (credit: Planning application).

The report adds: "The design of the building has adopted an Art Deco style to complement the historical context of this part of the borough.

"It would mainly defined by light brown facing bricks and black steel panels. The south and west elevations would also have a mixture of flat and tapered cassettes in varying white and grey colours."

Approved for offices in 2010, the empty site was changed to a self-storage facility due to lack of occupier demand in the area, high building cost and lack of electrical power.

The site of the planned storage facility is to the west of the Premier Inn Hotel at Great West Road (credit: Planning application).

The report states that the previous owner put the site on the market since 2018 and received no interest from office developers.

The owner had another marketing push in 2022 but still no office was interested.

To see the full Planning Committee meeting on the Great West Road self-storage facility proposals, click here.

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