A Brentford resident has started a petition to the council to stop the building of new flats on top of existing flats at properties across Hounslow.

Petition creator Abigail Hardy lives in a flat on the current top floor of a building on Field Lane, Brentford, where Hounslow Council have planned to build a rooftop development.

There are plans to build a new floor on the roofs of existing flats in Field Lane, Brickfield Road, Mercury House, Mills Row and Whitton Road, whilst the residents continue to live below.

Abigail, 56, who has lived in the block since 2009, believes the proposed development will create "inhumane conditions" and "mental stress" for residents.

She said: "I'm lucky because I go to work in the day, but for the majority of residents their life is going to be a living hell.

"They would have to suffer noise, dust and disruption, this includes the elderly, disabled and families with children."

Abigail is an early year's practitioner at a school, and Brentford "born and bred".

She added: "It's a pretty grim situation, I can't believe someone dreamt this up, how can anyone think people don't have the right to live peacefully."

The proposed development, run by United Living, at Field Lane and Brickfield Close consists of building an additional floor on top of the existing council housing blocks which will provide a total of 18 new flats for people on the council housing waiting list.

The development at Field Lane is still being assessed following initial exploration work.

Hounslow Council have said the roofs on the existing blocks at Field Lane and Brickfield Close need to be replaced, which provided the opportunity to create new homes on top and to help the council deliver its commitment to build 1000 new council homes in the borough by March 2022.

The issue of rooftop development was brought up at the Council meeting on Tuesday by Cllr Michael Denniss, regarding building work at the Whitton Road site.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Steve Curran, gave the response: "This scheme with United Living, is constructing a new storey on top of the existing blocks of flats at Whitton Road as part of their rooftop development programme.

"Whitton Road is the fourth Hounslow rooftop development being built by United Living.

"Although there is a significant amount of building works, the majority of this work is undertaken externally via use of scaffolding and does not require access into existing properties.

"However, as with any construction activities, there is a level of noise and disturbance that residents are exposed to, but United Living are monitoring works on site regularly and have utilised cordless screwdrivers and other low impact tools to minimise any noise disturbance where possible."

The petition has already gained nearly 100 signatures within a day of its creation.

The deadline for signing is 23 December 2021.

Hounslow Council have been approached for comment.

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