The housing minister has given the go-ahead for massive redevelopment of the Watermans Arts Centre site.

Hounslow Council approved two planning applications in 2018 for 193 flats on the Watermans Arts Centre/Max Factor site known as Albany Riverside.

Albany Riverside will be arranged over three blocks. It will be six-seven storeys high and there will be 33 car parking spaces.

Planning chiefs also approved the replacement of the Arts Centre plus 105 flats at the Police Station site in Half Acre.

The new centre will have a larger theatre, two cinemas with a large gallery to enable film festivals to be hosted as well as space for a café/restaurant.

The proposal for Albany Riverside was called in by the Secretary of State in April 2018 following objections from Historic England regarding the visual impact upon Kew Gardens of the development's height and massing.

A virtual inquiry was held in October 2020. In his letter of 31 March 2021, the Secretary of State has announced his decision to grant permission for the development of Albany Riverside.

The freehold of the Arts Centre and the Max Factor building belongs to LB Hounslow.

The Secretary of State ruled that there would be no detrimental effect on Kew Gardens.

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