Plans to turn the former Chiswick police station into a new retirement community has been approved despite backlash from local residents.

Birchgrove, which manages a number of similar sites, will transform the former west London police station to provide 50 homes for the elderly, with a community space and garden.

However, more than 30 objections were submitted against the plans, citing concerns from its proposed size to the impact on daylight for nearby properties, in an attempt for the scheme to be refused.

The former police station has sat vacant since November 2021. Final approval to sell the site was given by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime in June 2021, and was one of a number of stations disposed of as part of a wider review of the Met Police's estate.

Support has also been received from groups including Chiswick Flower Market, which expressed "unequivocal support for the new use of this building".

The market continued to write the retirement community "will allow older people to live in the heart of our community, within easy reach of all the shops and vibrancy offered by the High Road, including of course the markets".

Based on the city-wide London Plan, Hounslow has a target of 135 new specialist homes for elderly people per year. Since the plan was adopted in 2015, the borough has fallen short of these figures, making schemes such as the revamp of the former police station key.

Regardless, across two consultations, 36 objections were filed opposing the proposal, as well as local resident groups.

Two Conservative councillors, Ranjit Gill and Joanna Biddolph, also submitted objections. Among other points, Cllr Biddolph raised the absence of any affordable homes included in the scheme, with Birchgrove to instead make a £400,000 contribution towards provision elsewhere.

An artist's impression of what the Birchgrove retirement home will look like from Chiswick High Road (credit: Planning application).

Cllr Biddolph told the Planning Committee: "Many residents are extremely disappointed by the design of this building saying it misses a once-in a-lifetime chance on this prime and central site to leave a legacy that Chiswick residents will be proud of for generations.

"They have suffered the current hideous building and hoped for something far more reflective of the best of local architecture."

The Chiswick Gunnersbury Cllr also raised questions over the lack of parking in the development. Birchgrove aims to make travel to the care home 'car-free' which will have an impact on local residents who cannot walk or have large shopping.

Cllr Biddolph explained: "There is a chance for Birch Grove to be pioneering and community-minded by building a car park underground to support the local economy, not damage it by reducing parking.

"I urge you to consider Chiswick's future as a retail and hospitality destination which is has been since Roman times and defer this decision for a short time only to resolve this crucial issue."

Cllr John Stroud-Turp clapped back at Cllr Biddolph accusing her of not representing residents, but herself when it came to parking in the area.

"You (Cllr Biddolph) say you're representing residents the truth is you're not. You're riding your normal hobby horse about parking in Chiswick and using this as another vehicle to do it with, aren't you. That's the reality", said Cllr Stroud-Turp.

He added: "You make a scamp mention of what the residents want and then treat us to your usual Chiswick is going to die if parking disappears and we all know that that is simply not the case so it would have been better had you addressed us about this site and not your particular hobby horse about parking with respect."

Cllr Biddolph replied: "It is a concern it's not a hobby horse. I represent all our Independents and chains through the Chiswick Shops Task Force and I know that upsets John Stroud."

In their report planning officers wrote: "The proposal would comprehensively redevelop the site, making best use of the land, while preserving the wider character of the Chiswick High Road Conservation Area.

"The scheme would be consistent with the objectives of the Development Plan, delivering much-needed extra-care housing for the elderly, optimising the site by focusing growth at sustainable locations with good transport accessibility."

Despite concerns raised over parking in the area by Cllr Biddolph, it has no relation to Birchgrove's proposals or parking arrangements on the site.

An artist impression of the care home from the Prince of Wales Terrace elevation (credit: Planning application).

Residents from Linden Gardens spoke to the Planning Committee to defer Birchgroves plans, as they deemed the building plans to not be "good enough".

One resident said: "As a retired architect with long experience I ask myself, 'is this building good enough', no it isn't. More needs to be done to the design.

"The step down at the south end of the block was shown in earlier versions and was really important, but now it's been filled in.

"Reducing light which will be deeply resented by residents and this is a really big drop but but with a step down reinstated you get a much better relationship.

An artist impression of the redeveloped former Chiswick police station from Chiswick High Road and Lindon Gardens (credit: Planning application).

They added: "Design guidance is clear and design led approach should be driven by context but that is not the case here where one more unit has been shoehorned into this part of Lindon Gardens. We are the losers here."

Another resident said: "We support a development for the elderly but we have to object to this design given its prominent position this needs to be a landmark building.

"It must be sympathetic to the character of Chiswick. As it stands it's banal, too dominant and too corporate."

Honor Barratt is the manging director of Birchgrove, a retirement home company (credit: Birchgrove/YouTube).

Honor Barratt, Birchgrove's Chief Executive, told the Planning Committee: "I completely understand that architecture is subjective sorry, but for me the process was you (Jessie Rotrand, Deputy Area Planning Manager) put the Hounslow delegated architects in front of us to give us clear Direction on where they wanted this building to be taken and so it kind of takes the subjectivity out of it, they told us what they wanted and we had to take their direction."

"Under your guidance we've got a building that is has a 77% reduction in carbon emission it has 100% biodiversity in that game which is really important to us and it has zero fossil fuel usage so for me this is the greenest building in my entire portfolio.

"I really hope that for a time it's actually the greenest building on Chiswick High Road."

Barratt added: Chiswick is an incredibly engaged borough sometimes we do local consultations and no one turns up which is actually quite dispiriting the reason that we love Chiswick is because everybody turns up.

"The Lindon Gardens Residents Association have been hugely communicative and really fair and level with us for the last two years and they have helped us achieve a height reduction from four stories down to three on that section.

"We definitely have made a lot of changes over the two-year process but it's the beginning of a very long consultation.

"The next two years if you give us permission is another two years of discussion between us and Lindon Residents Association around choice of material landscaping all the things that you genuinely believe will make it better, we can put them in as conditions."

To watch the full Planning Committee meeting on the redevelopment of the former Chiswick police station, click here.

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