Tall & Urban News

Mixed-Used Scheme Proposed to Replace Local Council Building in London

If plans are approved, the front of Perceval House will be the first part to be demolished and the Ealing Council will continue to use the rear half of the building.
If plans are approved, the front of Perceval House will be the first part to be demolished and the Ealing Council will continue to use the rear half of the building.
17 February 2020 | London, United Kingdom

The Ealing Council's £275 million redevelopment of its offices could include a 28-story tower block.

Perceval House, the council's offices on Ealing Broadway, has been earmarked for a huge redevelopment for some time, but an initial application was made to the council in September 2019.

Meanwhile, consultations have been held in Ealing over the week of 3 February 2020 with an aim to finalize proposals before submission.

The current fortress-like building was only built in 1982, but its electrical and mechanical fittings, such as heating, plumbing, lifts, and air conditioning are coming towards the end of their life and are highly inefficient.

As well as being expensive to run, the building will take large sums of money to maintain and keep running.

Ealing Council proposed that the civic center could be rebuilt into a more modern building while freeing up space for homes and a new library.

The costs for the development are expected to be met by selling the land, with Ealing Council forming a part of the vast development, along with more than 500 homes.

Developers Vistry and Ealing Council together put in an application for "screening opinion" for the development, in which it said the tower at the rear of the development could be "up to 28 stories" tall.

Current plans for the joint venture include 50 percent of homes being classed as "affordable." The council premises will front Uxbridge Road and will have a smaller footprint.

Ealing Central Library will also be relocated from the Ealing Broadway shopping center to the new redevelopment.

If plans are approved, the front of Perceval House will be the first part to be demolished, with the council will continue to use the rear half of the building. This phase is likely to last around two years.

Once the new headquarters are completed, council staff will move in and the rear of the site will then be redeveloped.

In the second phase, the residential buildings in the middle of the site and new public areas will be built.

The final phase includes the construction of the tower, which will be used as housing. The development is expected to take six years from when demolition begins.

The full planning application is due to be submitted to Ealing Council in March 2020, when they will then have to decide the fate of their new headquarters.

For more on this story, go to My London.