According to WorldArchitectureNews ‘Glenkerrin UK has 6 weeks to appeal a decision by UK Communities Secretary John Denham to reject the Foster + Partners and HKR design for the Arcadia mixed-use scheme in London’s Ealing. The client’s scheme was referred to Denham for a decision in January instead of Ealing Council as there were concerns that the design for the redesigned shopping centre ‘may conflict with national policies on important matters’, according to the planning decision.
Denham’s decision was made on 7 December stating that: “…although the application proposal is broadly in compliance with the development plan in many respects, there are significant areas of conflict, most particularly in relation to design principles and conservation.”
Permission for the demolition of several buildings necessary to deliver the project across the 4.2 acre site was refused in the decision, making the proposal very unlikely to succeed through appeal.
Arcadia’s design encompasses 6 buildings for mixed use purpose including 17,279 sq m of retail, a 24 storey housing tower with 567 residences, 490 sq m of office space and 1,363 sq m of restaurants and cafes.’
The design of the scheme evolved considerably throughout the processing of the planning application, during which the largest public consultation ever conducted in the history of the borough took place, when over 60,000 letters were sent to local residents. Given Ealing’s established leafy suburban character there was a huge response to the scheme, in particular the tallest tower – then named ‘The Leaf’ – which has been renamed and drastically reduced to a tall building, more appropriate to the location.
The revised and approved tall building fronts a new public square at ground level, designed to act as a new arrival space for users of Ealing Broadway’s existing and proposed Crossrail station, due to open in 2017.
