The green light for 400 new homes at Clayton Road in Hayes, west London, has been granted to property group A2Dominion.
The design by Assael Architecture has undergone extensive consultation with Hillingdon Borough Council, and an “appropriate scale of redevelopment for the site has been mutually agreed,” the project team said. The scheme has been designed as part of a wider masterplan that includes the neighbouring Crown Trading Estate site.
As a key objective of the design, the scheme achieves “public connectivity” to the Grand Union Canal where it was previously inaccessible. In addition to the canal edge, the project sees a large amount of additional public amenity being introduced in the form of parks, lawns, seating and gardens, with the landscape and public realm designed in partnership with the Crown Trading Estate site.
The homes themselves include a variety of tenures, with a particular focus on affordable family homes comprising four-bedroom townhouses, and three-bedroom duplexes and apartments. The scheme also includes a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments for sale, each with its own private amenity in the form of projecting or inset balconies.
The site benefits from being close to the new Crossrail train station, offering quick access to central London. Other benefits include electric car parking spaces, biodiverse green roofs with renewable energy in the form of PV panels, an ASHP (air source heat pump) hybrid heating strategy, and over 1,300 m2 of commercial space.
The individual buildings have been orientated to maximise views to the canal with a high number of apartments and houses being dual aspect. Residents will also benefit from large communal podium gardens, in excess of 3,200 m2, that include children’s play areas with views to the Grand Union Canal, and the newly designed waterfront edge.
The architectural design comprises three “character areas.” The “industrial” buildings reference the site’s history with features from the existing warehouses transferred to the new buildings, such as generous window openings and transom bars. The “residential” buildings respond to the existing architecture on Clayton Road, with building heights lowered to a more appropriate scale and “identifiable” front doors accessed directly from the street. Lastly, the “canalside” buildings “respond directly to the waterside,” commented the architects, with full height windows to maximise views and a contemporary design that includes sash windows, recessed panels and a “clear horizontal datum banding.”
Danny Lynch, director of land and development at A2Dominion, commented: “This scheme will give a real lift to the area and provide excellent homes and facilities for a diverse mix of people, including local families and young professionals.”