London property developer Avanton, backed by asset management firm ICG (Intermediate Capital Group), has secured consent for a 453-home scheme on Manor Road next to North Sheen station in southwest London.
The five acre site, formerly a Homebase store, will be redeveloped into four blocks ranging between three and 11 storeys, with a BREEAM Excellent rating being targeted. 40% of the 453 flats are earmarked for affordable tenures, the developer says.
Avanton acquired the 1.4ha site from British Land in 2018 for nearly £45m.
Avanton and ICG said they have received “several unsolicited approaches” for the sale of the site and are considering “several options” to bring forward the scheme for both open-market sales and build-to-rent tenures.
Avanton initially submitted a planning application for the scheme in 2019, but this was knocked back by the local council before mayor of London Sadiq Khan called in the scheme and approved it, subject to a Section 106 agreement, in October 2020.
However, the project was subsequently called in by then-secretary of state for housing Robert Jenrick, who argued that the mayor should not approve the scheme until a further review was conducted. According to Avanton, the approved scheme "remains largely consistent with the 2020 planning permission".
According to the Richmond Society, a local conservation group, the scheme that Richmond Council rejected in July 2019 proposed 385 homes with buildings of four to nine storeys, while the Richmond local plan has a maximum of six storeys.
Omer Weinberger, founder and chief executive of Avanton, said: “When it was purchased in 2018, still as an operating Homebase, the market was different and the scheme awarded planning withstands the test of time, with classical brick design and lots of communal outdoor space. The excellent transportation links into central London and the immediate surrounding of the site, being some 10 minutes’ walk to Richmond Park or Kew Gardens, make this probably the best mid-market housing location in West London. It will be very satisfying to see the site being demolished shortly and construction commencing later in the year, finally.”
Earlier this year Avanton also secured a final planning permission for the 515-home Stonebridge Place scheme in Wembley, a project on which Avanton acted as development manager for client Canada-Israel UK. The site is also being prepared for delivery in early 2025.
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