West London gym to be demolished to make way for flats – none will be affordable

Two Hounslow councillors disagreed over how the council should respond to a lack of affordable housing in the plans

Plans to demolish a gym to make way for a new housing development in West London have been given the green light.

Two blocks of flats will replace the gym on 80-82 Staines Road in Hounslow, with each block reaching four and six storeys respectively. A total of 52 homes will be built, including a terraced row of 13 houses.

However, despite council targets for affordable housing, the plans were approved despite zero provision of affordable homes. Council officers told the Planning Committee this was because “it is not viable to do so”.

The applicant’s viability assessment argued that the scheme was in a £2 million deficit and could not support affordable housing. Hounslow’s independent assessor reviewed the figures and calculated a much lower viability deficit of £100,000.

Since both financial evaluations confirmed a funding shortfall, the local authority was unable to mandate on-site affordable housing. To address this, the committee implemented early and late-stage Section 106 review mechanisms designed to secure financial payments or actual units should market values increase or construction expenses decrease.

The development will provide 18 one-bedroom flats, 22 two-bedroom, nine three-bedroom, and four four-bedroom homes. To comply with local policy, at least 10 per cent of the project, including six two-bedroom flats, will be wheelchair accessible.

The developer has agreed to several financial contributions including £350,000 to fund a cycle lane on Staines Road, stretching from Steve Biko Way to Hospital Road, and a payment of £36,742 to the NHS North West London Integrated Care Board (ICB) to expand GP infrastructure and to mitigate the healthcare pressures of the estimated 96 new residents.

A contribution of £25,000 will also be made to fund a future council Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) review and a public consultation to address potential overflow parking from the car-free development.

In November 2023, the first public consultation on the original design received 30 objections, with residents expressing deep concern over building heights, loss of privacy, traffic, and the loss of the popular local gym. In response, the applicant redesigned the blocks by reducing flatted building heights, introducing timber screening on the roof terraces to prevent overlooking.

After re-consulting in August 2025 on the revised plans, public objections dropped to just three, and the nearby Wetherspoon pub formally withdrew their objection regarding deliveries and overshadowing.

During the meeting, former Labour-turned-Green councillor, Guy Lambert, came to verbal blows with former Labour cabinet member, Cllr Karen Dunne. Cllr Lambert responded to the lack of affordable housing stating: “We’ve got a policy that says we want affordable housing, if people come and say ‘we can’t do it’, we should say ‘go away and come up with something [that aligns] with our policy’.

“That is my opinion, that was my opinion last week, nobody agreed with me, it’s my opinion now.”

Cllr Dunne responded: “I don’t think it’s fair to say no one agrees with you, we all think that would be the right thing to do in a perfect world, but we know that if we do do that, the applicant will have a legal case to appeal and it will go to an appeal because they have a viability assessment that has been independently assessed.”

Cllr Lambert pushed back at the statement, arguing that people have always used that argument, citing how it is still used now. The Chair then intervened, urging the pair to save their disagreements for the debate.

All councillors voted in favour, apart from Cllr Lambert and Cllr Tony Louki, Labour’s Chief Whip, who also voted against his colleagues and the development.

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