FAQs

Dixons Carphone are in discussions with Imperial about potentially upgrading their HQ to a more modern, sustainable facility that would better reflect their needs as a leading tech company.

Yes, the previous owners of the site (Crosstree) did gain planning permission for their proposals in 2016 for 760 homes as well as ground floor retail and amenities on this site at One Portal Way. The scheme comprised buildings up to 32 storeys in height across eight blocks.

However we believe that more can be done to deliver benefits for North Acton and we want to hear your views on what the area needs and how our proposals can contribute to this.

While the existing consent creates a helpful context, the area has changed a lot in the last five years and we believe that the new development proposals would better reflect the current and future needs of local communities and would create better relations with the neighbouring developments. Importantly, unlike the existing consent, the new designs include a green heart to North Acton.

The recent shift towards home working in the post-COVID environment as well as a focus on shopping locally as a result of the pandemic, has increased the popularity of residential areas such as Ealing and Acton, which in turn has become more attractive to businesses of all sectors and sizes.

With excellent public transport connections, North Acton could easily be positioned to attract the best businesses, jobs and investment, especially since market trends are increasingly showing a growing demand for flexible, high quality office space outside of the city centre.

The proposals also have the potential to support west London’s growing tech and innovation cluster, which Imperial is at the heart of. Although we are not proposing a new education campus at One Portal Way, the scheme could provide new and affordable places for the Capital’s current and future innovators to live, work and play.

As part of our planning application, we will be submitting a full evaluation of local transport and infrastructure.

It should, however, be mentioned that the site is located very close to North Acton station as well as the future Crossrail and HS2 station at Old Oak and the proposals include but a small number of parking spaces, to encourage the use of public transport and green modes of travelling, wherever possible.

Our plans will prioritise cycling and walking, including – where possible – improvements to the roads around the site to make crossing safer. The proposed plans will include a modest number of car parking spaces for disabled residents, retail, operations and car club. The details are yet to be finalised but the number will be smaller than the existing parking on the site.

It is our understanding from our meeting with LB Ealing officers that the Borough is keen on promoting car-free developments in locations such as this and this is a trend we are seeing more of throughout London as well. Under planning conditions this means that new residents would not be able to apply for a parking permit and would therefore be fined if they parked on neighbouring roads.

As you are undoubtedly aware, the site benefits from excellent public transport links, with a PTAL rating of 6a – the best possible rating in London. Therefore we expect a lot of our future residents to be using public transport to get around.

If the proposals don’t get approved Imperial will consider their options. Dixons Carphone’s lease on the building doesn’t expire until 2030 and the current planning consent can be implemented until 2026.

At this point in time we can only provide an indicative timetable, based on a potential planning permission granted by Ealing Council in 2022.

Should that be the case, Imperial and Frame are ready to start construction in 2024 (allowing time for Dixons to relocate to a new HQ building) with completion of the first buildings in 2027.

Due to government guidelines in response to Covid-19, we are unfortunately unable to host any public events or meetings at the moment, other than virtually. We are consulting extensively with the local community using our consultation website and survey, which is being promoted by social media advertising, a newsletter delivered to local people, and advertising in the local newspaper. We hope that in the second phase of public consultation later in summer, we will be able to hold face-to-face events with the public.

The housing crisis in London, and across the country, is well documented: the lack of sufficient numbers of new homes results in high house prices and rents. As a result, the London plan sets a target of over half a million new homes to be built over 10 years, of which 20,000 are to be built in Ealing and close to 14,000 within OPDC. One Portal Way can play a small but important part towards meeting those goals.

Student halls don’t form part of our plans at the moment. We would like One Portal Way to be as diverse as possible, catering to many different types of people – young and not-so-young, renters and buyers, living alone or in larger households. Since the area already has significant amount of student accommodation, our preference is to focus on other groups.