Hillingdon Council has approved plans for a six-storey block of 31 flats on Tavistock Road in West Drayton, with councillors citing the risk of a costly appeal as a key reason for their decision. The development, which includes no affordable housing, was approved despite 36 individual objections and a 29-signature petition from residents of the neighbouring Padcroft Works (Firtzroy Court/Yardley Court).
Approval driven by appeal risk
Councillors acknowledged the strength of local opposition but argued that refusing the application could lead to a planning appeal and a potentially worse outcome. Cllr Philip Corthorne, Chair of the committee and representative for Ruislip, said: “It is difficult, we’ve heard all people have said and you know, we take it all on board. But, we don’t have a completely free hand to act, and we do risk a far worse outcome if we are not careful.”
The approved scheme is a revised version of an earlier proposal for an eight-storey building of 32 flats, which was originally rejected by the council due to concerns about height and loss of light. That decision was overturned on appeal by a national Planning Inspectorate inspector in September 2022, but the permission was never implemented within its three-year time limit.
Daylight and amenity concerns
Residents have described the new building as “overbearing” and lacking in natural light. The lead petitioner, Justyna Farhat, said: “Daylight is not a luxury, it is fundamental to a decent home… 15 out of 41 assessed windows fail Vertical Sky Component tests, and two windows receive no winter sunlight after development. New homes should not be achieved by making existing homes darker.”
A council planning officer responded to these concerns by noting that the previous appeal inspector had reviewed daylight and sunlight issues in detail. The officer said: “BRE guidance leans away from safeguarding bedroom windows because residents spend less time awake in them… the six-storey scheme offers an improved compliance rate over the approved eight-storey scheme.”
Cllr Sophie Dror, the Reform UK councillor for Yiewsley, supported residents in opposing the application. She said: “There have been 36 individual objections and 29 signatures… These concerns deserve proper weight. Housing targets must not come at the expense of the existing residents' quality of life… I urge the committee to refuse this application.”
Affordable housing and financial viability
None of the 31 flats will be affordable, due to a verified £160,855 deficit that the council agreed makes upfront affordable housing provisions unviable. The development will include 17 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom, and 4 three-bedroom homes on brownfield land near West Drayton station. It will provide private and shared amenity space, a children’s play space, cycle parking, and one accessible car parking space.
The scheme includes review mechanisms during the development stages to assess whether affordable housing can be provided if the financial outlook improves. The reduction in scale from the 2022 scheme was attributed to economic pressures, including global conflicts and inflation pushing up costs.
After the plans were approved, Cllr Corthorne said: “I’m sorry if that's not the outcome people wanted but if you’ve seen the report, you’ll have a sense of where we are.”
