The recent signing of a deal with Peabody to deliver 500 homes plus commercial space on a car park site in central Southall is the latest in a string of moves by Ealing council to drive regeneration and new home delivery in the west London borough. With five Crossrail stations in its patch, the borough has obvious development potential and its council has taken a strategic approach to regeneration. It carried out a review of its own housing estates more than a decade ago, categorising them according to whether they needed wholesale redevelopment, partial redevelopment or refurbishment.

All the estates identified as needing the most drastic intervention are now undergoing redevelopment, mostly with the help of development partners. Estate regeneration has also provided impetus for the council’s own housing company, Broadway Living. And the knowledge that the local authority is acquiring from its developer partners is helping the council to carry out regeneration solo, says Ealing council regeneration manager David Colley. Colley is one of three regeneration managers looking after the borough’s estate regeneration schemes, and also worked to set the remit for Broadway Living.

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