TfL seeks JV partner for £1bn housing scheme

Transport for London is looking for a joint venture partner to build a series of major housing schemes over the next 15 years.

Firms have until 17 January to send in bids for the job, which includes the £1bn Bollo Lane site in Acton, TfL’s largest ever housing scheme.

The HOK-designed plans, which were given the green light by Ealing council in January, will see up to 900 homes built across nine blocks on Bollo Lane.

The current project team also includes engineer Mott MacDonald, planning consultant JLL and landscape architect East.

Now TfL is looking for a partner to develop the first two phases of the scheme, valued at £80m and £185m.

The job also includes options to carry out the £100m third phase, and two more major developments, a £360m scheme at Ealing Common Depot and additional West London sites valued at up to £300m.

The Bollo Lane scheme will replace a series of existing light industrial units on a 2.7ha site stretching 750m along the tube tracks which service Acton Town, South Acton and Chiswick Park Stations.

It will include a 25-storey tower, more than 2,600sq m of commercial space and 133sq m of retail space along with new public realm and a new pedestrian footbridge to Acton Town Station.

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The neighbouring 2.3ha Ealing Common Depot scheme, which has not yet been lodged for planning, would consist of around 800 homes on the site of a London Transport Museum storage facility.

The other west London sites comprise projects TfL said it may bring forward from its property portfolio, and which could be developed by the JV.

TfL said it aims to provide at least 10,000 homes across the capital as part of its housing programme, which includes a commitment that each site will include an average of 50% affordable homes on all schemes brought to the market since May 2016.

However, Sadiq Khan warned last week that projects totalling 66,000 homes could be scrapped if an agreement is not reached with government for the future funding of  TfL. A deadline for a deal to be reached, initally last weekend, has now been extended for an extra week to allow talks to resume.