In April 2009 I wrote to Jonathan Porrit (Forum for the Future) and Paul King (UK Green Building Council) who are both advisors/ members to the Igloo Socially Responsible Investment Committee regarding concerns an ISIS project in Brentford. Igloo are major investors in ISIS and are in part owned by The Environment Agency Pension Fund.
The original scheme proposed by ISIS (illustrated on the Igloo website), to which there was significant local opposition, was refused planning permission and then turned down at appeal by the planning inspector. However my view – and that of many others in the local community – is that despite this, the planning inspector failed to fully appreciate local economic and social sustainability issues in his final report.
Earlier this year the ISIS team reported back to the councillors/ LB Hounslow on the start of their new consultation of the local community regarding the Commerce Rd site . The narrative they provided of local feedback – and our strong preference for Commerce Rd to remain a light industrial area – was fairly accurate. What was disappointing was that they then went on to suggest they will bring forward another mixed use scheme.
If they do it will be detrimental to the future sustainability of the Brentford community and our planet.
Brentford is packed full of mixed use schemes that have been built over the past decade. When you stand back from this trend, what is clear is that – particularly in the fast changing economic climate – if our local economy is to have any chance of resilience, this will be in diversity and maintaining local employment opportunities and jobs. Some areas dedicated to industry, rather than building in the inevitable conflicts regarding noise and vehicular access that would arise from housing in this light industrial site, is vitally important in this regard.
Put simply, we need local jobs and a diverse economy, not just more homes, in the area. There are plenty of other sites that can deliver more housing and retail in the area.
My hope would be that ISIS can lead the way in developing Commerce Rd as a Green industrial park.
Those businesses that have not already been driven off Commerce Rd by ISIS are keen to see the area regenerate as an industrial park – a low/ zero carbon manufacturing zone. OctInk who are based on Commerce Rd, for example, employ about 80 people, many local and are very committed to the area – but would clearly be threatened by steady encroachment of housing and the associated increase in land prices that would follow. They were recently one of the first SMEs in the country to be awarded the CommunityMark for their community investment.
When I first met ISIS representatives in late 2008 I highlighted that industrial uses should be the site’s absolute focus and there should be no residential. We see time and time again that residential encroachment on an industrial site leads to noise issues and the eventual loss of the industrial site.
I suggested that this was a site where a strategic view of Brentford as a town is required and thus, rather than yet another site-based community planning/ visioning process, it would be more useful to do scenario planning/ research of supply chains of local manufacturing businesses and opportunities in a low/ zero carbon economy. This would help create a robust business plan for a small business park with an informed view as to which businesses to target as tenants.
I pointed out that the current development blight on Commerce Rd was due to the previous ISIS management clearing out the tenants – they acknowledged this. I also suggested addressing this by relocating some of the businesses from the Lionel Rd diamond site – the potential new home for Brentford FC
Given the sustainability credentials Igloo/ ISIS purport to have, it is important that a holistic view of sustainability is taken, looking at the whole Brentford community rather than another ill conceived “mixed use” scheme, focusing purely on a single site. When we first met, ISIS’s representatives’ one challenge to my suggestions was how they could create a sustainable energy strategy if the site was all one use. My suggestion was that one option would be to link up with nearby estates (although it could be difficult to retrofit connections to new energy supplies) – a second option would be to sell surplus electricity from a CHP plant back onto the grid.
Crucial to the deliverability of my suggestion of maintaining Commerce Rd as an industrial park is that ISIS paid “existing use value” for the land so ISIS should not need to build housing or write down land value, but instead intensify the industrial/commercial uses, to deliver a sustainable commercial return.
It is also important to note the interdependency between the Commerce Rd site and the South side of Brentford High Street. The Community Vision project for Brentford High Street, which we hope very much to implement with the support of the developers Ballymore, was recognised last year as a finalist in the Academy for Sustainable Communities annual awards. If we get Commerce Rd wrong, it will be that much harder to create a viable town centre.
In recent weeks I have urged ISIS to make sure that light industrial options are fully explored for the site. The credibility of their community consultation process will depend on it.
The need for land for a new secondary school in the borough will also need to be fully understood, and a survey of local light industrial activity and land ownership in Brentford is also needed. This could provide useful input for a workshop on how to increase skills, investment, economic activity and employment in Brentford and inform planning for the future of Commerce Rd.
You may be wondering whether Jonathan and Paul responded to my email. I received their response from Jonathan, which you can read here:
– Jonathan Porritt response – page 1
– Jonathan Porritt response – page 2
Jonathan can look forward to an invitation for a guided tour of the area in due course!
Next Tuesday I will be meeting with ISIS and Fulcrum their sustainability consultants to discuss their initial thoughts for energy supply/ production/ efficiency on the site. ISIS will be running the next stage of their consultation on 30th Sept and 1st October from 5pm at Grounds Coffee Bar. Email rachel.ollerenshaw@isis.gb.com or phone Rachel on 0161 276 2071 if you would like to participate.