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masterplanning strategy
South Acton LSIS, formerly known as ‘Bubble City’ for the number of launderettes it contained, is a traditional small-scale industrial estate, home to 92 businesses and around 850 jobs. It is surrounded by a fast-changing context of large residential developments, with thousands of homes built nearby in the last few years and several new colocation schemes already consented and underway in the western part of the LSIS. Haworth Tompkins were appointed in 2023 to develop a masterplan for the area, to provide a framework that would preserve a diversity of local industrial space, balance the needs of businesses with those of new development, and provide guidance for future colocation developments in the area.
We carried out baseline analysis and provided masterplanning, viability and delivery advice to LB Ealing. We assessed a range of strategic zoning options, assessed capacity of key sites and developed public realm proposals. As part of this process we chaired a series of engagement workshops with landowners, local businesses and LB Ealing housing, regeneration and planning officers, to engage, understand viewpoints, and reach consensus on key goals and design parameters.
The result was a formal re-zoning of the LSIS, with the retention of purely industrial uses in the centre and north east of the estate, and an area designated for colocation developments along the southern edge, tying into existing developments and key pedestrian routes. Our strategy aims to create 20-minute neighbourhoods within the colocation and nearby residential zones, and provides a clear set of parameters for uses, heights, density and massing, to support future planning negotiations between landowners and the Local Authority.
