Prized retailer wins approval to build hundreds of homes ‘above the shop’
LOS ANGELES: A prized retailer has won approval to build hundreds of homes ‘above the shop’.
The John Lewis Partnership has been given the green light for its biggest build-to-rent project, despite opposition from the council and local residents.
The group said a government planning inspector had approved its plans to build 430 homes in towers up to 20 storeys high above its Waitrose supermarket in the west London borough of Ealing.
The employee-owned company submitted a planning application in 2023 but immediately ran into opposition from local residents and the leader of Ealing council, who accused it of “bullying” and raised concerns about the lack of affordable homes.
Local residents said John Lewis had failed to address concerns that its planned towers were too high and way above the maximum of 13 storeys set out by Ealing council’s planning ambitions for the area. Another complaint was that the project missed council targets that 35 per cent of homes should be affordable.
The move to become a landlord began six years ago when Dame Sharon White, its chairwoman at the time, outlined the group’s aim of making 40 per cent of its annual profits from ventures outside retail by 2030. That target has since been ditched as John Lewis focuses on “core” retail in an attempt to turn its fortunes around, but the ambition to diversify the business remains.
John Lewis, now led by Jason Tarry, a Tesco veteran, also faced opposition to its other build-to-rent project in Bromley, southeast London. A local councillor said the 353-home project had insufficient affordable homes for key workers but it was granted conditional planning permission by Bromley council last year to build what will be its first rental development.
The planning inspector’s decision comes after the government pledged to build 1.5 million more homes in the next five years.
Paul Griffiths, an inspector appointed by the secretary of state, said: “The significant amount of housing that forms part of the scheme is a massive benefit. There can be no doubt that the need for new homes in London is, as the appellant puts it in closing, colossal.”
Katherine Russell, director of build-to-rent at John Lewis Partnership, said the company was “pleased that the inspector has found in favour of the multimillion-pound investment that will create vital new housing and a modernised Waitrose store to serve a community we have been part of for decades. The decision underpins a clear policy commitment to supporting brownfield development close to key transport hubs.”