Green light for another Build To Rent development in London

Build To Rent operator Essential Living has won planning consent for 221 new homes in Brentford - part of the firm’s ambition to provide 5,000 rental units acorss London and the south east. 

A Morrisons supermarket on Brentford High Street will be redeveloped into rental housing, a quarter of which will be affordable. 

The scheme will include bedrooms, shared spaces such as a residents’ lounge and rooftop terraces, and a supermarket, cafes, restaurants and other shops.

The 221 apartments will be spread across two blocks ranging from 10 to seven storeys in height. The main building will have a landscaped podium garden with children’s play space, with a communal lounge and study space inside. The smaller building will have an external rooftop terrace and lounge area.

The properties will be a mix of studios, one, two and three-bedroom apartments aimed at families and young professionals.

A quarter of the homes will be offered at discount market rent (DMR), a new form of affordable housing recently endorsed by the Mayor of London. It removes so-called “poor doors” by blending affordable housing in with market priced apartments.  

The company’s first development, Vantage Point in Islington, opened in September and is now two-thirds let. Berkshire House in Maidenhead and Dressage Court in Bethnal Green are due to launch later this month.