After Ealing Council referred the 462-home co-living development, the Greater London Authority has given the project the green light
Tide Construction has been granted full planning permission to develop a 462-home co-living scheme, known as The Castle, in Ealing, West London.
Located in the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area, The Castle will create a co-living community across two towers and 32 storeys. Created to increase the supply of high-quality homes, co-living combines intelligently designed studio apartments with an exceptional amenity offer.
Tide is both the developer and the contractor for this exemplar co-living scheme, a residential typology that is emerging in the UK. The Castle will follow Tide's previous developed and constructed co-living project, the much-anticipated Enclave: Croydon, which will welcome its first residents in Q4 2023. Providing 817 homes, it is one of the largest co-living schemes to be approved by the GLA.
The Castle has been designed in collaboration with architects HTA Design. The scheme will provide unparalleled shared amenities for residents, featuring over 16,000 sq ft of communal spaces across four floors. It will include lounge areas, private dining and co-working spaces, a library, a bespoke gym, cinema and games rooms, cycle parking spaces and a cycle hiring scheme available for residents.
Regeneration is a key focus of the project, as well as creating 462 new homes on this brownfield site, it will create a new home for The Castle public house, revitalising a social hub that dates to the 1930s but has remained vacant since 2020. The new pub will have a renewed street presence, with a sculptural elevation that pays homage to the historic architecture of everyday London pubs. It will also include dedicated space for community uses.
The two towers will also act as a gateway to the cluster of surrounding developments and provide convenient access to North Acton underground station, enabling access to central London in 30 minutes.
As with all its volumetric schemes, Tide will work with its sister company, Vision, to deliver The Castle. Offering smoother logistics and minimal disruption, Tide's volumetric approach cuts construction time by up to 50%. As a result, The Castle is expected to have an 18-month construction programme, including an extensive two-level basement under the 32-storey building. In addition to delivering high-quality homes efficiently and at pace, Tide's volumetric technology enables greener methods of construction.
The Castle scheme will bolster Tide's pipeline of 3,500 homes under construction and follows Tide's delivery of some of the most ambitious volumetric buildings in the UK, including Ten Degrees in Croydon, Lewisham Exchange, and Mapleton Crescent, Wandsworth.
Christy Hayes, Chief Executive of Tide Construction, said: "The Castle's 462 homes further strengthen Tide's pipeline of homes and our sustained year-on-year growth. The Castle is another step forward for Tide in demonstrating how volumetric construction can deliver the housing London needs in a safe, sustainable, and efficient way."
Helen McManus, Planning Manager for Tide Construction, said: "This ambitious scheme will play a significant role in the regeneration of the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity area. The Castle will not only bring much needed revitalisation and quality new homes to this part of Ealing, but it will do so while cutting construction time by approximately 50% compared to traditional methods of construction, enabling the project to be delivered swiftly and with minimal disruption to the local community."
Simon Toplis, Partner at HTA Design, said: "The Castle is our tenth project with Tide Construction, and will build on our joint track record of delivering high quality homes that demonstrate the incredible potential of volumetric modular. The design flexibility afforded by Vision's volumetric system enables us to create bespoke and highly crafted schemes that respond to the neighbourhood context and character, time and time again. The Castle is particularly exciting in this respect, combining the delivery of innovative co-living with the rare opportunity to reimagine a classic London pub for the 21st Century."
Source:
www.tideconstruction.co.uk
www.visionmodular.com
www.hta.co.uk
