Rented retirement home provider Birchgrove has secured planning permission from Hounslow Council to redevelop the site of a former police station in Chiswick, West London into a 50-unit retirement living community.

Originally opened in 1972, the police station closed in 2021 and was sold by the Metropolitan Police to Birchgrove in April 2022. Redevelopment plans were originally submitted later that year, and, following two public consultations, planning permission has now been granted.

One and two-bed self-contained rented apartments will be available to rent to those aged 65 and over, with facilities including a 24-hour concierge service, restaurant, licenced bar, courtyard garden and wellness suite.

Part of the site is available for the local community, with a space on the ground floor for local groups, charities and individuals to hire, as well as for the police to hold local resident meetings. The police will also be provided with a separate dedicated facilities space which will enable officers to charge their body-worn cameras, iPads and radios, and means a police base will be re-established in that part of Chiswick following the station’s closure.

The scheme will also provide a £400,000 contribution towards affordable housing in Hounslow, and has been assessed as highly sustainable – achieving a minimum 77% reduction in carbon emissions over the regulatory baseline.

Birchgrove’s chief executive Honor Barratt said: “After almost two years of consultation we are thrilled to have secured planning permission, and I would like to thank everyone, including the council and local residents for both their support and suggestions to ensure the development is the best it can be and does Chiswick justice.

“All too often older people are shoved to the end of a cul-de-sac somewhere, but not here. With our development bang in the middle of Chiswick High Street, our residents will be able to flourish at the heart of the community.”

Birchgrove operates three retirement communities across the Southeast, with three further communities under construction and now available for rental off-plan, and three further London sites acquired (Chiswick, Hampton Court and Mill Hill).