The Chief Officer Delegated Decisions meeting, scheduled for Monday 11 March 2024, was set to consider two significant masterplans for the borough's town centres. The primary focus was on the finalisation of the Hounslow Town Centre Masterplan and the Brentford Town Centre Masterplan, both aimed at guiding future development and regeneration.

Hounslow Town Centre Masterplan

The meeting's agenda included the approval of the Hounslow Town Centre Masterplan 2024. This comprehensive document, developed over several stages including baseline analysis, vision review, framework development, and stakeholder engagement, aims to provide a strategic framework for the town centre's future. It identifies potential development opportunities, outlines strategies for improvement, and supports the town centre's economic and social recovery. The masterplan is intended to steer and guide change in line with the Council's ambitions, working alongside the emerging single Local Plan. It also includes specific guidance for various sites within the town centre, such as the Treaty Centre, Bell Square, and 34 Staines Road, detailing objectives for development, land use, character, public realm, and movement. A separate Tall Buildings Strategy was also prepared to guide future developments concerning building heights and their integration into the townscape.

The masterplan acknowledges the evolving context of Hounslow town centre, noting recent developments and those with planning consent. It aims to address key issues such as office space loss, the quality of active town centre uses, movement challenges, and public realm deficiencies. Opportunities identified include leveraging population growth, enhancing sustainable movement patterns, capitalising on a diverse mix of businesses, and strengthening the civic and cultural presence. The document details town-wide frameworks covering development, uses and activities, character and townscape, public realm, and movement, alongside site-specific guidance for areas including the Western Arrival, Eastern Arrival, and specific locations like the Treaty Centre and Hounslow Bus Garage. The masterplan was developed following public consultation, with amendments made based on feedback received.

Brentford Town Centre Masterplan

Alongside the Hounslow plan, the Brentford Town Centre Masterplan was also presented for approval. This masterplan builds upon the Brentford Town Centre Vision and borough-wide priorities, aiming to provide a strategic framework for regeneration. It addresses issues such as a growing population, the need for mixed uses and economic resilience, the town centre's physical dislocation by infrastructure, inaccessible riverside areas, limited green infrastructure, and a need to strengthen identity and sense of place. Opportunities identified include Brentford's strategic location, its network of landscape assets and public spaces, active community groups, local heritage, and a compact town centre.

The masterplan outlines visionary themes, including creating a balanced town centre for all, celebrating Brentford's history and character, fostering a creative centre of production and making, developing a waterfront town centre, greening Brentford, and integrating the town centre with its surroundings. It details town-wide frameworks for development, uses and activities, character and townscape, public realm, and movement. Specific site guidance is provided for areas such as High Street Parade and Lion Way, Brentford Police Station, Brentford County Court, and 2-10 London Road, outlining key objectives and indicative development frameworks. The masterplan also acknowledges the significant ongoing and planned developments in Brentford, such as The Brentford Project, and aims to stitch these schemes together to create a coherent town centre. Public consultation was undertaken, and amendments were made based on feedback.

Both masterplans are intended to serve as strategic guidance documents, working alongside the emerging single Local Plan, and will be used as reference tools in pre-application discussions with developers. They are not statutory planning documents in their own right but aim to steer and guide future development and investment. The decisions were made under delegated authority to the Chief Officer, with the plans scheduled for implementation on 19 March 2024, subject to any call-in period.