More information has been released about TfL’s plans to turn a long length of land next to a railway into blocks of flats. With a number of towers being planned, they expect to add some 875 homes to the area, with around half deemed to be “affordable”.

The location, Bollo Lane runs alongside the District and Picadilly line tracks between Chiswick Park and Acton Town, and on the railway side, is mostly occupied by TfL car parks and a couple of office buildings.

The other side being light industry, it’s a fairly bleak road with a couple of architectural interests, one of which will sadly be demolished if the plans are approved.

The building that could go is Frank Pick House, currently occupied by TfL’s escalator repair teams, and it’s a rather striking blue metal building, in a very 1980s aesthetic.

Not that appealing to most people frankly, but it’s quite unique in design.

If the current plans are approved, Bollo Lane will be lined with a cluster of blocks, each separated by open space, and to the south end, a fake railway viaduct will create spaces for shops and a elevated garden.

The height of the new buildings will decrease towards the north of the site, with the tallest buildings at the southern end. This is in keeping with the local context, which has seen a number of tall towers built around South Acton and Chiswick Park. In the north near Acton Town station, the development will fit in with the lower-height residential blocks that are common in the area.

The end result will turn an admittedly unappealing road into something lined with lots of housing and some shops. The local feedback, as seems commonplace in consultations called for more independent shops, although there’s usually more practical demand for a supermarket than a boutique coffee shop.

To accommodate more of the smaller shops though, a row of fake railway arches will be built to provide the aesthetic people desire, and a roof-top garden above.

If planning is granted, works could start in Spring 2021, with completion around 5 years later.

The consultation papers are here.