Topping Out at Beaconsfield Road
The cold and windy weather was no deterrent in Southall on 10th January as celebrations were held at one of Ealing’s newest housing developments. The development at Beaconsfield Road celebrated its Topping Out, the point at which the building reaches its high point, offering the opportunity for representatives from Ealing Council, and development partners Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) and Bugler Developments to mark this milestone at the GLA funded building of 118 one-to-three-bedroom new affordable homes for Ealing. With around 12,000 on the borough’s housing waiting lists, these new homes could scarcely be more needed.
The Topping Out Ceremony was attended by the leader of Ealing Council, Cllr Peter Mason; Cabinet Member for Good Growth & New Housing, Cllr Shital Manro; MTVH Chief Executive Geeta Nanda OBE and Andy Bugler, Chief Executive of Bugler Developments; alongside key team members from each organisation.
Built on the former Southall College site, the development will create 118 new affordable homes once complete of which 29 will be London Affordable Rent, allocated to those on Ealing Council’s housing waiting lists and the remaining 89 homes for London Living Rent, a GLA-backed rent-to-buy scheme aimed at helping potential first-time buyers onto the housing ladder through providing homes at a discounted rent. The development also includes two shared amenity terraces, some 259 sq. m. of play area and additional shared amenity space at ground floor level.
After the ceremony was completed, Andy Bugler, CEO Bugler Group said, “It was great to welcome representatives from MTVH and Ealing Council to Beaconsfield Road, Southall for the Topping Out Ceremony which took place earlier this week. We have a long history of building within the London Borough of Ealing, completing many projects for Housing Associations, Ealing Council and for Bugler Homes and it was fantastic that we were joined at the event by Cllr Manro and Leader of the Council, Cllr Peter Mason. This development will provide 118 much needed affordable homes in the heart of Southall and marks our latest development for MTVH with whom we have enjoyed a really successful longstanding partnership for many years. As well as the MTVH project team and key players from Client Representative, Martin Arnold Associates, we were delighted to welcome several members of both the Senior Management and Executive team from MTVH including, Guy Burnett (Executive Director, Development) and Geeta Nanda (Chief Executive Officer). We look forward to welcoming all back to Beaconsfield Road when the development completes in early 2025.”
Ealing Council’s Cabinet Member for Good Growth & New Housing, Cllr Shital Manro, said, “I was delighted to join MTVH and Bugler at the Topping Out Ceremony at the Beaconsfield Road development in Southall. Too many people in Ealing face difficulty in accessing genuinely affordable housing. The 118 genuinely affordable homes at Beaconsfield Road will help to relieve some of the pressures that people in our borough are experiencing and help more Ealing residents to realise the benefit of a genuinely affordable place to call home.”
Geeta Nanda OBE, Chief Executive of MTVH said, “This is another important milestone in the work of MTVH and we are very pleased to have joined up with the London Borough of Ealing, and developer the Bugler Group to provide new homes, improving the local environment, and increase opportunities for residents in the area. This is a great example of partnership working between different organisations and it comes at a time when housing is at the forefront of the news agenda. MTVH is delighted to be providing affordable, warm, and safe housing for local people.”
The Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, Tom Copley, said, “Building more of the genuinely affordable homes that Londoners need is a top priority for the Mayor, who last year successfully met the ambitious target of starting 116,000 affordable homes across the capital.
“It’s fantastic we have been able to help fund this latest round of affordable homes with Ealing, MTVH and Bugler Developments, as we build a fairer and more prosperous London for everyone.”
