Westminster Council has approved a plan to build a residential development on Harrow Road, with 50% of the habitable rooms designated as affordable housing. The development will also incorporate sustainability measures, including a 72% reduction in on-site carbon emissions1.

The Strategic Planning Committee greenlit the project at its meeting on 8 July 2025. The development at 291 Harrow Road will involve demolishing existing buildings at 291 Harrow Road and 1-2 Elmfield Way, along with the Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), and replacing them with three buildings of 15, 10, and 5 storeys.

Architectural rendering of the proposed development at 291 Harrow Road.
Architectural rendering of the proposed development at 291 Harrow Road.

The development will create residential dwellings, an Adult Social Care home, a commercial unit at ground floor fronting Harrow Road, and a play court on the corner of Harrow Road and Elmfield Way. It also includes amenity space, communal facilities, play space, cycle parking, waste stores, roof gardens, plant, landscaping, and highways and public realm improvements, including improvements to Elmfield Way.

As part of the approval, the council will secure a Unilateral Undertaking2 to ensure the following:

  • Provision of affordable housing equating to 50% of the habitable rooms before the occupation of any of the market housing.
  • A financial contribution of £455,400 towards Carbon Offset Payments.
  • A financial contribution of £47,432.06 towards Westminster Employment Service.
  • Provision of employment training, skills and apprenticeships opportunities for residents of Westminster. The Director of Town Planning & Building Control is expected to recommend conditional permission to ensure these opportunities are accessible and beneficial to Westminster residents, subject to referral to the Mayor of London and the completion of the Unilateral Undertaking.

The development also aims to encourage sustainable travel and create job and career opportunities for local residents.

The application attracted 12 objections from adjacent residents, including from the NHS as owner of the adjacent site, on grounds including over intensive development, design, amenity and highways concerns.

The report also notes that the proposed development would result in less than substantial harm to the following heritage assets:

  • Harrow Road Police Station (Grade 2 listed)
  • Maida Vale Conservation Area
  • Westbourne Conservation Area
  • Westminster Register Office Building on Harrow Road (unlisted heritage asset)

However, the report states that the package of public benefits arising from the development are considered to be very substantial.

  1. Additional sustainability measures for the 291 Harrow Road development include encouragement of sustainable travel, highway improvements to Elmfield Way, and job creation and career opportunities for local residents. ↩

  2. A unilateral undertaking is a legal agreement where a developer makes a commitment to provide certain benefits to the community as part of a planning permission. Unlike a Section 106 agreement, it is only signed by the developer. ↩