Approval for redevelopment of former GSK Brentford headquarters

Plans to redevelop GlaxoSmithKline’s former headquarters at 980 Great West Road in Brentford have been granted planning approval, paving the way for a major mixed-use scheme delivering around 2,300 homes and significant commercial and community space.

The redevelopment, brought forward by Hadley Property Group, will transform the 13-acre site along the historic “Golden Mile” stretch of the A4, once known for its concentration of 1920s and 1930s Art Deco factories and offices.

The approved masterplan will deliver approximately 300,000 sq ft of commercial, community and educational floorspace alongside the new homes, forming what the development team describes as an integrated live–work campus.

Designed by a multidisciplinary team led by Haworth Tompkins, with dRMM, Metropolitan Workshop and Studio Egret West, the scheme places a strong emphasis on retrofit and reuse. The proposals retain the basement, substructure and original tower of the former GSK complex, a strategy expected to save more than 34,500 tonnes of embodied carbon compared with a full demolition and rebuild.

Across the site, around 61% of the land will be dedicated to publicly accessible open space. New pedestrian routes will connect the development with Boston Manor Park, the River Brent and Brentford High Street, while a mix of flexible workspace and community uses is intended to support local economic activity.

The plans also include a new innovation hub developed in partnership with the University of West London.

dRMM’s contribution to the scheme focuses on three plots on the eastern side of the masterplan, which will deliver creative workspace and community facilities alongside more than 200 homes within the wider residential programme.

Andy Portlock, chief executive of Hadley Property Group, said the approval marked the first major milestone in the redevelopment of the site and highlighted the role of collaboration with the local authority in progressing the scheme.

The project represents a significant step in the ongoing evolution of the Great West Road corridor, as former corporate campuses and industrial sites are reimagined as mixed-use urban neighbourhoods.