A Piccadilly Circus-style feature for Chiswick that would have been seen by a million passers-by every day is no more, after plans for a building dubbed The London Octopus were scrapped today.
A 50 metre-tall office block with a tentacle-style base was planned for the site near the Chiswick Roundabout. But Galliard, which has bought out the plot having previously had a share in it, is working up plans for luxury flats.
The purchase ends years of delays for the project which secured planning permission in 2011 — despite concerns it could be a risk to road safety.
Interest from overseas investors to buy the £120 million development — including from Dubai and Qatar — failed because of competition from nearby office buildings.
Stephen Conway, chief executive of Galliard, said: “We believe that a premium residential-led project on this gateway site in west London will be commercially viable because of the continuing lack of new housing across Greater London.”
Galliard owned the site with London & Bath Estates but — in conjunction with Cain Hoy and ARV Investments — has paid more than £15 million to buy out the stake it did not own.
