What Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands’ planning victory could mean for London’s housing

Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands (LDS) has long worked with progressive clients on housing that challenges expectations. One early example was Oxo Tower Wharf, which was completed in 1994 for Coin Street Community Builders. The scheme pioneered mixed-use regeneration, with co-op homes, a rooftop restaurant and retail below. It recently won an award for Buildings That Stand the Test of Time from Architecture Today magazine, and was praised for defying 1980s assumptions about what could be achieved on the South Bank.

At the time, the Greater London Council — predecessor to today’s Greater London Authority — was focused on repopulating a declining capital. Today, the challenge is accommodating a city that, in the last 20 years, has grown by the equivalent of central Rome. LDS is again working on housing in a changing city, this time with the John Lewis Partnership, whose new build-to-rent scheme at West Ealing has just secured planning permission following a public inquiry.

The inspector granted consent for the redevelopment of a two-storey Waitrose and surface car park into 428 homes, retail space and shared landscaped terraces. The case offers clear lessons in how housing delivery, density and good design can be reconciled on complex urban sites as well as the value of this approach in accommodating a growing population.

This build-to-rent model brings John Lewis’s retail ethos into housing, emphasising service, quality and long-term stewardship. It plans to offer the same homes, all managed and furnished by John Lewis, to all tenants, with a minimum of 83 at discount market rent. The model was complimented for being genuinely tenure blind.

The inspector described the affordable housing offer as ‘a major contribution’, especially ‘when one considers that only 13 units of affordable housing were delivered in Ealing in 2023/24’.

This is part of a wider strategy. John Lewis sees residential as a long-term play. With other supermarkets also exploring residential development above stores, the successful planning appeal sends an important signal: high-quality build-to-rent housing can and should sit at the heart of sustainable town centre regeneration.

Design and townscape: striking the right balance

One of the key challenges of the appeal concerned scale and townscape. The site, adjacent to West Ealing’s Elizabeth Line station, is surrounded by Edwardian and Victorian housing, with locally listed buildings close by.

The inspector acknowledged the contrast, but supported the proposal. ‘That contrast is not invariably negative,’ he wrote. ‘There are good reasons why development should be more intensive along the railway, and near to the station.’

He added that ‘in conceptual terms … the proposal would not have a harmful impact on the character and appearance of the area. It would be a positive addition to the townscape that would have a logical basis.’ And he praised the stepped profile and active frontage for easing transitions between scales.

Design of the homes: flexibility and quality

The scheme navigated current expectations around dual-aspect and north-facing units. While none of the homes are solely north-facing, the inspector questioned rigid interpretations of policy.

‘Optimising the use of a site like that, as required by London Plan Policy D3, will almost inevitably involve residential units facing north,’ he said. ‘It is important to consider the residential units in the context of the scheme overall … To my mind, residents … would enjoy admirable living conditions.’

The parking paradox: enabling retail through realism

Another key issue was car parking. Transport for London objected to reproviding parking for the supermarket, but the inspector disagreed. ‘The car parking is required to support the retail offer,’ he said. ‘If it were not provided, the offer would not be viable, and the wider regeneration benefits would not arise.’

He added that ‘the parking replaces an existing facility’, and that its design — set at podium level and enclosed — would have ‘no material negative impact’.

A precedent for pragmatism

The inspector highlighted policy conflicts, notably between the mayor’s London Plan and Ealing’s local plan. These concerned height, housing, and urban design. He resolved these in favour of delivery, weighing strategic housing goals over narrow interpretations of policy.

For a city facing a chronic housing shortage, the decision is a timely endorsement of thoughtful density, architectural coherence, and build-to-rent as a legitimate answer to urban intensification.

Alex Lifschutz is director at Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands