What do you think about the initial design of the buildings?

We'd like to hear your thoughts on the initial design of the buildings.

After you've looked at the information below, please answer the questions at the bottom of this page.

Our design must balance the needs of St Mungo's, the local community and meet the planning requirements set out by Westminster City Council. We'd like to hear your views on our initial ideas before we move onto the next phase of design.

This is an ambitious vision and we want a mix of uses in the new buildings. Our starting principles are to deliver:

Our main objective is to provide accommodation for people experiencing homelessness, or those at risk, in Westminster, with a wide range of different services to support their recovery. New community space and improved facilities will help provide the right additional support for clients to focus on their recovery, move on and rebuild their lives.

The proposals also include new homes for rent, a proportion of which will be affordable; a ground floor commercial unit which could bring new workspace; a shared community area; and ideas to improve the immediate environment surrounding the building for pedestrians with improved walking routes to Royal Oak station.

All of this means that we need to work creatively with the limited land we have in order to create the right space for St Mungo's, meet the planning requirements of Westminster City Council as well as making sure the whole scheme is viable and we can actually afford to build it.

The new homelessness facility will be delivered at zero cost to charity, St Mungo's with the construction of new homes bringing the funding for the development. Our design team has spent the last few months, working closely with Council officers and local stakeholders, to find the right balance - the number of new homes required to fund this vital facility for Westminster, with consideration to the resulting density and height of the building and also our desire to create a place to live and spend time that will be welcoming and bring benefits for the local community.

We think this layout of two buildings with a shared courtyard between could work well. The height of the proposed St Mungo's homelessness facility reflects the height of other buildings along Harrow Road and the taller building for new homes is set back alongside the Westway and the railway line.

Ahead of submitting a planning application to Westminster City Council in summer 2021, St Mungo’s and Stories are engaging with the local community to share the early design of the buildings, address any issues and gather ideas from the neighbouring community. Our designs are at a very early stage as we consider the best way to bring together all the different uses in these buildings. We'd like to hear your thoughts on our ideas before we move on to the next, more detailed stage of design.