Ikea in-town store scheme rejected

Regeneration & Renewal 21-Oct-05

An attempt by Ikea to move away from out-of-town development has suffered a setback with the rejection of its application for a new west London store.

The London Borough of Hillingdon last week turned down plans by the
Swedish furniture giant for a store and new flats next to Hillingdon
tube station.

The application was seen as a response by Ikea to government planning

restrictions on out-of-town warehouse developments. Last year the

company fought and lost a battle with the Office of the Deputy Prime
Minister over an application for a store in Stockport, which was deemed
to be too far from any regional centre (R&R, 6 August 2004, p2).

But even though the deputy prime minister personally congratulated Ikea
for "coming back to our city centres" when it submitted its application
for Hillingdon in June, the council planning committee said the scheme's
scale is "inconsistent" with its surroundings.

In a separate development, Ikea confirmed this week that the ODPM has
called in an application for another of its proposed developments, in
Bootle, Merseyside.

The company said it is "evaluating" both decisions.