Ealing Council has decided not to proceed with planned redevelopment of Perceval House, choosing instead to retrofit the building. 

The Ealing Council offices at Perceval House on Uxbridge Road had been planned to be redeveloped alongside Vistry Group since 2014, but they have now mutually decided to shelve that idea due to a big increase in inflation in the UK, a continuing rise in the costs of materials and construction, and an important and vital fire safety requirement has proved very difficult to incorporate into the existing designs. 

The six-floor buildings will now be altered to make it more environmentally friendly and half of it will be made available to businesses and residents to use. 

The ground floor will be available for community activities, two floors to be leased to businesses, and the remaining three floors will be used by the council. 

Council leader Peter Mason said: "When this administration inherited the old plans for Perceval House, it was clear that the proposals represented a huge change for the borough, one with a big financial commitment and many years of disruption.  

"With the old scheme now at an end, we can turn our minds to reimagining a new council building, open to the public, accessible to resident's needs, with the community at the heart of it. 

"By taking a retrofit first approach to our renewed proposals for our council HQ, we're fulfilling our pledge to do all we can to tackle the climate crisis and be carbon neutral as a council by 2030.  

"We equally remain committed to building genuinely affordable homes, reducing car use, and supporting the transition to renewable energy, so we're going to take some time to reconsider how we do just that while keeping Perceval House open." 

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Work is slated to start before the end of 2023, but prior to finalising plans the council will consult with residents to try and incorporate more ideas for how the building can best fulfil their needs. 

The council's chief executive Tony Clements said: "We know that we need to make a shift in our working culture and practices to deliver the council's priorities and deliverables for Ealing.  

"At the heart of this are council staff and their interactions with each other and our communities."