A new destination strengthening the town centre

Dickens Yard is a vibrant retail-led urban quarter that forms a high-quality extension to revitalise Ealing town centre, designed around a series of new shopping streets and spaces which incorporate 32 separate retail, restaurant and commercial spaces, as well as community facilities and an extensive leisure studio.

The site is adjacent to Ealing town centre Conservation Area, the Grade I listed town hall, the Grade II* listed Christ the Saviour church and a locally listed fire station which have been sensitively integrated into the masterplan designs.

The council’s planning brief sought to develop the site as a high-density, mixed-use development, reflecting Ealing’s status as one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the Mayor’s London Plan.

The quarter dramatically improves permeability by creating a series of interlinked vibrant new spaces and routes, improving the setting and integrating successfully with the adjoining listed church and town hall, while providing a car-free public realm connecting the various new facilities together.

A new shopping street provides units for local specialist retail and larger stores, as an extension of Ealing’s existing retail environment has opened. Mixed uses include cafés and restaurants, health, leisure and community uses at street level with new public squares and pedestrian routes linking to other shopping facilities via local historic landmarks. On the upper floor, the project features 698 apartments with landscaped courtyards, terraces and balconies.

A public art strategy was implemented with a number of separate pieces commissioned and installed throughout the public realm.

Dickens Yard was featured in the MHCLG National Design Guide (October 2019) as an exemplar of a high-quality, mixed-use development with active frontages that rejuvenates a town centre.