Newcombe House, Notting Hill Gate

The existing Newcombe House tower would be retained and completely refurbished to provide office accommodation. The latest revisions (March 2023) do not change the proposed height - an additional three-storeys to make it 15-storeys, some three-storeys lower than the permitted scheme.

One of the consistent themes in community feedback on the initial proposals presented in the last quarter of 2022 was a desire to see an ‘open-air’ space on the Notting Hill Gate frontage around the retained ‘Waterstones tree’ which would allow it to thrive. This has resulted in the complete removal of the previously proposed seven-storey frontage building and its undercroft. This now results in a ‘drawn back’ and more elegant tower design with a new look vertical expression as shown in the new visual in the image carousel of this website.

The revision to the tower is a fundamental change and the most significant which has resulted in response to the consultation that has taken place to date.

With the very latest (March 2023) changes to the tower, the public square on Notting Hill Gate will now be 71% open to the sky whilst before it was only 22%. Greater opportunity to green the square is also now possible, something which many people told us they favoured during the first stage of public consultation. There is also a wider and better connection to Uxbridge Street.

A lot of feedback was received from the local community about the practicalities and attractiveness of the proposed internal covered retail street which formed part of the initial proposals. This was accessed from Notting Hill Gate under the tower and via a further access on Kensington Church Street. As a result of comments received on this, it has been decided to remove this from the latest proposals. This in turn allows the building footprint to be drawn back a further 3m from the boundary with the underground line and the nearest properties on Jameson Street. It also provides space for a new covered colonnade stretching along Kensington Church Street, offering more space for pedestrians at street level, something many local people told us they would like to see included. The proposed arches were broadly supported in the feedback received and these are retained in the proposed colonnade.

This is the entirely new development part of the proposals. The proposed buildings here extend southwards along Kensington Church Street and on the existing surface level car park. There is a ‘tiered’ approach to the building on the car park and the latest changes mean that this steps back some 21 to 27m from the nearest properties on the other side of the underground line in Jameson Street. This is wider than adjacent streets and similar to the building to building width of Kensington Church Street

The proposed uses in the latest (March 2023) proposal remain retail at ground level the length of the new colonnade with offices above.

The proposed building heights along Kensington Church Street are unchanged at primarily six-storeys until the corner with Kensington Place where an eight-storey building is currently indicated. The design of the six storey element has evolved in response to feedback with the introduction of less regularity in window apertures and a variations in the roof parapet to provide a less repetitive façade. There was significant community feedback received about housing a new doctor’s surgery in the eight-storey building and further detailed discussions have taken place with the NHS to agree requirements. There was broad community support for the inclusion of new high quality affordable homes in this building as well.