Hounslow Council statement on highway and public safety at the new Ballymore/Morrisons site in Brentford

Councillor Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Development said:  

“We have expressed significant concern with Ballymore on the failure to implement a sufficient and safe traffic management system – as agreed in the planning application granted in 2015 and secured through a section 106 agreement, including through variations to that section 106 agreement – to manage traffic flow from the new Morrisons car park into the Ham and Brentford High Street. The Council was concerned that the store was due to open on Thursday 28 September 2023 without those works have been implemented.  

“We requested that Ballymore provide a firm undertaking that they would not open the store without adequate measures being put in place to ensure safety of all road users and without the Council having confirmed that it was content with the adequacy of those measures. We are pleased that Ballymore has listened to these concerns and that they have undertaken not to permit the new Morrisons supermarket to open to the public on Thursday 28 September unless a safe and appropriate temporary solution regarding highway works is in place which adequately mitigates the risk to highway safety and public safety and that this has been agreed by the Council. 

“The Council welcomes Ballymore’s commitment to ensuring that the Brentford development is safe for the public and we will continue to require Ballymore to closely monitor the effectiveness of the temporary measures to ensure that they sufficiently mitigate our concerns regarding highway safety. 

“We have clearly stated that the temporary traffic signals must operate in a way which maintains traffic flow and highway safety on the High Street and The Ham and will remain in place until the permanent traffic signals are installed, or the Council has confirmed that they are no longer required or represent the best solution and are content for it to be removed. We have a clear expectation on Ballymore to monitor, review and amend the temporary solution once it has been agreed and implemented to understand the actual impacts and react accordingly. We hope that a satisfactory resolution is met at the earliest opportunity to provide residents with a clear understanding of what is happening on the High Street. 

“We also continue to impress on Ballymore the requirement to implement a full, permanent solution at the earliest possible opportunity that meets the requirements of the planning consent and the section 106 agreement, and which has secured the approval of Hounslow Council and TfL. 

“I want to reassure residents that safety is always our primary concern and thank engaged residents in Brentford who have actively raised their concerns with us and encourage you to continue to share your experiences of the temporary solution with Ballymore and the Council.”