Track record

University of West London Ealing Campus, St Mary’s Road

University of West London

Rapleys has advised The University of West London on the purchase of two new buildings, subsequently obtaining planning permission for their change of use.

Applications

Policy

Service

Education

Industry

Victoria Bennion

The project

Rapleys has been working with The University of West London for 3.5 years. In this time Rapleys has supported The University of West London with their continued investment into their Ealing Campus at St Mary’s Road and within the wider Town Centre. As part of this growth and investment, Rapleys has advised on the purchase of two new buildings along Uxbridge Road and subsequently obtained planning permission for the change of use of both of the existing office buildings to allow educational use.

In addition to this, Rapleys has also advised on the operations of the Sports Centre at St Mary’s Road and has obtained planning permission to expand the operational hours of the centre.

Additional work is ongoing with the University with numerous advertisement consent applications and the installation of new consider units across the campus to support ongoing internal refurbishments and expansion.

More recently, Rapleys secured planning permission for the creation/refurbishment of a new entrance at St Mary’s Road. The approved works involved the construction of a new single-storey front entrance on the St Mary’s Road façade to extend the current reception area and provide an even more welcoming environment for students, staff and visitors.

Key Features include:

Eco-friendly design, using a recycled steel and timber structure.
Boosting biodiversity with a green roof, wall and raised planters
Improved lighting with large glass panels and mirror design elements.
Rainwater harvesting, with rain collection to support sustainable planting.
New waiting area, coffee outlet, and expanded social seating to provide more opportunities for social connection.

Our solution

Provided proactive, long-term strategic planning advice, supporting the University over a 3.5-year period across multiple sites and applications, ensuring each proposal aligned with the University’s wider campus expansion and town centre investment strategy.
Led early and ongoing negotiations with the Local Planning Authority, identifying potential design, operational and policy issues at pre-application stage and resolving them before submission to minimise risk and avoid delays.
Successfully managed a complex planning application for a new campus entrance, balancing heritage, design quality, sustainability and functionality to secure consent for a high-profile frontage on St Mary’s Road.
Advised beyond the scope of a single application, including operational planning matters such as sports centre hours, advertisement consents and infrastructure installations, ensuring consistency and compliance across the wider campus estate.
Added value through sustainability-led planning solutions, working with the design team to embed eco-friendly features such as green roofs, rainwater harvesting and biodiversity enhancements that strengthened the planning case.
Acted as a trusted advisor to the University, coordinating consultants, guiding internal decision-making and maintaining momentum on repeat applications, resulting in continued instructions and successful outcomes across multiple projects.