Key Points
- The plans for replacing the present day Annoor Cultural & Community Centre situated at 58 – 70 Church Road, Acton, with a new nine-storey building have been brought a step closer to approval.
- Ealing council has produced the draft decision approving the re-development project, with the planning permission subject to the completion of Section 106 agreement and other necessary agreements.
- The new Al-Hidayah Cultural & Community Centre will include community use facilities on lower levels, and prayer halls on the first and second floor accommodating up to 600 people.
- The development will comprise 40 flats including 15 flats with one bedroom, 22 flats with two bedrooms, and three flats with three bedrooms, but none of them will be affordable.
- According to an independent financial assessment carried out by the District Valuer Service (DVS), the development scheme was not financially viable for the provision of affordable housing or financial contribution towards it.
- There were 135 responses to the consultation including 89 in favour of the project and 45 against it.
- Kalim Reid, the Managing Director of the centre, said that the production of the draft decision was a great step for the community.
uk/local/ealing/acton/">Acton (West London Times) September 24, 2026 — As reported by Ben Simons of Ealing.News, plans to replace a long-established Islamic cultural and community centre in Acton with a new nine-storey development containing an expanded centre and 40 homes have moved closer to approval. Ealing Council has issued a draft decision backing the redevelopment of the Annoor Cultural & Community Centre located at 58–70 Church Road, with formal planning permission expected once a Section 106 legal agreement and other required agreements have been completed.
Annoor has been serving the Muslim community in Acton for more than 30 years. It began operations in the early 1990s when a small group started using Acton Town Hall for Friday prayers, before eventually purchasing the former Royal British Legion premises in Church Road in 2005. Under the new proposals, the existing centre would be demolished and replaced by the newly named Al-Hidayah Cultural & Community Centre, featuring community facilities on the lower floors and residential homes above.
What facilities will the new Al-Hidayah Cultural & Community Centre provide?
The redevelopment plans include a community hall, a cafe, and multipurpose spaces, alongside prayer halls situated on the first and second floors that will have a total capacity for up to 600 worshippers. In addition to the community facilities, the scheme includes 40 flats comprising 15 one-bedroom homes, 22 two-bedroom homes, and three three-bedroom homes.
However, none of the proposed homes will be classified as affordable housing, and the development will not make a financial payment towards affordable housing provision. Ealing Council planning officers stated:
“The proposal does not include on-site affordable housing or a payment in lieu. This weighs against the proposal and is afforded significant weight.”
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Why is the development exempt from providing affordable housing?
The applicant’s financial assessment was independently reviewed by the District Valuer Service (DVS). As reported by Ben Simons of Ealing.News, the officer’s report noted:
“The assessment concluded the proposed development could not viably provide any on-site affordable housing, but would be able to provide a payment in lieu of £143,074.”
A further assessment conducted in April 2026, after taking into account Section 106 contributions alongside Mayoral and borough development levies, concluded that the scheme could provide neither affordable housing nor a financial contribution towards it. Planning officers added:
“The Section 106 agreement should secure an appropriate early and/or late-stage viability review mechanism so that any future improvement in viability can be captured in accordance with the relevant policy framework.”
Furthermore, the building’s height would reach one storey above the eight-storey threshold identified for the location in Ealing’s emerging Local Plan. Planning officers concluded that the additional height was acceptable given the context of its design and surrounding development. The application attracted 135 comments from the public, which included 89 expressions of support and 45 objections.
Commenting on the milestone, Kalim Reid, managing director of Annoor Cultural & Community Centre, stated:
“The publication of the draft decision represents a major milestone in the journey of our Centre. There are still legal and administrative steps to complete before formal planning permission is issued, but we look forward with optimism to what lies ahead and to the next chapter in our journey — the development of the new Al-Hidayah Centre.”
Background of the Particular Development
The Annoor Cultural & Community Centre has been a cornerstone of Acton’s Muslim community for over three decades, growing from modest Friday prayer gatherings at Acton Town Hall in the early 1990s into a permanent home at the former Royal British Legion premises on Church Road in 2005. As local congregations expanded and building infrastructure aged, leadership sought a comprehensive redevelopment to modernize facilities, increase prayer capacity, and integrate mixed-use residential elements to support the long-term sustainability of the community hub.
The transition from Annoor to the proposed Al-Hidayah Cultural & Community Centre reflects a broader trend in urban areas where faith and community institutions partner with developers or utilize airspace and surplus land to fund modern community infrastructure through housing provision, navigating complex local planning frameworks and financial viability assessments along the way.
This development is expected to significantly impact the local Muslim community in Acton, Ealing residents, and prospective homebuyers in West London. For worshippers and community members, the delivery of the Al-Hidayah Cultural & Community Centre will provide a modernized, purpose-built facility with expanded prayer capacity for up to 600 people, alongside improved communal spaces like a cafe and multi-purpose halls, thereby enriching local social cohesion and religious services.
Conversely, the absence of affordable housing within the 40-home residential component may disappoint local housing campaigners and council planners striving to address affordability pressures in the borough, though the introduction of 40 new private homes will moderately increase housing supply in Acton. Additionally, the implementation of late-stage viability reviews via the Section 106 agreement means that local authorities will closely monitor the financial performance of the project, setting a potential precedent for how mixed-use community redevelopments balance financial viability with civic obligations in Ealing.
