Housing development planned for London Transport Museum’s Acton depot

The London Transport Museum’s collection store in Acton, which houses the bulk of its collection could need to be rebuilt if plans to redevelop the site for housing go ahead.

As part of a larger housing development along the nearby Bollo Lane, TfL has identified that some additional land at Ealing Common also has the potential for development. However, it’s currently occupied by the London Transport Museum’s storage facility.

The museum store sits next to the District line train depot, giving it convenient access to the Underground tracks for its trains, while the remainder of the large building houses the buses, trams, and the ephemera stores.

TfL has now published a Prior Information Notice, which it says will help gauge market feedback on the developments and forms part of the process to help TfL find a joint venture property developer. A pre-application process that was undertaken with Ealing Council established that an acceptable residential density of around 800 new homes plus a replacement storage facility for the museum was viable.

Both the information notice and a TfL spokesperson have confirmed that any development on the site will have to take into account the requirements of the London Transport Museum.

A TfL spokesperson said: “Following submission of a planning application to deliver around 850 new homes, with 50 per cent affordable housing, along Bollo Lane in Acton, we have recently published a Prior Information Notice to provide prospective developers with information on this and possible future development opportunities in Acton. Any future proposals would need to accommodate London Transport Museum’s requirements and we look forward to the Museum welcoming visitors back to the depot when it reopens later this summer.”

The notice suggests the value of the 2.6-hectare site redevelopment could be worth at least £320 million. The neighbouring District line depot is not part of the development plans.

If they are able to find a developer able to combine a replacement museum depot with residential housing, it will be some time before planning applications are filed, and several years before construction starts.

In related news:

The Transport Museum has also announced that its first open days at the Acton depot following the lockdown will be for 10-days during the school holidays, rather than their usual occasional weekend openings.

The depot will be open between Wed 19th to Sun 23rd and Wed 26th to Sun 30th August.

Tickets need to be booked in advance here.