Innovation hub at Old Vinyl Factory in West London gets go-ahead

Planning permission has been given for an innovation hub at the site of the Old Vinyl Factory in West London.

Regeneration specialist U+I has secured permission from the London Borough of Hillingdon to convert The Powerhouse at the Old Vinyl Factory site into an innovation hub for its Plus X business.

Richard Upton, chief development officer at U+I commented: “By offering inspiring workspace, incredible facilities and countless opportunities for collaboration, The Powerhouse will play a key role in supporting young and established businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish.

“The Plus X Innovation Hub will further position The Old Vinyl Factory as a world-class creative and innovative campus.

“Our partnership with Plus X will allow us to unlock potential and drive business growth, innovation, collaboration and positive social impact among occupants and further transform the local area.”

The 29,000 sq ft hub will be situated in the former power generating plant for EMI’s global manufacturing headquarters, which will also partially return to its original purpose by housing an energy centre to provide heat and hot water across the 17-acre development.

Designed by architecture firm Pilbrow & Partners, The Powerhouse will include an events space and café, meeting rooms, private member studios and flexible desk-working opportunities.

Tal Ben-Amar, founding partner at Pilbrow & Partners, explained: “The Powerhouse building will create inspiring incubator spaces that support creative businesses to grow.

“Our design will create a modern, healthy work environment centred around a courtyard, café and exhibition space which highlight the triple height volume of the original powerhouse.”

Commenting on the Plus X hub, Paul Rostas, co-CEO of Plus X added: “We are delighted that with the restoration of the iconic Powerhouse, Plus X will soon have a new, aspirational home for The Central Research Laboratory, London’s leading hardware and product focussed accelerator that was opened at The Old Vinyl Factory in 2015.

“By moving to this much larger and bespoke designed space, Plus X can treble the number of SMEs supported across a broader range of sectors.”