Ealing’s third temporary accommodation site made from heavily modified shipping containers has opened, offering safe, private housing for 14 vulnerable families at risk of homelessness.

The modular buildings at Westfields Lodge in North Acton comprise a mix of one, two and three bed units, each self-contained with their own kitchens and bathrooms.

The buildings are designed so that they can be easily moved to other sites when necessary. Westfield Lodge is expected to occupy this site for at least 10 years before being moved to another location in the borough. Although the units offer this flexibility, they are still built to the same rigorous standards as traditional buildings.

Award winning accommodation

The new units are being built after the huge success of award-winning projects at Marston Court in Hanwell and Meath Court in South Acton, which both opened in 2017. Between the three sites there are now 108 self-contained units in the borough for local families who would otherwise be placed into bed and breakfast.

Councillor Peter Mason is Ealing Council’s lead member for housing, planning and transformation. He said: “This innovative emergency accommodation provides a stable, comfortable environment to house local people who find themselves in the awful position of becoming homeless. For the same financial outlay as bed and breakfast, Westfield Lodge offers 14 families a far better standard of accommodation. We’re very proud that Ealing was one of the first local authorities to use modular buildings as temporary accommodation in this way.”

QED Sustainable Urban Developments was Ealing Council’s development partner on this project. Chris Gilbert, Director of QED said: “Westfield Lodge is our third scheme working with Ealing Council, which highlights our joint ambition and commitment to addressing the housing crisis. We need short, medium and long-term solutions and Westfield Lodge is another short-term solution to emergency accommodation in Ealing.

“We have worked with our development partner TLBC to provide this sustainable, robust and flexible solution, made up of a kit of moveable and reusable parts of UK-produced shipping containers.”