I first visited the site in 2008, the former UK Headquarters and manufacturing facility for Kodak the 26 acre plot was eventually sold to Land Securities in 2010. 

Big Yellow purchased the 6 acre plot from the current owners, Barratt London in August 2019 with the sole purpose of developing the land to create a 72,000 sq ft self storage facility together with 11 employment and enterprise units totalling 106,000 sq ft. Unusually, the site came with a relic of WW2, an underground bunker, two storeys deep constructed for the Air Ministry in the 1930’s as a bomb proof citadel. The bunker was designed to take a direct hit from the largest known bomb at the time – 7,000kN which is equivalent to a 10 storey block of flats. In theory, the bunker construction was more than adequate to accommodate an industrial unit however structural assessment was not possible because the chambers had been flooded for many years. Concrete has good, long term durability and whilst it’s been around as a construction material for centuries, for example the Pantheon in Rome, the risk for Big Yellow was that the engineers could not gain access to survey the condition of the concrete. The chairman was convinced the team would be resourceful enough to find an alternative use or just simply fill with concrete and leave the bunker in place. 

Barratt instructed Rye Demolition to demolish the existing buildings in order to provide Big Yellow with a cleared, remediated and levelled plot including the installation of site wide mains utilities and drainage infrastructure. During the lockdown in Spring/Summer 2020 I would receive regular updates on progress from our CFO John Trotman who was able to view the site during his government endorsed walks in the hills around his home. 

Simon Allen began the engagement and delicate negotiations with the local planning authority in Summer 2019 and following much discussion on the designs for the buildings, the planning application was finally submitted to Harrow on 30th June 2020. The Big Yellow elevations are predominantly brick built to be sympathetic with the adjacent residential properties in the area. Looming large at five storeys, with glazed elevations to the flexi offices, the Big Yellow store is heavily articulated and my attempts to remove potential pigeon roosts fell on deaf ears. I subsequently learnt however that Eastman Village has a pair of peregrine falcons nesting in the nearby magistrates’ court. These majestic creatures have voracious appetites, strike their prey at lightning speed and are known to snack on feral pigeons. With nature taking its natural course maybe there will be no need for anti pigeon spikes and hideous netting after all! 

Nigel Hartley, Big Yellow Construction Director
 

• Architect:  Mountford Pigott
• Engineer:  Campbell Reith
• Project Manager: Lesingham
• QS:  Feasibility
• M&E Services:  Silcock Dawson
• Store Opening Date: Autumn 2022
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