Out-Law News 1 min. read
13 Sep 2012, 5:34 pm
The application is based on a masterplan by Sir Terry Farrell, which has a concept of ‘Four Urban villages and a 21st Century High Street’. It sets out proposals for redevelopment of the Earls Court Exhibition Centres, Lillie Bridge London Underground Depot and the West Kensington and Gibbs Green housing estates.
EC Properties will redevelop 10.1 million square feet of land in the ECOA and create over 7,500 new homes, of which 1500 will be affordable. 760 homes will be replacement estate homes and 740 will be additional intermediate affordable homes. The development will also have a high street with shops and restaurants, offices, leisure facilities, a new ‘Lost River’ park, a new school, healthcare centre and community centre.
Local infrastructure will also be improved. West Kensington Underground station will get a new entrance and West Brompton overground station will get a new lift. Pavements, pedestrian crossings and streets will be upgraded and new streets will be created to cross the site from north to south and east to west.
The scheme will create 9,500 permanent jobs, as well as up to 2000 jobs per year during the projected 20 year development period, the developers said.
"Britain needs more homes and more jobs and this is just the kind of privately-funded construction, on a brownfield site, that can lift the UK out of recession, said LBHF council leader Nicholas Botterill. “Growth is the engine of economic opportunity and this country needs many more visionary projects like this”.
Capital and Counties (CapCo), which holds a stake in the development, has welcomed the decision by LBHF’s planning committee to grant consent.
“We are pleased by the Council’s decision to pass the resolution to grant outline planning consent for the Earls Court Masterplan. The proposed scheme will offer a multi-billion pound investment in both London and the local community creating thousands of new homes and jobs,” said CapCo chief executive Ian Hawksworth.
The Council approved a planning application for 808 homes at the nearby Seagrave Road in February 2012. Earlier this month, the Council’s Cabinet agreed to enter into a Conditional Land Sale Agreement (CLSA) to include West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates in the redevelopment. Once the CLSA is signed, up to 200 of the planned homes will be used in the first phase of the redevelopment.
The ECOA stretches across both LBHF and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). RBKC is expected to make a decision on outline plans submitted to them before the end of the year.
