Following Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader Stephen Cowan branding the £12m plan to revamp Earls Court ‘undeliverable’ last week, now the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s (RBKC) deputy leader has waded in to the debate and called for a review of the masterplan.
Kim Taylor-Smith (pictured), Conservative deputy leader of RBKC, told a full Council meeting on 24 January, that he had written to Gary Yardley, chief executive of the developer Earls Court Properties Ltd, “seeking a meeting to consider the site’s future. It’s important that our communities take the lead in decisions affecting their neighbourhoods”.
Taylor-Smith added that he was keen to increase the level of affordable housing in the project, although he noted: “We don’t have legal power to rescind our decision”.
The Earls Court Area Action Group (ECAAG), which includes the Association of Event Organisers as a member, issued a statement calling the RBKC move “a sea-change in political priorities” that means the Earls Court Masterplan may be undeliverable in its current form.
Cllr Linda Wade (Liberal Democrat – Earl’s Court ward) who is chair of ECAAG, has also asked for an update on the level of engagement between developer EC Properties Ltd and the Council. EC Properties Ltd is a joint venture between Capital and Counties Properties plc (Capco) which owns 63% of the shares and Transport for London (TfL) which owns 37%.
Taylor-Smith, referencing the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June, said the facts on the ground had changed in Kensington. “Politically, I want to make it very clear that I do not believe the continuation of this development under the current terms is right. And I have also written to Cllr. Stephen Cowan [Labour Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council] expressing my concern over this development and I have offered my complete support [to him] to revisit these plans around the entire scheme and I have copied this letter to the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan.”
A Capco spokesperson told CN: “The Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area represents one of the most important development sites in London, covering 77 acres, with the potential to create a new district, delivering thousands of new homes and jobs. Capco has completed all the land enablement works and has a site with full planning consent that is ready for development. We continue to work collaboratively with all relevant stakeholders to bring forward the scheme in order to generate benefits for the local and wider London community.”
The Earls Court exhibition halls have been demolished, but the ECAAG says it is continuing its fight “for a world-class, green, multi-purpose venue and to save the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates and the Lillie Bridge depot from demolition”.
