The Earls Court development

Summary

A major planning application has been received by Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) for a key London regeneration scheme. The proposed development straddles both boroughs and is also referred to as the 'Earls Court Masterplan'.

The planning application submitted to H&F on behalf of Earls Court Partnership Limited ('ECPL'), seeks permission to redevelop part of the Earls Court Masterplan site. A similar application has been submitted to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and relates to land in the adjoining borough.

View details of the planning application submitted to RBKC.

Combined, both applications aim to deliver up to 710,519 sqm of floorspace across the 2 boroughs with a wide range of land uses. The development could deliver around 4,000 homes, with 2,500 homes proposed to be delivered in H&F.

The mix of land uses includes up to 270,000 sqm office space (around 175,000 sqm in H&F) and student and later living accommodation, hotels, health and education facilities together with a range of active uses including retail, restaurants, cafes, cultural venues and leisure and community facilities.

The Earls Court site is in the borough's Fulham Regeneration Area (FRA). The FRA includes Fulham Town Centre and the Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area which contains the former Earl's Court exhibition land.

The Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area is one of 47 Opportunity Areas in the London Plan (2021) and allocated in the council's Local Plan (2018) as an area for regeneration for growth in new homes and jobs.

Where is the application site?

The application to H&F covers 10 hectares and includes:

• parts of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centre land
• Lillie Bridge Rail Depot
• land off Beaumont Avenue and Empress Place
• Lillie Road properties (2 to 26 Lillie Road).

The following image shows the site and borough boundaries for the H&F and RBKC applications.

What is currently on the application site?

Following the demolition of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centre buildings in 2015, several temporary planning permissions for 'meanwhile' uses have occupied different parts of the vacant site.

The H&F application is bounded by:

• North End Road
• Beaumont Avenue
• West Cromwell Road
• the West London Line, part of Lillie Road
• the Empress State Building
• Aisgill Avenue
• the former Gibbs Green School properties fronting Gibbs Green Close
• and properties fronting Dieppe Close.

The application site is located in the North End ward.

What is the application for?

The application seeks planning permission for the redevelopment of development plots or development zones, through the demolition of some of the existing buildings and structures and the creation of a mixed-use development comprising of residential, retail, commercial, leisure and community uses, with associated infrastructure works.

This is a 'hybrid' application meaning it contains 'detailed' and 'outline' proposals.

Three development plots in H&F have been submitted in detail for the first phase of the development. These plots would come forward first in the borough and include:

• 462 new homes (mix of affordable and market)
• student accommodation providing 698 rooms
• retail space
• cafes and restaurants
• leisure facilities
• and a new community hall.

The detailed proposals include four buildings which range between 13 and 42 storeys in height.

The outline element of the application covers a large extent of land and includes Lillie Road depot and buildings in Empress Place. The proposals are for mix use floorspace (up to 373,000sqm GEA), including residential use (up to 2,038 homes) and non-residential uses.

The non-residential uses include:

• a hotel
• older persons housing
• office and research and development space
• education, retail, food and beverage and other commercial uses
• leisure and cultural facilities
• storage and distribution space
• community and social facilities
• and a range of potential sui generis uses - this might include student accommodation and co-living, theatre, nightclub, drinking establishment (with or without expanded food provision), live music performance venue, cinema, concert hall, bingo hall and dance hall uses.

The outline element allows for some flexibility and at this stage is about the general principles for how a site can be developed within rules established in control documents (parameter plans, development specification and design codes), leaving the final details of appearance, means of access, landscaping, layout and scale to a later stage (known as 'reserved matters').

In the following image, the development plots covered by the detailed application are shown with hatched marking and labelled 'H'. It is the area surrounding the Empress State Building to the north and east.

A corresponding area in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea would be subject of a detailed application in the RBKC site.

The proposal (subject to planning permission) would come forward as a phased development, with each phase containing 'development zones' and 'development plots'.

This means a complex construction process is anticipated, taking place in sequence (or layers) across different parts of the masterplan site over the course of the delivery of the development.

A period of between 15 to 20 years is anticipated to complete the masterplan.

Environmental impact assessment

This is a major development that will be subject to an environmental impact assessment. This is because of its scale and likelihood to have significant environmental effects. The application proposals will affect the settings of conservation areas and listed buildings.

An environmental statement accompanies the application.

How can I view the H&F application documents?

View the Earls Court development planning application.

Please be aware there are over 380 documents including drawings covering a wide range of topics. Some are large files and may take time to open or download.

We have provided links to some of the key documents taken from the application to give an overview of the proposals.

Some of the hard copies of the H&F application documents including the environmental statement will also be made available for inspection by members of the public (by appointment) at Cobbs Hall, 19 Fulham Palace Road, SW6 6LL between 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Call us on 020 8753 1081 to make an appointment.

How can I comment on the application?

To comment on this application:

• fill in the online comment form
• email PlanComments@lbhf.gov.uk

If you email us you must include the application reference number (2024/01942/COMB) and your:

• full name
• home address
• email address.

Comments should be provided by 25 November 2024. Comments received after this date, but before a decision is made, may still be considered.

How will the application be assessed?

Our planning officers will assess the application and make a recommendation on whether to grant planning permission. The officers and specialist advisers assisting the council will review the application and gather information to help undertake the assessment.

The assessment centres around whether the proposals comply with planning policies contained in the Development Plan. Planning legislation requires planning applications to be determined in line with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

The Development Plan includes the London Plan (2021) and the Local Plan (2018). We also have a Supplementary Planning Document – Planning Guidance (2018) which provides more detailed guidance on policies in the Local Plan.

When the assessment is completed, the planning officers will prepare a report explaining their recommendation to grant or refuse permission for the proposal.

We will publish this report on our website ahead of the application being presented to the council's Planning Committee at a public meeting for their consideration as to whether to grant planning permission.

We will advertise details of this meeting nearer the time so you can attend if you wish, and we will directly notify anyone who makes representations on the application of this date ahead of the meeting.

The application will then be referred to the Mayor of London. We will notify the Mayor of the outcome of the Planning Committee's consideration of the application.

In their role of making strategic planning decisions, the Mayor may occasionally take over an application, thereby becoming the local planning authority. The Mayor must then hold a public representation hearing before deciding whether to grant planning permission.

When will a decision be made?

To be confirmed.

What happens after the decision is made?

We will publish the decision notice on the Earls Court planning application page.

If the application is granted there will be conditions that will require the applicant to submit further details for the local planning authority's approval. Those further applications will be advertised on our website.

If the application is refused or granted with conditions the applicant thinks are unreasonable, they can appeal to the Secretary of State to overturn the decision. If this happens, we will provide information about the appeal.

Timeline