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Conclusion

76%

The Earl’s Court Exhibition Centres have a rich and vibrant history hosting some of the biggest events in London, from Olympic sports and Crufts to David Bowie concerts and the Brit Awards. Since their demolition in 2014, the original joint Supplementary Planning Document for this Opportunity Area has failed to realise a vision which truly builds on the legacy of Earl’s Court.

The aim of this report was to propose a new vision and SPD for the site which mitigated against some of the shortfalls of the original SPD. We Three core objectives are outlined around sustainable housing, culture-led economic vitality and connectivity. 6 policies which aim at realising these objectives and delivering leading examples of best practice in urban design approaches by drawing on successful case studies are proposed. These policies were critically evaluated in terms of how well they conform to higher level policy, how coherent they are with other strategies, how successful the precedent examples are in delivering their desired outcomes, how relevant these case studies are to this scheme and finally how deliverable they in the current political climate. This last criterion is critical to the efficacy of planning policy as it touches on the conflict between the status quo agenda of developers, vs the progressive aims of contemporary planning which seeks to design neighbourhoods differently. We were not afraid of proposing radical interventions which in our view would deliver the best outcomes for the site. The real-life political deliverability of these interventions remains a challenge. In light of these criteria though, the policies performed relatively well, with an overall average success rate of 76%.

Hammersmith and Fulham’s decision to compulsory purchase the Gibbs Green and West Kensington estates to protect them from demolition is a very complex matter. On the one hand this demonstrated to the local community that they were being listened to and respected. On the other hand, these properties are aging quickly and will soon be no longer fit for purpose. Now is the opportunity to fundamentally replace them with energy efficient and sustainable homes which will respond to the urgency of climate change. With a more meaningful and in-depth consultation process, the local authorities may have built better trust with local stakeholders and reassured them that future social housing units

will be safeguarded for them in the new development. Likewise, the original SPD’s proposal for a small cultural venue was vague and inadequate. This is a 37 hectare site which can easily accommodate a much larger exhibition and cultural centre in addition to housing. Indeed this can become a leading piece of sustainable architecture as local campaign groups would like to see.

This new SPD attempts to rewrite the story of Earl’s Court and learn the lessons of the past. Time will tell the fate of the scheme.