Earls Court 800 home development recommended for approval

The proposed development covers around one million square feet and would include 808 new homes in eight blocks ranging from four to 16 storeys, alongside a series of town houses. Other proposals include a car park, commercial space, a gym and a cafe. The planning application is scheduled for determination by the Council's planning committee next Thursday.

EC Properties submitted a detailed planning application to the LBHF in June 2011 which sought permission to redevelop the Seagrave Road car park site and land off Roxby Place. The application was submitted in conjunction with two outline planning applications and a conservation area consent application for the main Earl's Court site.

The committee report, published by LBHF, recommended that the Council's planning committee approve the Seagrave Road application and said that "the proposed development would contribute towards providing much needed additional housing, in accordance with London Plan, and would help the borough meet its housing targets".

The development proposals include the demolition of all existing buildings to allow for 808 residential properties, including 200 affordable properties. The homes would be constructed in eight residential blocks that would range from four to 16 storeys high. The properties would surround a garden square in the centre of the development.

The scheme proposals also include 30 townhouses, gym facilities, a café, 485 car parking spaces, new vehicular and pedestrian links and public and private open spaces.

An area equivalent to 50% of the site footprint is provided as open space, which would cover approximately 1.5 hectares of land, the developer said.

The affordable housing provision would be delivered in the first phase of the development enabling the regeneration of the Gibbs Green and West Kensington estates to be considered under a separate outline planning application. In the event the wider Earl’s Court proposals do not occur, this application would still seek to provide an affordable housing provision of 200 units on this site, the Council said.

The impacts of the scheme would be mitigated by way of a comprehensive package of planning obligations to fund improvements that are necessary as a consequence of the increased use arising from the population yield from the development, the Council said.

The obligations would be agreed by way of a section 106 agreement under the Town and Country Planning Act, for which a contribution of £12.55 million has been agreed, the Council said.