Have Your Say

How about keeping noisy nightclubs and a car pound for towed-away vehicles from Kensington & Chelsea next to the A4 so they won’t disturb local residents and screen off a noisy and ugly road? (James Wilson, resident)

That’s an interesting suggestion James, although we haven’t planned on including any nightclubs or car pounds in the masterplan. We do, however, intend to include shops, restaurants and cafes that won’t cause any disturbance to residents and people who currently live in the area.

Please do post any other ideas for the Earls Court Project in our Forum as we’d like people who live in the area to help us decide on the final masterplan. We’re even getting local children involved through an education programme this autumn.

I live in Philbeach Gardens and am a very close neighbour to Earls Court Exhibition Hall. I have seen the Masterplan exhibition in Earls Court and would like to make the following comments:

First I would like to thank the staff on duty for taking the time to try to explain and answer our queries as good as possible, having to bear the brunt of some irate local residents.

My worries are, that as Philbeach Gardens is quite a lot lower than the exhibiton hall, a 4storey terrace of houses at the back of our gardens and a further 8 storey block next, I live on the Ground floor, will take away all of the natural light and sunshine in the Summer and we would be overlooked by our new “neighbours” taking away our privacy. We would also loose easy access to the back of the houses, via the exhibition wall.

I also think there are too many “living units” whose occupants are going to be fed into an already very congested EarlsCourt Station. For such a big developement surely it warrants to consider building a new station where Train and Undergound lines meet. Not to mention an already overloaded road system, congestion charge or not.

I hope the relevant councils make it a conditon of building permit that the construction firms use the existing railway line for the transport of most of their requirements and not inundate local residents with a stream of lorries into the congested roads.

Hi Ilse

Thanks for your comments and for letting us know about your concerns.

Firstly, the 4-storey terrace of houses and the 8-storey block you mention are no higher than the existing exhibition centre so the natural light and summer sunshine in your flat shouldn’t be affected. 

We are aware of the potential congestion at Earls Court Tube station and are looking into creating a second entrance / exit on the other side of Warwick Road which will connect with an existing (and currently unused) pedestrian tunnel.  Transport for London is also looking into the possibility of improving West Kensington station.

The Underground and Overground lines already meet at West Brompton station and all 3 stations on the edges of the site will be within 5 minutes’ walking distance from the centre of the site. We appreciate that these stations will have to accommodate new communities moving into the area as well as people who already live there and Transport for London are planning to increase capacity on the Piccadilly Line and District Line by the time the development is completed. Crossrail will also help alleviate congestion on the Piccadilly Line.

Transport for London is looking at the road network to find ways of accommodating extra traffic and also exploring the possibility of using the trains during construction to minimise disruption to local residents.

I have concerns about the following:
-  the building facades in the masterplan are out of character and not sympathetic to the existing buildings in the general area;
- the height of the proposed developments seem higher than those of existing buildings
- the concentration of affordable housing in one area of the proposed development rather than being spread throughout

My suggestion for your development is to leave both Gibbs Green and West kensington estate out of your plans. After all you never wanted us originally it was only after Stephen Greenhalgh met with you in Cannes that we suddenly became part of the equation.

You keep saying you listen to the wants and needs of the commmunity but that is not the case. On Gibbs Green and West kensington Estate most peopel are against the redevelopment and we have proof to back up what we are saying. This proof is not new and no matter what some people are alleging most of the residents of these two estates do not want to move. Maybe you should go knocking at the doors and hear for yourselves what we want.

Thanks for your comment Diana.

We are putting forward a masterplan proposal for the Earls Court Project area including the two estates as that’s what our neighbouring landowners (the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and Transport for London) have asked us to do.

We do think that the residents of both estates would get considerable benefits from the development as all will be offered a new and better home within the Earls Court Project area.

The decision as to whether the estates are included in the development or not rests with the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.