The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has launched a scathing attack on St William’s Fulham Gas Works scheme, stating the proposals will harm views, the transport network and retail vitality as well as cause “substantial, irreversible harm to the setting of heritage assets as well as the wider local townscape”, in the Royal Borough.
In August, St William, a Berkeley Homes subsidiary focusing on former National Grid sites, submitted plans to Hammersmith & Fulham. When complete, the site will essentially become an extension to the north of Berkeley’s Imperial Wharf and Chelsea Creek schemes. The plans for the former gas holders site aim to provide 1,375 residential units, with a number of tower elements rising to 16, 17, 18 and 27 storeys. The high-rise cluster is situated in the east of the site, adjacent to the railway line, which forms the boundary with Kensington and Chelsea, historically a high-density, but low- to medium-rise London borough.
Kensington and Chelsea argue that a total of 421 verified views were selected to assess the potential significant effects of the proposed development, however only 10 of these were from sites within RBKC. Another argument against the towers is that they are in the north of the site, furthest away from the river. They state “whilst towers may be considered to have come to characterise riverside development in the area surrounding the application site, the gas works site is significantly more inland.”
Of course Lots Road Power Station, a short distance to the east, is currently under construction, with towers rising to 25 and 37 storeys. This scheme also had a hard time getting through the planning system, not least because the site straddles both local authorities – half within Hammersmith & Fulham (a 37-storey tower) and the other half in Kensington and Chelsea (a 25-storey tower). The plot for the taller tower was originally granted by Hammersmith & Fulham, however the Kensington and Chelsea plot, although recommended for approval by planners, was refused by councillors, due to its height. This was subsequently overturned at a planning inquiry by the then deputy prime minister, John Prescott.
St William will be pleased that the entire site boundary sits within Hammersmith & Fulham, and that the recent planning committee undertaken by Kensington and Chelsea to discuss the proposals were just that, with “observations to an adjoining borough”, which shouldn’t have any effect on the deciding outcome of the application. London needs more homes and a former gas works site measuring nearly seven hectares in central London is the perfect place to create lots of them. Not only that, the masterplan seeks to maximise the amount of green space with 47% of the site being publicly accessible including a new park and square. The same amount of homes, but in lower-rise blocks would simply eat up the proposed green space, an asset current and future residents will surely come to cherish.
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