West side story

The impending renovation of the Earls Court area has taken a further leap forward with the recent announcement of a planning scheme to redevelop Earls Court and transform the surrounding area.

Working with Transport for London (TfL) and the Hammersmith & Fulham council, property investment company Capital & Counties Properties (CapCo) are in the process of planning the hugely ambitious project in regenerating the Earls Court Area into a vibrant and contemporary part of West London. CapCo has plans for around 8,000 homes, 4m sq ft of offices and 750,000 sq ft of shops on the 67-acre site.

The project aims to serve London’s ever increasing population by creating an estimated 24,000 new jobs and an assortment of commercial property to house them. Furthermore, with so much redevelopment within London being primarily focused on the East Side of London due to the Olympics in Stratford, the Earls Court Project offers huge investment potential in an area that already has well-established transport links throughout London and is prime for redevelopment.

Alongside the planning scheme will run an online portal based on social-networking platforms such as Facebook and Myspace. The portal allows interested parties in the area to contribute towards its ongoing Earls Court scheme in West London.

MyEarlsCourt.com allows members to organise and join groups, contribute to the project’s principles, encourage new members to join, join events relating to the project and their community and maintain their own blog. Effectively giving the people of London a fair say in how they see the progression of development within their area.

A CapCo spokseman involved in the scheme added: “[The site] acts as a 360° idea-sharing tool, allowing members to feed back directly on development plans, voice questions and support for specific ideas, make suggestions and track community opinion on progress”.

“Member feedback has a direct impact on the thinking behind the development. The new website could revolutionise the way that developers engage with audience groups by setting a new agenda for engagement and a new benchmark for transparency, communication and collaboration.”

Furthermore, the site makes key consultants and members of the project team available to answer public queries directed to them including: urban planners, architects and sustainability specialists. These individuals are also present at the regular drop-in sessions that will occur throughout the renovation period.

Gary Yardley, Investment Director of CapCo, said: “Throughout this process, Capco, with our partners TfL and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, is committed to the highest standards of community engagement. At every step along the way, we want to hear from the community and allow them to shape our thinking as we develop a masterplan for public consultation.

“The website plays an important part in this consultation. Through the site, local people will be able to hear our latest thinking on the development, tell us what they think, and use the site to discuss their views with others.”

Coupled with the announcement of the planning phase and online portal, Capco have also revealed the appointment of architects Terry Farrell & Partners to work with them in drawing up a masterplan for the Earls Court site.

The production team will work together to develop a detailed plan for the site which will include in-depth community and stakeholder consultation to ensure the views of local residents are reflected. During the plans development process, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham will also determine whether they wish to include the West Kensington and Gibbs Green housing estates in the development area.

Ian Hawksworth, chief executive at Capital & Counties Properties, said: “Our vision is to develop an inspiring urban environment at Earls Court. We selected Farrells as we believe that they will bring this vision to life. Not only are we delighted to be working with such a highly regarded and renowned architect and planner, but the selection of the masterplanner represents a significant step forward for the Earls Court development as a whole.”

Anthony Bickmore, Transport for London’s Head of Corporate Finance property Development, said: “The appointment of Farrells is the next stage in the ongoing investigation into the potential of this major West London site which has been identified as an Opportunity Area within the Mayor’s London Plan.

“This regeneration project represents an opportunity for TfL to work with the other two major property owners to investigate the creation of a new business district given its excellent existing public transport links including one Overground and three Tube stations along with excellent bus and road connections.”

The parties will work over the coming months to develop an initial plan for Earls Court with a realistic possibility of producing a masterplan for community consultation by the autumn. A planning application will be submitted and reviewed in approximately 12 months, and the redevelopment work will not commence on site before the Olympic Games in 2012 when Earls Court Exhibition Centre will host the volleyball tournament.