Approval for £150m Hammersmith scheme

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council’s planning applications committee has voted in favour of the £150m regeneration scheme put forward by King Street Developments Hammersmith Ltd (KSD), a joint venture between Helical Bar and Grainger.

Subject to verification by the Mayor of London the planning approval now paves the way for KSD to regenerate the area with a new cinema, new public spaces, shops, homes and offices.

The package of improvements includes: 196 new homes; a Curzon cinema; new retail, restaurant and cafe space; replacement offices for the council and a new town square.

The Grade-II listed town hall will have its former ceremonial stone steps reinstated to link up with the new public piazza while the replacement council offices will be built to the west of Nigel Playfair Avenue.

KSD said it would also provide £5.25m towards a regeneration fund to boost the surrounding area and refurbish the town hall, which was built in 1938.

A previous development proposal, which included taller buildings, was referred to the Mayor of London but then withdrawn in 2011. None of the new buildings in the new scheme will be taller than the current town hall extension.

H&F Council Leader Nicholas Botterill said: “We listened to residents and ditched the less popular elements of the previous scheme and I now believe we have a scheme that Hammersmith can be proud of. It’s been hard work but we finally have a plan that will kick start the much needed regeneration of the west end of King Street. The developers can now get on with the important work of breathing new life into this rather rundown area.”

Grainger development director David Walters said: "We are delighted with the decision of the planning committee.  This is a fantastic opportunity to deliver nearly 200 new high quality homes designed by local architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands in the setting of the handsome listed town hall and in the centre of Hammersmith, with its excellent transport links and proximity to the Thames."

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