Earl's Court: Developers 'ignore' affordable housing policy

A masterplan re-casts the area as a residential development built around a "green neighbourhood"

A major planning row could break out over new plans for the site of the former Earls Court exhibition centre.

Labour-run council Hammersmith and Fulham said that developers had not included enough affordable housing.

It calls for 50% affordable housing in all new sites, with developers refusing to say whether they would meet that figure.

The mayor's office, which is involved in the project, declined to say if half of the new homes would be affordable.

The exhibition centre — which staged music concerts and events like the Earls Court Motor Show — was demolished several years ago.

The central London exhibition centre was demolished several years ago

The Earls Court Development Company (ECDC) is behind the project and is led by property giants Delancey in a venture with Transport for London (TfL), which owns a portion of the site, and Dutch pension fund APG.

A masterplan unveiled on Wednesday re-casts the area as a residential development built around a "green neighbourhood" between Earl's Court, West Kensington and West Brompton Tube stations.

Developers want to build 4,500 new homes, of which 35% will be affordable. The council's policy is for 50% affordability.

Rebekah Paczek, director of public affairs and community relations at ECDC, said: "We acknowledge the policy requirements and will be delivering the maximum amount of affordable housing possible on this challenging site."

The 49th British International Motor Show at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre on 24 October 1962

One source said the council was "disappointed" that the developers had "ignored" the policy, adding that some of the buildings were "too high".

A spokesman for the council said: "All successful developments in Hammersmith and Fulham will have a minimum of 50% genuinely affordable homes and we look forward to helping them deliver that."

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While the Mayor of London also has a 50% affordability policy, in recent years, the Greater London Authority (GLA) has allowed developments where 35% of homes are affordable to be "fast-tracked".

Labour-run council Hammersmith and Fulham said that developers have not included enough affordable housing in the plans

Mr Khan, who is chair of the TfL board and also the capital's supreme planning authority, has the right to make the final decision on a development of this scale.

But he is likely to be urged to "recuse" himself and the GLA from the process over the potential conflict of interest arising from TfL's involvement.

"TfL has an ambition to deliver 50% affordable housing on average across all of its sites in London," the mayor's spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for TfL added: "Some sites can have an affordable housing target that is lower than 50% because others will have a higher affordable housing target - up to 100%."

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