Decision Looms on Huge Riverside Development
276 flats in blocks up to 17-storeys high planned at Albert and Swedish Wharf
Albert & Swedish Wharf Visualisaiton. Picture: Epr Architects
February 12, 2024
An industrial plot of land right next to Wandsworth Bridge may become home to the latest riverside development in South Fulham, with plans to go before Hammersmith and Fulham Council next week. If approved, the site, which consists of two wharves, Albert Wharf and Swedish Wharf, will host a new mixed-use scheme, featuring housing blocks up to 17-storeys tall and amenities including a café or restaurant.
The applicant, Henley Investment Management, said it has worked ‘collaboratively’ with Hammersmith and Fulham Council on the plans, which will deliver ‘much-needed’ housing in the borough.
A previous submission, filed by a different applicant which involved redeveloping the site together with Comley’s Wharf next door, was approved in 2015, and would have seen the construction of 237 flats. Works however never progressed, and so the permission expired.
The proposal going before the council’s Planning and Development Control Committee next Tuesday (13 February) requests approval to demolish the site’s existing structures, which includes several ‘shed-like buildings’, to be replaced with six new blocks, ranging from five to 17-storeys tall. A total of 276 flats are proposed, 35% of which are to be ‘affordable’, based on overall floorspace.
Henley Investment Management has also said it will safeguard the wharf for ongoing use, introduce a new jetty, and construct a new Thames Path, as part of the wider works to the site.
The plans have undergone several amendments since the first pre-application discussions began in December 2020. At that stage, they included buildings up to 23 storeys, and for 350 to 380 flats, before being trimmed down to the current proposal over the course of multiple consultations. Its latest round, published last month, returned a number of ongoing concerns, including the height of the tallest buildings, the potential environmental impact, and the disruption during construction.
Aerial view of Albert & Swedish Wharf. Picture: Google Streetview
Hattie Charlier-Poole, Development Manager at Henley Investment Management, said, “Henley is pleased to be bringing Albert and Swedish Wharf to committee. We have worked collaboratively with Hammersmith and Fulham on this mixed-use riverfront scheme, which will deliver much-needed housing, including 35% affordable. In conjunction with the Port of London Authority, this scheme will reactivate the site for its safeguarded use as a wharf, offering sustainable river transport of goods as one of its many sustainability benefits.”
If approved, as recommended by council officers, the proposed development would become the latest in a series of new schemes in South Fulham. The former Hurlingham Retail Park, located the other side of Wandsworth Bridge, was given the green light in 2020 for 269 homes, while the Fulham Riverside development is just to the east of the Albert Wharf/Swedish Wharf site.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter