New Momentum for Edith Summerskill House Project
Council plans to transfer site and provide funds to housing association
Visualisation of new building (left) and the block on the site demolished in 2017 (right)
October 12, 2026
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is intending to seek approval for the transfer of the site of the former Edith Summerskill House in Fulham to a housing association as part of plans to build 133 affordable flats.
A Cabinet decision scheduled for 16 November will consider the proposed transfer of the site to Square Root, a housing association, together with a council capital grant intended to address a funding gap in the scheme.
The proposal represents a significant move forward for the stalled redevelopment, although a construction start date has not been confirmed.
The planned development would replace the former Edith Summerskill House, an 18-storey block on the Clem Attlee Estate which contained 68 flats. The building was vacated in 2011 because of poor living conditions and was demolished in 2018.
The replacement scheme has planning permission for a 20-storey residential building, including plant, with a basement and ground-floor mezzanine. This was granted by the council in 2020 but was called in by Greg Hands MP for review by the Secretary of State. He said he was responding to local concerns about the height of the building. Approval was given by the Minister in 2022 who praised the design quality and standard of accommodation of the building. The project did not move forward at this point and it is believed that rising construction costs made the original funding package insufficient.
It would provide 133 flats, comprising 105 for social rent and 28 for intermediate housing. The council would retain exclusive nomination rights to the properties in perpetuity, allowing it to nominate tenants and eligible residents for the homes.
Visualisation of building looking along North End Road
The redevelopment forms part of the wider regeneration of the Clem Attlee Estate, where the provision of replacement housing has been a longstanding issue following the closure and demolition of older accommodation.
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