What Will W12 Look Like in 20 Years?

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The Council set out their ideas for the future

Hammersmith and Fulham Council have set out their vision of how the borough should develop over the next 20 years and have begun a consultation to find out what residents think.

Out of five areas in the borough which have been earmarked for major development, two are W12: the White City Opportunity Area and Old Oak Common.

For these areas, the Council says it wants to see:

• A future Crossrail station at Old Oak Common which could act as a high-speed rail hub linking Heathrow to the rest of the UK
  
• Regeneration of Shepherd's Bush Market and its expansion onto land adjacent to the area
  
• 6,500 new homes across the borough in 10 years, with the focus on providing low-cost home ownership
  
• The transformation of the housing estate in White City
  

The details are published in a 32-page consultation paper called, The Local Development Framework Core Strategy Options, which, amongst other things, asks residents if they agree with the Council's proposals to redevelop a much wider area than was previously envisaged.

The paper states: “The White City Opportunity Area (WCOA) was defined in 2004 to focus on the development areas east of Wood Lane/north of Westway and BBC land on both sides of Wood Lane. We propose that the WCOA is expanded so that a comprehensive regeneration strategy can be drawn up over a wider area that also includes Shepherd's Bush Town Centre and an area based on the White City estates. The core redevelopment area is the land east of Wood Lane, and this provides the opportunity to consider a long term phased redevelopment of the White City and adjacent estates to establish decent neighbourhoods and a more mixed and balanced community across the whole area.

"There will be a substantial number of new homes providing a local ladder of affordable housing opportunity, supported by leisure, green space, schools and community facilities. Large, inward looking housing estates will become more attractive street based, residential areas and existing residents will have had the opportunity to move into better homes and improve their employment prospects in the area. The economic health of the historic Shepherd's Bush Town Centre will be revived and it will be a thriving destination in its own right. The market and common will be reinvigorated as major attractions.”

On the redevelopment of Shepherd's Bush market, the Council sets out its 'preferred option': “There should be a scheme to regenerate and provide an enhanced focus and destination in the western part of the town centre by refurbishing the market and other land as a vibrant mixed use town centre development of small shops, market stalls, leisure uses, residential and offices. Development should encourage small independent retailers and accommodate existing market traders. The core site should be the TfL market, former Pennard Road laundry site, Peabody housing trust land and Broadway centre.

"Shop properties on Goldhawk Road could be considered for inclusion provided there are opportunities for relocation of the shopkeepers to new premises within the scheme.  The scope for including land to the west of the market off Lime Grove, together with the privately owned market should also be considered," the consultation document states.

Major redevelopment is also planned for the Old Oak Common Sidings: “The preferred approach is for a major development of residential, employment uses and supporting activities either replacing railway use (wholly or partially) or decking over railway tracks. This should provide a new urban quarter and an opportunity to develop bio-medical industries and research hub linked to Hammersmith Hospital. The site should be considered as a location for a Crossrail station and High Speed Rail hub station.”

Council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh said: “£232 million is already being spent on improving council housing through the Government’s Decent Homes programme, but now the Council is focused on ensuring we have Decent Neighbourhoods as well.

“A decent neighbourhood is one where there are local job opportunities, where people can step on to the property ladder without feeling they have to move away and where they can bring up their children in a cleaner, safer, pleasant environment with access to good quality parks and open spaces. A decent neighbourhood is also one where we have 21st century schools of choice and that’s why we are planning to spend £245 million on improving primary and secondary schools across the borough in the next 15 years.”

However, Shepherd's Bush MP Andy Slaughter has been critical of some of the ideas set out in the document: “Shepherd's Bush market redevelopment has been a closely guarded secret. Traders feel it will move 'upmarket' and they will be forced out,” he said.

On the proposed building of 6,500 new homes he said: “There are already several hundred 'low-cost' homes standing empty because they require 60k plus incomes, but no rented homes are being built despite 11,000 on the waiting list.

“On White City they are proposing demolition and we know they do not support more social rented housing so this is no more than social cleansing on Shepherd's Bush. The levels of overcrowding and lack of permanent accommodation are already chronic in the area.

“On Old Oak, an interchange with the West London Line and Great Western/Crossrail is sensible but is expensive and probably 15 years off. I proposed this three years ago when they were arguing for Willesden Junction. But the idea of a major development on top of the sidings is another folie de grandeur by Greenhalgh: hugely expensive and the road infrastructure cannot support.”

The document sets out the Council's plans for council tenants who would be affected by the redevelopment plans: "We would provide suitable local rehousing opportunities to all our existing council tenants as a result of any rebuilding scheme. We will strive to meet the housing requirements of households affected by redevelopment plans. This will include providing suitable new homes in the same area that fit a given household's circumstances.”

The consultation runs until 17 July and once comments have been received a further version of the document will be published in October.

Once agreed the eventual strategy will be adopted in early 2011.

5 June 2009