Massive Earl's Court Scheme Recommended for Approval
H&F planners' report in favour of scheme to be presented to councillors
A visualisation of the Earl's Court development. Picture: ECDC
November 20, 2025
Plans to build thousands of flats on land around Earl’s Court look set to take a big step forward as one of the boroughs concerned has been recommended to grant approval.
New documents published by Hammersmith and Fulham Council reveal its officers are recommending the section of the scheme sitting in the borough be green-lit at a meeting next week.
The rest of the proposed redevelopment, which in total is hoping to deliver around 4,000 housing unit plus a host of amenities, is in neighbouring Kensington and Chelsea. A date for a decision on that application is yet to be published.
Formerly home to the Earl’s Court Exhibition Centres, the 40-acre brownfield site has sat largely unused since the buildings were demolished between 2015 and 2017.
Previous plans for the land, led by CAPCO and approved by Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham councils in 2013, stalled with the site being sold to real estate investment company Delancey and the Dutch pension fund manager APG for £425 million in 2019.
The live applications have been filed on behalf of the Earl’s Court Development Company (ECDC), a joint venture between Delancey, APG and Places for London, Transport for London ’s (TfL) property arm.
They were submitted separately with Hammersmith and Fulham and Kensington and Chelsea councils last September.
If approved, the £10 billion redevelopment will deliver a new 4,000-housing unit neighbourhood alongside benefits including 2.5 million square feet of workspace, 12,000 jobs and cultural venues.
The proposal going before Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s Planning and Development Control Committee next week (26 November) covers about half of the site.
Located on the eastern edge of the borough by the Gibbs Green and West Kensington estates, the overall site is one of the largest brownfield spaces in London.
According to a council report the application is a hybrid, meaning it contains both detailed proposals and others that are in outline form.
The detailed element includes the construction of four buildings up to 42 storeys tall providing 456 flats and 696 student rooms, plus a range of food, drink and retail spaces.
Approval is also sought for outline proposals for up to 2,044 flats older persons housing and other facilities, from community spaces to a cinema and a live music venue.
A total of 35 per cent of the housing is to be earmarked as affordable, which is less than the 50 per cent target set in Hammersmith and Fulham’s Local Plan.
A visualisation of the Earl's Court development. Picture: ECDC
Officers however wrote that the figure has been independently assessed “and represents the maximum reasonable provision”.
The work, if approved, is to be delivered in a number of phases, with further applications required to flesh out the outline proposals. The scheme is expected to be complete by early 2043.
Due to the size of the project, with Hammersmith and Fulham’s report alone coming to 451 pages, and the fact it straddles two boroughs, it is able to be called-in by the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan for a final decision.
According to the council report 376 representations were filed in response to the plans, 74 of which were in opposition, 33 neutral and 269 in support.
The objections centred around concerns about the height and density of the proposals, such as the 42-storey tower block, the design and impacts on heritage, and the level of housing to be delivered.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) last year covered how a group of West London societies had banded together to oppose the density and lack of ‘wonder’ detailed in the two applications.
The joint submission by the Hammersmith Society, Kensington Society, Fulham Society, Earls Court Society, Lillie Road Residents Association and The London Forum raised concerns including the potential pressure on open space, the need for the right housing and the loss of daylight in areas such as the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates.
In one section, headed ‘Where is the wonder of Earls Court?’, the group wrote: “The cultural spaces are relatively small and divided. It is difficult to see anything to attract an anchor cultural institution, such as a museum or theatre company. This seems to be a missed opportunity resulting in a generic mixed-use development that could be located anywhere.”
A spokesperson for the ECDC said at the time that ongoing feedback has shaped the project since the land was purchased in 2019.
A visualisation of the development. Picture: ECDC
Rob Heasman, Chief Executive of ECDC, said: “We are pleased to see such a clear recommendation of support from officers in advance of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham’s Planning Committee. This is a unique opportunity to transform a well-connected brownfield site, which has lain empty for 10 years, into a new neighbourhood with around 4,000 homes and 12,000 jobs.
“We are proud to see the demonstrable enthusiasm amongst local people for our proposals, as evidenced by over 70 per cent of public representations to the council registering their support for the planning application.
“We have the highest of aspirations to restore this long empty central London site to a global destination, creating homes, jobs, cultural and community facilities and open spaces for all to enjoy.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter
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