Cllr Harry Phibbs writes:
At a planning meeting on Friday night it was agreed to allow development at last on a large site between the embankment and Frank Banfield Park near Hammersmith Bridge. The local Labour MP Andrew Slaughetr has made a confused attack on the proposal saying that it was luxury housing for the rich and also that it was downmarket. As Council leader for a decade he presided over a derelict site and owes residents an apology for this appalling failure given the acute shortage of housing.
The scheme has an attractive design - the houses in Winslow Rd are traditional and sympathetic. There will be 744 new homes including 186 homes for affordable home ownership for those with household incomes of £50,000 would allow local couples the chance to get onto the housing ladder who could not otherwise afford it. It is preferable to a previous scheme (which was approved but never developed) for office blocks which would have been taller than what will now be built.
The Hammersmith Embankment Residents Association, quite understandably, would have liked a maximum height of six storeys. (The eight blocks will range in height from three to nine storeys.) I would also have preferred them to be less tall but the judgment must be made on the overall merit of the scheme.
73% will be family homes.
50% of the new site will be public open space for all to enjoy. There will be a maze (made up of a hedge) in the public space also a community boating facility with pontoon for kayaks, rowers, etc. Widening the space to walk along the River, with cafes to stop at, will be a benefit as will improving access to the river from Frank Banfield Park.
The Council has also negotiated £10 million from the developers for Section 106 payments - this is money which must be spent on projects to benefit the local community such as improving traffic flow on the Fulham Palace Road. For the Labour Party to criticise the Council for negotiating this payments is bizarre.
The Labour Party say they want more housing but then opportunisticly oppose every proposal for more housing that comes along.
But we are creating a Borough of Opportunity where there is wider home ownership, an attractive borough for families to bring up their children. The new homes should be ready within eight years.
It is good that the site will be developed for residential purposes, however the size of it is a concern. Firstly, Fulham Palace Road is already severely congested on a regular basis. An extra 744 residential units will only worsen this. Secondly, the size of it so close to the river only serves to allow bigger developments in the area.
On a different note, it is worth noting that other developments by St George are mostly sold off-plan to overseas investors. The consequence of this is that the cost of housing in London is kept high and it pushes up the cost of rent as investors understandably wish to see a return on their purchase. Finally these investors are quite often sophisticated and use SPVs such as BVI companies to minimise the tax that is paid such as Stamp Duty.
By allowing developers such as St George to proceed with these developments and market them in the way that they do, displays a distinct lack of the bigger picture by Conservatives at the local level. That is to say money over people.
Unfortunately Labour have a point; this development will not offer housing to London families in the way that this website claims.
Posted by: J-P Pitt | Thursday, December 01, 2011 at 11:34 AM