I have mentioned Landmark House and of course the Town Centre Masterplanning in previous News Updates.

These two have now been brought into sharp focus with the planning application now submitted for Landmark House. (Click on this link to access the application : Then scroll down through the list of documents : The ‘Design and Access’ files give the best overall view of this very significant scheme : Click the ‘view’ symbol to open specific files).

Your committee have discussed these proposals twice based upon the November exhibition, which was not widely publicised. We also wrote to the Council’s Head of Planning and Development in January and our initial letter of comment is attached. The HamSoc committee are broadly supportive but with concerns re the height. The latest proposals (forming the planning application) differ in certain ways that improve the ground floor arrangements around the lowest of the three blocks but have also added two floors to the highest increasing the overall number of floors from 26 to 28 storeys.

Our Committee will be reviewing and commenting on the latest proposals but we would really appreciate any comment from members on this scheme. Please send any comments to me before our meeting on 20th February. If you also wish to comment directly to the Planning Department, follow the instructions on the website. Closing date for comments to the Council is 28th February.

Landmark House is in a key location in the Town Centre. The existing buildings are offices and at 18 storeys are already the tallest in Hammersmith. The proposals will not only increase the height on this site significantly but could provide a unique development. The scheme has been been designed by world famous architects Rogers Stirk Harbour, on behalf of the developer the Malaysian based Eastern and Oriental Group, and would undoubtedly be of high design quality and finish. It could provide for a major new landmark in Hammersmith, with welcome cultural benefits. It will also have a significant effect on views of Hammersmith, particularly from the south bank of the River Thames. At present, the verified views are not on the website, and we have requested that they be so as soon as possible.

The proposals must also be seen in the context of the long term Intensification requirements in Town Centre by the Mayor of London : 2,800 additional housing units and 10,000 jobs over next 30 years form part of the draft Local Plan  for Hammersmith Town Centre. Masterplans which are currently being prepared on behalf of the Council by Grimshaw Architects will not made public until the Spring. Even then it is unlikely that they can be adopted as policy until the latest Local Plan is finalised in 2018. This in itself provides all of us with a problem in assessing the Landmark House proposals in relation to the long term future of the Town Centre, especially around the Broadway Centre which is owned by Transport for London. Although no detailed proposals have been revealed by TfL, it is no secret that they have ambitions for similarly tall buildings to finance a redesigned bus station.

A reorganised gyratory scheme is also to be considered. The two way gyratory including removal of traffic from the west side of the Broadway island also form part of the Draft Local Plan which would allow St Pauls Green to be expanded to connect with the Landmark development. (This gyratory proposal is basically the similar to that proposed by the Hammersmith Society over 30 years ago).

What effect will all these proposals have on the skyline and our perceptions of our Town Centre, and views both within Hammersmith generally and from outside? We shall be pressing for illustrative indications for the Town Centre as a whole, and seeking meetings with officer’s and councillors to discuss.

 Landmark House Initial comments