Olympia theatre – as submitted for planning

In April the Society joined an on-line consultation meeting when the Olympia development team presented their draft proposals due to be submitted shortly to amend the original approved scheme.  We have been following their progress on the design of the theatre on the southwest corner of Olympia, and the scheme has greatly improved, now providing a lively and interesting façade to introduce Olympia on the Hammersmith Road frontage. Details of the submission should be available on the LBHF planning website shortly.

We are expecting further news about the Triangle development on Beadon Road, after the developer held an uninformative public exhibition in March to show a proposal for a combination of hotel and office uses in the new building.  

The huge Earls Court site is now in the hands of developers Delancey, who have invited the committee to an introductory presentation to take place in the near future.  This of course is likely to be on-line, given the circumstances, or much delayed.

181 Talgarth Road is the site where the former West London Magistrates building stands, located between the Ark office building and the BP garage, at the foot of the flyover.

West London Magistrates court: Initial design – now superseded

After the closing of the court facilities in 2017, the site was sold for commercial use, and in January 2019 the new owner submitted a planning application for a 800-bed  hotel development.  The proposals attracted widespread opposition from the local community including the Hammersmith Society, and as a result, in an unusual and public-spirited move, the developer, The Dominvs Group, chose to set aside the application, despite receiving a planning report recommending approval.

After discussions with LBHF, the Dominvs Group appointed a new design team with architects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners (RSHP), who are also the architects for the Town Hall Civic Campus project.

West London Magistrates Court: RSHP redesign

The new design team were set to work to a demanding programme, and the Society joined a series of consultation meetings with the site neighbours, in particular the residents of the streets south of the site, whose outlook would have been dominated by the double slab block of the earlier scheme.

A planning application for the new scheme was lodged at the beginning of April, and the Society has now reviewed the proposals and returned comments to LBHF. The application may be viewed on the planning website here: 2020/00915/FUL. 

UPDATED: Our detailed review is here:
 Letter to LBHF – Hammersmith Society comments

Women’s Pioneer Housing, 227 Wood Lane

We reported in the Winter 2019-2020 newsletter that a proposal was being prepared by Architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris for a new 25-storey tower block to the north of the A40 on Wood Lane.

The proposals replace Browning House, which is a 4-storey social housing block owned by Women’s Pioneer Housing (WPH). They are a housing association providing specialist accommodation.

An application has been submitted for a 29-storey tower, the proposals increasing the number of 2-person, 1-bedroom flats for WPH from 36 to 80, plus creating an additional 350 co-living accommodation units to be rented by developer HUB. These provide compact 1-person studio flats serviced by communal kitchens, living spaces and other facilities.

One justification for the 29-storey tower is the approval granted for the recently completed 34-storey ‘Ziggurat’ tower on the Imperial College White City campus site on the opposite side of Wood Lane. The latter was unpopular locally, but was approved on the basis that it was within the White City Regeneration Area. Tall buildings are only permitted under LBHF Planning Policy and the Mayor’s London Plan if they are considered ‘appropriate’,  and are within one of four development areas identified in the Local Plan.

The proposed tower is located outside of the White City development area, which raises the questions: how are applications decided for tall buildings located outside, but adjacent to the outer boundary of development areas ? And whether approvals within development areas can be used as precedent to justify nearby developments outside of the area, that would otherwise not comply with planning policy ?

Old Oak development area

The Hammersmith Society decided to make a £300 donation to the costs of a legal opinion from Landmark Chambers on a new planning manoeuvre, because it looks to set a precedent and become frequent in Old Oak and elsewhere.

Henry Peterson of the Old Oak Neighbourhood Forum and Grand Union Alliance – whose planning knowledge has been invaluable to local groups such as our affiliate St. Helens R.A. in the past – spotted that developers were seeking increases in height to approved planning permissions by means, not of a new planning application, but through a technical route using Sections 96A and 73 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 to seek minor material amendment approval, to “optimise” a planning consent. The amendments in question are often by no means minor and should warrant a new planning application.

This route has been used in a permission for North Kensington Gate (South) on Scrubs Lane where the developers have sought to increase the approved height of the development from 19 to 22 storeys, and the housing units by 20%. The Society and others have opposed the application as the planning context has dramatically changed from the original permission, where  intensive development was envisaged on that side of the area – now no longer part of the development plan following the exclusion of the Car Giant site – and with significant public transport additions planned via a new Overground station at Hythe Road – also no longer on the agenda, partly because of the many pressures on TfL finances.

Click on the newsletter image to open the pdf 

The Special 20-page Anniversary Newsletter has been published, celebrating 30 years of Hammersmith Society Awards. Printed copies are being distributed to subscribing members.

Olympia – Hotel

Olympia Way – New entrance

Olympia – View from rail bridge

Olympia – View of theatre

Olympia – View up North End road

Olympia 1930 frontage & hotel

Olympia Way

(Click on images for full-sized versions, then scroll through the set)

The big and complex application for redevelopment of the 14 acre site, which includes a cluster of Listed Buildings, was approved by the Council’s Planning Committee on 30 January, having been been given a very speedy journey through the planning process.

In our view it was not fully ready to be approved, and we had hoped to gain some modifications on height and architectural detail. There are also serious concerns about how the local area will cope with the numbers of additional workers and visitors to the exhibition halls and performance spaces, while TfL has stated that there is no prospect of extending regular District Line service to Kensington Olympia station in the immediate future, and adjacent bus routes have been recently curtailed.

In our comments we stated that the new development would breathe new life into a very special part of Hammersmith. But the proposed theatre block on Hammersmith Road, the height of the central office building rising above the original Olympia buildings, and the Thomas Heatherwick – designed hotel extension on the south-east corner, which will date very quickly, should have been given more time and thought to get right.

Old Oak HS2 station (image updated post-exhibition launch)

A number of exhibitions are being held across the borough this month concerning the design of the HS2 station at Old Oak, which is at the heart of the OPDC area. This is the major interchange between HS2 and The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail), due to be the busiest interchange in the UK after London Waterloo.

The architects are WilkinsonEyre and let us hope they come up with a design which measures up to the importance of the project.

Details of times and locations are shown in the diary with links to maps – the first event is today, 5th February.

King Street West. Block B (image: LBHF)

The application will go to the Planning Committee on Tuesday 12 February. If approved, work on site could begin later this year. 

It has been a long time coming, after extensive public consultation,  and the feedback we have from members is that they are keen to see the new open space opening up the Town Hall to King Street, high-quality new building, new and innovative access to the Town Hall interior and the return of a cinema.

Town Hall Redevelopment November 2018

The revised, and likely final Town Hall plans, filed under ref. 2018/01500/FUL, are being exhibited this Friday 4-8pm and Saturday 10am-2pm – details in our diary.  You are doubtless familiar with the project’s development over the years, and the changes brought about after consultation with members of the public, the volunteer Town Hall Commissioners, this Society, and Historic England.

The following significant changes are listed:

• Reduction in the height of the town hall roof extension by one storey (compare April 2018 version).
• Reduction in the size of the shading around the roof of the new glass extension.
• Improvements to the lighting for the Assembly Hall and Courtyard.
• Addition of new winter gardens on the new homes facing King Street and the A4 to improve air quality.

In the invitation (full details), the leader of the council says:

We propose to demolish the ugly Town Hall extension and bring Hammersmith: