Hammersmith development with 100 ‘genuinely affordable’ homes gets green light

Plans to build over 100 ‘genuinely affordable’ homes, a cinema and a new civic campus in Hammersmith have been approved.

204 new homes will be built on King Street, of which 52% will be classified as ‘genuinely affordable’ for local residents.

Mayor Sadiq Khan introduced the definition in 2016 for houses that cost residents no more than one-third of their income.

The Town Hall will be repurposed into a civic campus for residents and will include homework space for local children, startup space for local entrepreneurs, and space that can be used for many community activities throughout the week.

There will also be a new four-screen cinema, with room for cafes, shops and restaurants built on the existing cinema and car park site.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council say the new buildings will be eco-friendly to minimise carbon footprint and cut fuel bills.

‘This is an important moment in our mission to revitalise Hammersmith because it will breathe new life into the western end of King Street,’ said Cllr Stephen Cowan, Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

‘The new four-screen cinema, new genuinely affordable homes, new public rooftop bar and restaurant and new public square are some of the factors that will rejuvenate the area and create a new Hammersmith neighbourhood.’

The scheme has included input from the borough’s Independent Disabled Residents Team who have helped design a fully accessible building, as well as resident volunteers who worked (without pay) as Independent Town Hall Commissioners.

Jane Wilmot, from the H&F Disabled Residents Team, said: ‘Barriers faced by Disabled people in using buildings and open spaces were raised early before plans were submitted rather than left to detailed design at a later stage.

‘This way of working together allowed robust solutions to be found early as well as saving time and money for the developer. This is most unusual and should be adopted in all major development projects.’

Building work is due to begin this Autumn.