Blue plaque for SW6 site

Friday February 5, 2010

A brand new Fulham housing development, featuring 53 low cost homes to buy, has been awarded a blue plaque by the Hammersmith & Fulham Historic Buildings Group.

The Townmead Road development - called the Gallery SW6 - was once home to the world famous Chelsea College of Art & Design, where the sculptor Henry Moore was once a pupil and the painters Patrick Caulfield and Graham Sutherland taught.

Over the years, the building has also been home to the Townmead Road School and Chelsea Secondary School.

The Townmead Road School opened in 1905 and closed in 1935. The Chelsea Secondary School moved in soon after the Second World War and stayed until 1968.

But now, the former schoolhouse has been given a new lease of life after being converted into a stylish boutique development.

The block features a total of 109 properties, with 56 being sold to private purchasers and the remaining to local people on an part buy/part rent basis.

According to a spokeswoman for affordable housing trust Affinity Sutton, the development 'aims to honour the history of the site and also reflect the aesthetic values of the former college'.

"In keeping with this aim, the Hammersmith & Fulham Historic Buildings Group has agreed that a blue plaque is to be installed to mark its historical significance," the spokeswoman said.

H&F cabinet member Lucy Ivimy attended the blue plaque unveiling, together with representatives from Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group and Affinity Sutton/Astral Homes.

"With high house prices and the credit crunch making mortgages harder to come by, buying your first home can be a distant dream for many Londoners," Cllr Ivimy said.

"But, with schemes like this, this council is helping low and middle income earners to get that vital first step on the ladder.

"Turning this famous old schoolhouse into housing really is a fantastic example of just what can be achieved with some imagination. Fifty-three low cost homes to buy in one development in an areas with some of the highest land values in the country is an outstanding achievement."

The council has already built 1,367 affordable homes in the past four years and is planning for at least 6,500 new homes from 2011 to 2021.

That exceeds the house building targets set down by the existing London Plan designated by Mayor Boris Johnson by 200 new homes each year. For more details, visit: www.thegallerysw6.com (opens new window).