Positive response to King Street plans
Friday July 9, 2010
Eight out of ten residents say the proposals to breathe new life into the west end of King Street are positive – according to feedback from a public exhibition last month.
81 per cent of respondents, at a three day exhibition in June, agreed that the overall scheme would ‘have a positive impact on Hammersmith town centre’. 8 per cent of respondents disagreed and 11 per cent neither agreed nor disagreed.
More than 400 people were polled after viewing computer generated images (CGIs) showing new shops, restaurants, homes and offices to be built around a new public square – which are designed to replace the council’s 1960s town hall extension.
The CGIs show people wandering from the public square, which the council hopes will create a new 'civic heart' in Hammersmith, down the side of the Grade II listed town hall and across a new pedestrian bridge over the A4 Talgarth Road.
Deirdre Fontaine, 64, who lives in Cambridge Grove, said: “The bridge to Furnivall Gardens is a great idea since I feel quite unsafe going under the road through the subway.”
66 per cent of residents preferred the ‘soft’ treatment option for the new bank which will be formed where the bridge enters Furnivall Gardens with many people saying the shrubs and foliage would absorb noise and be long lasting – unlike brick or concrete walls that could be graffitied. Only 4 per cent of people voted for the brick and cement option.
However, the Hammersmith Historic Buildings Group has expressed concern over the new bridge and some critics have questioned the height of the 14 storey residential building, which would be about as tall as the Premier Inn just up the road.
The scheme – which would provide 320 new homes mixed between one, two and three bed apartments – has been drawn up by King Street Developments (KSD) Limited. All of the costs of the scheme will be met by KSD with the council not paying any cash towards the scheme, although it will contribute the land it owns on the site.
In addition to the new apartments, eco-friendly council offices would replace the town hall extension and several older buildings elsewhere in the borough, which would be closed down and sold off as part of the council’s debt-reduction strategy.
As well as attracting new inward investment, the plans are expected to save significant amounts of taxpayers’ cash as the new council offices would cost less to run and maintain, according to the council.
The plans include a 2,000 square meter community sized supermarket – which is slightly smaller than the Sainsbury’s in Kings Mall. No operator has been picked to run the store, according to KSD.
KSD is expected to submit a planning application to the council later in the summer. At that stage further statutory consultation with residents would begin before the council’s planning committee considers the merits of the application.
David Walters, speaking on behalf of KSD, said: “The feedback from residents has been constructive and helpful and finally, after three years of hard work and consultation with local people, we are on the verge of submitting a planning application.
“We believe these proposals will deliver the wholesale regeneration to this end of King Street restoring the setting of the town hall and reuniting Hammersmith town centre with the Thames. In addition, the project will attract further investment and ensure the town hall remains at the heart of Hammersmith & Fulham’s civic life.”
For more information click on www.kingstreetregeneration.co.uk (opens new window).
