Map of the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
Spatial vision
Our vision is that Hammersmith and Fulham will be a vibrant borough where every corner pulses with creativity and innovation. Envision Hammersmith & Fulham as a hub of international collaboration, with partnerships across the globe. These alliances will share learning, support mutual investment, and provide learning opportunities for residents and employees. The borough will be home to centres of innovation, a skilled workforce and a growing number of businesses and jobs providing opportunities for local people. Genuinely affordable homes to buy and rent will have been delivered to meet local needs. The achievements of Hammersmith and Fulham's young people will be widely celebrated and the levels of worklessness in the borough will have significantly declined. Hammersmith and Fulham will be the greenest borough and at the forefront of tackling and adapting to climate change. We are dedicated to transforming Hammersmith & Fulham into a place where innovation thrives, where new ideas become reality, and where every resident benefits from these positive developments. Together, we will achieve our ambition for a better tomorrow and improve the lives of everyone, today.
Regenerating the borough
Our borough is set to thrive with growth in housing and jobs primarily focused in the designated regeneration areas and the major town centres of Hammersmith and Fulham. Imagine a future where we have successfully replaced the Hammersmith Flyover and other sections of the A4 with a tunnel ("Flyunder"). This innovative redesign of the local road systems will reduce congestion and noise, improve air quality, and reconnect pedestrians with the river, creating a more harmonious and vibrant environment. With HS2 accommodating 250,000 passengers daily, OPDC delivering 25,000 new homes, and the expansion of the White City Innovation District, our borough is on the brink of significant transformation. Hammersmith & Fulham must seize this remarkable opportunity by crafting a clear vision and strategy to fully capitalise on these developments.
Our town centres and smaller local centres will continue to be lively and important hubs within the borough, fostering a strong, safe, and prosperous community. Picture bustling streets with fewer vacant shops and more local control over uses such as amusement centres, betting shops, and payday loan shops. The increased footfall and a thriving visitor economy will breathe new life into our borough, making it a dynamic and welcoming place for everyone.
Delivering affordable homes for local people and families
Our ambitious development program will help deliver the much-needed housing in response to the government's housing ambitions, at least 50% of which will be affordable. These homes will serve a diverse range of residents, particularly family and affordable homes to buy or rent, that meet the needs of local people and maintain and create more mixed and sustainable communities. The new housing will be fully integrated socially, economically, and physically with the rest of the borough:
Responding to the climate emergency and taking action
We are on a mission to create a clean and sustainable future where human activity not only benefits all people but also nurtures our precious environment. We will deliver a safe climate for current and future generations, vibrant ecosystems that support both people and nature, and the highest standards of health, wellbeing, and quality of life for all our residents. New buildings will be marvels of energy and resource efficiency, and the borough's waste will be sustainably managed with increased recycling efforts. Every development, from buildings to infrastructure, will be intelligently designed to ensure durable and resilient futures. We are committed to supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy and tackling climate change impacts, especially the risk of flooding. Our developments will contribute to the concept of a "smart city" where cutting-edge information and communication technology (ICT) solutions are seamlessly integrated to enhance performance in energy, water, waste management, and CO2 emission reduction. This will not only improve people's health and wellbeing but also elevate their quality of life. Sustainable Drainage Systems will become the norm, and major developments in regeneration areas will be celebrated as zero-carbon exemplars.
Transforming Hammersmith & Fulham into a Global Beacon of Innovation
Hammersmith & Fulham is on a mission to become a world-leading innovation district, a place where groundbreaking ideas and cutting-edge technologies flourish. The transition of Hammersmith & Fulham to an Innovation Borough that creates better places to live, work, invest and relax requires transformative change in the quality of the urban environment and investment in modern infrastructure and services. Developing modern co-working facilities equipped with the latest technology and amenities to support entrepreneurs and small businesses. Our borough is home to award-winning theatres, vibrant arts scenes, and creative industries. We envisage a thriving cultural corridor connecting existing assets with new developments, enhancing local engagement and economic growth.
Creating sustainable, safe, healthy and inclusive communities
Our borough will be a beacon of high environmental quality. Imagine a borough where open spaces have flourished, thanks to innovative mixed-use schemes in our regeneration areas. Our parks and open spaces will have undergone exciting improvement programmes, making them more accessible, attractive, and equipped with enhanced sports and play facilities for local residents. These spaces will be cherished for their historic significance, leisure, sport, and recreation, as well as their vital contributions to biodiversity, clean air, and the health of our community. They will play a crucial role in managing and adapting to climate change impacts like overheating and flooding. Plus, we will see more street trees lining our roads, adding to the green charm of our borough. New developments will create a high-quality, accessible, safe, and inclusive environment that respects and enhances the local context and our borough's natural, built, and historic environment. This includes our treasured heritage assets such as conservation areas, listed buildings, historic parks and gardens, and scheduled monuments, along with important archaeological remains. The settings of these heritage assets will be thoughtfully considered to secure their values and ensure the enjoyment of London's historic environment.
Developments along the River Thames will honour the unique character of this iconic waterway, increasing public access and use while enhancing biodiversity and improving flood defences where needed. We will collaborate with partners to boost sustainable transport options in the borough, especially north-south links, including opportunities for cycling and walking.
Our borough will be a welcoming haven where everyone feels at home. Safety and security will be at the forefront of our efforts, ensuring that those who live, work, and visit Hammersmith & Fulham feel protected and secure. Recognising the importance of place-based connections, we will put people first, fostering strong community bonds. Our vision includes maintaining and improving affordable healthcare provision in the borough and promoting healthier lifestyles. We will ensure that childcare facilities and schools in the borough meet the needs and aspirations of local parents and their children. Our commitment to education and family support will help nurture the next generation.
Strategic objectives
Regenerating the borough
To regenerate the most deprived parts of the borough and the designated town centres, regeneration and opportunity areas, ensuring that regeneration in the borough benefits and involves all sections of the community and meets the diverse needs of residents and visitors now and in the future.
Delivering affordable homes for local people and families
To increase the supply and choice of high-quality housing through a positive approach to incremental intensification and recognising the contribution of large, and small sites, maximising the delivery of genuinely affordable housing and family housing, recognising the community benefits of affordable housing, and taking innovative approaches to delivery, enabling the older population to remain independent and active for longer, as well as providing supported housing options to meet the needs of vulnerable residents.
Responding to the climate emergency and taking action
To provide a clear pathway to zero-carbon for all types of new development, to minimise and mitigate the effects of climate change by requiring high levels of sustainable design and construction with a focus on reusing existing buildings, reductions in carbon and air pollutant emissions by minimising energy consumption; promoting decentralised low carbon and zero local emissions energy use and the use of renewable energy and waste energy recovery measures; as well as requiring high standards of water efficiency.
Transforming Hammersmith & Fulham into a Global Beacon of Innovation
To transition to a borough for innovation where the built environment helps create better places to live, work, invest and relax, encouraging inward investment, helping foster job growth, increasing the range of affordable workspace, developing apprenticeships and to harness the arts and culture as a driver for economic innovation, job creation, shared prosperity and wellbeing
Supporting our town and local centres
To support and enhance our designated town and local centres by improving their viability, accessibility, inclusivity and vitality, recognising their unique character and supporting their varied roles as centres of trade, community activity, creativity, business, tourism and learning.
Conserving our historic environment
To preserve and enhance the quality, character and identity of the borough's natural and built and historic environment (including all local heritage assets) by respecting the local context, seeking high quality, intelligent developments and design, and ensuring compliance with the principles of inclusive, accessible and sustainable design.
Enhancing the vitality of the riverfront
To transform the riverside into a vibrant urban space that showcases integrated urban and environmental planning, to secure public access to the entirety of the river frontage, rejuvenate and create new public spaces, address the multifaceted challenges of climate change, facilitate and enrich socio-cultural interactions, and achieve a better integration with the surrounding urban fabric.
Protecting and enhancing our open spaces
To protect and enhance the borough's open green spaces and create new parks and open spaces where there is major regeneration, promote biodiversity and protect private gardens.
Improving social and community infrastructure
To ensure that both existing and future residents and visitors have access to a range of high-quality facilities and services, including health, education and training, retail, leisure, recreation, sporting activities, arts, entertainment and other community infrastructure, such as policing facilities and places of worship.
Health and wellbeing
To promote health and wellbeing and reduce physical and mental health inequalities through good design and place making; providing a safe, accessible and pleasant local environment, characterised by a strong sense of place, improving access to nature; enabling affordable healthy food choices; supporting people to lead healthy and active lifestyles; and improving access to healthcare and sports facilities.
Sustainable transport
To ensure the development of a safe, sustainable transport network that includes improvements to public transport, cycling and walking infrastructure which will improve transport accessibility and local air quality and reduce traffic congestion and the need to travel.