Regeneration area policy
WCRA White City Regeneration Area
- The council will work to secure the comprehensive regeneration of White City Regeneration Area, in particular the creation of a new high quality mixed-use development in White City East, along with the creation of a major research/academic facility with supporting retail, community facilities and open space; the regeneration of the historic Shepherds Bush Town Centre; the redevelopment of Hammersmith Hospital and regeneration of its surroundings; and the phased renewal of the estates. In order to achieve this, the council will:
a) work with the GLA, TfL, other strategic partners, and landowners to secure the comprehensive regeneration of the area;
b) work with the NHS and other stakeholders to ensure the successful redevelopment of Hammersmith Hospital and its surroundings to deliver a state of the art, modern hospital on site, ensuring that the existing hospital is fully operational until the new hospital is built;
c) work with the NHS and other stakeholders to ensure the successful redevelopment of Hammersmith Hospital and its surroundings;
d) actively engage with stakeholders to ensure that the regeneration delivers benefits for the surrounding area; and
e) work with the community and local enterprises, to establish ongoing partnerships and initiatives to provide sustainable public sector service delivery in the area.
- Proposals for development in WCRA should:
a) development proposals should conform with the council's forthcoming White City Development Framework;
b) contribute to the provision of new homes across a variety of tenures and jobs. These will mainly be delivered through regeneration of the White City Estate;
c) provide commercial uses in line with the council's Industrial Strategy (Upstream London), capitalising on existing activities in the area including academic and research facilities as well as the creative, media and bio-technology sectors;
d) include research and academic uses, together with a limited amount of accommodation for students, researchers and staff;
e) sustain regeneration of the historic town centre, by locating retail activities within the town centre. Major leisure and retail that cannot be located within the town centre may be appropriate north of Westfield on the edge of the existing town centre boundary;
f) improve the vitality of the important Shepherds Bush Market;
g) provide appropriate social, physical, environmental and transport infrastructure to support the needs arising from the development of White City Regeneration Area as a whole and create new sustainable communities;
h) support the maintenance of existing open space and encourage the creation of new open space;
i) secure economic benefits for the wider community by providing programmes to enable local people to access new job opportunities through training, local apprenticeships or targeted recruitment;
j) improve connections to existing communities, including between White City West, the town centre and east to RBKC to improve both north-south and east-west connectivity within the White City Regeneration Area and connections to the wider area;
k) ensure that development extends and integrates with the urban grain and pattern of development in the White City Regeneration Area and its surrounding area;
l) ensure that new development recognises the substantial scope offered by the scale and location of the White City Regeneration Area to create a new sense of place and range of densities. There may be scope for tall buildings, however any tall buildings would need to be justified by a full urban design analysis; and
m) provide further enhancements across the area to ensure high public transport use, along with provision for more pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, including an enhanced Wood Lane, a bridge across the A3220 adjacent to the Hammersmith & City and Circle Lines and the provision of an east-west underpass from the Imperial College former Woodlands site to land to the west in RBKC.
Map - White City Regeneration Area
3.26 White City Regeneration Area (WCRA) on the eastern edge of the borough, adjacent to the boundary with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). The White City Regeneration Area has been designated as an Opportunity Area in the Mayor's London Plan 2021.
3.27 White City is identified as an Opportunity Area in the London Plan (2021) which contains a significant area of underused industrial land within close proximity to Central London and key transport links. The White City Opportunity Area is identified in the London Plan (2021) for a minimum of 6,000 homes and 10,000 jobs. The Mayor of London identifies the redevelopment of the opportunity area as having potential for mixed density housing and a focal point for office development at or around the tube stations at White City and Wood Lane along with other commercial, leisure, open space, education and retail uses of appropriate scale to support the local community. Housing-led intensification should support local regeneration, enable estate renewal and seek a mixed and balanced community. It identifies there may be scope to enhance education and research capabilities in the area, linked in particular to healthcare and biotechnology. Development should promote the vitality of the town centre, particularly the Shepherds Bush Market, and complement the viability of other west and central London centres.
3.28 The area has benefitted from substantial growth in recent years, however further investment within the community in order to facilitate opportunities for more residents to enter the workforce, through education, training and recruitment. A major catalyst to the improvement in the area has been the introduction of Westfield London Shopping Centre which has brought significant numbers of visitors to the area and improvements to public transport accessibility and the surrounding public realm, including Shepherds Bush Green. The development of a new campus by Imperial College London and the establishment of the White City Innovation District have further driven growth and change in the area.
3.29 There is scope to develop further employment activities in White City East, not only to replace jobs lost by the relocation of existing employment activities but for creating additional jobs linked to new uses coming forward for development. Research and academic uses are currently being developed on the former Dairy Crest site as part of the expansion of the Innovation District, however there are additional nearby sites that may still benefit from redevelopment along Wood Lane.
3.30 Imperial College London is a world-class university which has a reputation for excellence in science, medicine, engineering and commerce and ranks within the top 10 universities in the world. The development of the new campus is a fundamental part of the development of the Innovation District, and the council continues to support the development of a world-class research/academic/business hub. Primary and secondary educational facilities are also encouraged at this location. Some accommodation for students, researchers and staff may be appropriate as part of the overall mix of residential types, sizes and tenures within the White City Regeneration Area. Westfield, along with the W12 Centre and Shepherds Bush Market, provide the three key retail anchors for the town centre. Each anchor provides a retail offer that is attractive to different communities and cultures and helps contribute to the town centre's vitality and viability. Shepherds Bush Market has planning permission for comprehensive redevelopment and refurbishment which, once completed, will further encourage footfall throughout the town centre.
3.31 Development must contribute to the provision of infrastructure necessary to support the new sustainable community. Because of the scale of development in the regeneration area, supporting infrastructure will need to include provision on site towards public open space, community, health, sports, arts and leisure facilities, new schools (primary, secondary and nursery provision), junction improvements, bus enhancements and new pedestrian and cycle connections. Where on-site provision is not possible or not feasible, financial contributions will be sought. Consideration will need to be given to the capacity of the physical infrastructure, particularly for sewerage and surface water and the ability of the sewerage network to take increased foul and surface water drainage generated by new development. Surface water will need to be managed as close to its source with run-off minimised through the integration of appropriate Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS), in line with the policies set out in this plan. Opportunities should be explored to secure the provision or connection into an existing or planned decentralised energy network. In order to deliver the objectives for the area, it is essential that there is a comprehensive approach and that individual private sector site developments contribute to wider regeneration in the White City Regeneration Area as a whole, at the very least providing tangible benefits to achieving sustainable communities. This will contribute to many of the key corporate aims, namely, giving more power to local communities, delivering social inclusion, creating more opportunities for young people and delivering greater efficiencies in public spending. Any public sector services delivered in the White City Regeneration Area should be discussed with the local community.
3.32 Due consideration will need to be given to the impact of each site within the strategic transport network, ensuring that future development will not consume a disproportionate amount of transport capacity. The majority of the opportunity area is well served by public transport; however, the area suffers from problems with high volumes of road traffic and also a lack of physical connectivity, particularly in White City East where the A40, the A3220 and rail infrastructure creates physical barriers restricting access to and from the area. The whole area should be planned to enable easy movement, especially from homes to transport connections, employment, shops, schools, open space, leisure and other facilities. Improvements to the West London Line services, including both London Overground and Southern Services, will increase public transport capacity.
3.33 The council will continue to work with TfL to bring forward the redevelopment of White City Underground Station to provide step free access at White City Station and a new accessible entrance to the station from the east side of the Central Line tracks to improve pedestrian access to development sites at White City Living and Imperial College. This would improve the overall capacity of the station while providing step-free access to the Central Line in the borough, and improving access to central London. The station is a locally listed Building of Merit within the Wood Lane Conservation Area and any redevelopment will need to be sensitive to these heritage considerations.
3.34 Development should respect the prevailing scale of the surrounding townscape along its edges, and be generally medium rise. However, parts of the area such as alongside the A40 and A3220 may be less sensitive to the impact of building height due to large pieces of road and rail infrastructure that act to separate potential taller elements from nearby lower-rise residential areas. Any proposals for tall buildings should of the highest quality of architectural design, and should not have a negative impact on the character and setting of Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and the local area in general. This will also be subject to consideration of other design and amenity policies as set out within the other policies within the Plan.