Hammersmith’s ‘Town Hall campus’ should be completed by year’s end
By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter
A West London development described as ‘Britain’s most exciting’ new arts, cultural and business quarter is expected to be completed before the end of the year, the local authority has confirmed.
Hammersmith and Fulham council’s Civic Campus project will see restaurants, rooftop bars with panoramic views and arts spaces created alongside new homes.
The project, which also includes the redevelopment of Hammersmith town hall and the delivery of work space, was granted approval in 2019. An anticipated opening in spring/summer 2022 was written in a later report.
Progress has however been hampered in large part due to an accident in 2022 which seriously injured two builders. Council leader Stephen Cowan previously said the incident, alongside pressures such as Brexit, had pushed work back ‘about a year’.
A spokesman for Hammersmith and Fulham said at the time that the local authority was working with the developer Ardmore to confirm a revised programme for completion.
Some of the Civic Campus areas are already finished, with residents having started moving into the homes. There are 204 properties in total, 52 per cent of which are affordable. The council is also to relocate to the campus once works are complete.
Unofficially, the work on the King Street development is expected to be completed by October, but the local authority is aiming for it all to be finished by the end of the year at the latest.
A Hammersmith and Fulham spokesman said: “The Civic Campus will deliver Britain’s most exciting new arts, cultural, business, government and community quarter. It will boost the borough’s economy and – in line with our Upstream London vision – deliver inclusive growth for the benefit of all residents.
“It will be a fully accessible space, co-designed with disabled residents, and an environmentally positive development, featuring solar panels and innovative ground source heat pumps. More than 50 per cent of the new homes built are affordable to local residents.
“Construction is due to be completed before the end of the year providing a beautiful new quarter where people can live, work, play and relax.”
The 2022 accident occurred after scaffolding on the town hall collapsed. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation is ongoing. Ardmore have been approached for comment.
Pictured top: A mock-up of the plans for the new Civic Campus in Hammersmith (Picture: RSHP)
