Revamp earmarked for centre of White City’s 90-year-old estate

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

More than 250 homes, a new community hub and a nursery are being proposed in a redevelopment of part of the White City Estate

Hammersmith and Fulham council has submitted plans to demolish a collection of buildings in the centre of the estate, including an existing nursery, Randolph and Beresford Early Years Centre, and a housing office. The new homes and provisions will be constructed in their place.

The proposal also includes general improvements, with additional planting and facilities such as an all-weather games pitch and children’s play spaces.

The various community services will be relocated in temporary facilities on-site while work is progressing, before moving into the new hub once complete. The exception is the nursery, which will remain in its current location while the new building is being constructed.

The White City Estate, located in the north east of Hammersmith and Fulham, is one of the largest in the borough. Built in the 1930s, it consists of around 2,000 homes and a range of communal facilities.

It is situated within the wider White City Regeneration Area (WCRA), which in the borough’s Local Plan is earmarked to deliver a total of 6,000 new homes and 10,000 jobs.

Plans to redevelop White City Central, as the scheme has been named, date back to 2019, when the local authority’s cabinet agreed to begin the consultation process with residents.

In papers filed with the council’s planning team, it is detailed how the homes, 253 in total, would be spread across six blocks between five and six stories tall. Of these, 50 per cent are to be ‘affordable’, with the exact split being 81 for social rent, 53 shared ownership, and 119 to be sold privately.

An extract from the White City Estate Residents Advisory Panel is also featured, warning of ‘caution’ as well as excitement in response to the proposals.

“Many residents have lived in White City long enough to see other schemes appear to offer such promise but not actually deliver for the local residents, who invested so much time in the project from outset to conclusion,” the extract reads.

“It is imperative this scheme holds onto its values: to be of real benefit to the present residents of White City and to add wonderfully to the central space, without diminishing its value to those who use it and live there.”

The application lists a planned start date of phase one of the scheme as July 2025, which is expected to run until December 2027. Phase two will then begin, to be complete by December 2029.

Hammersmith and Fulham council has been approached for comment.

Pictured top: White City Estate (Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga)