White City Central: Estate says goodbye to nursery to make way for 253 homes

By Ben Lynch, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans to redevelop part of a West London estate including the addition of 253 new homes has been approved.

White City Central, which also involves demolishing a series of buildings including a nursery and housing office and replacing them with new facilities, was green-lit by Hammersmith and Fulham councillors on Wednesday night.

The proposal, which was put forward by the local authority, is earmarked for a site in the centre of the White City Estate. It is seen as key to meeting the council’s housing targets, though has drawn opposition from some of those living in the vicinity.

At Wednesday night’s Planning and Development Control Committee meeting, Harry Audley, a long-term resident and former Chair of the Residents’ Association, told councillors the community had “persistently” tried to discuss the delivery of housing which would be “less divisive”.

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 plus a range of communal facilities.

It is situated within the wider White City Regeneration Area (WCRA), which is earmarked to deliver a total of 6,000 new homes and 10,000 jobs with plans dating back to 2019. 

Currently occupied by buildings including a nursery, Randolph and Beresford Early Years Centre, and a housing office, the proposed scheme will see the existing structures knocked down and replaced.

Half of the 253 homes will be ‘affordable’, including 76 for social rent, with public spaces such as a new all-weather games pitch and children’s play areas also proposed.

Mr Audley told the committee: “Members of the community understand the need for new homes and we have persistently tried to discuss alternative provision of additional housing that would be less divisive, less destructive, less harmful to the environment and to the community.”

Caroline Paskell, Co-Chair of the White City Residents’ Association, also pushed back.

She said: “I was really shocked tonight to hear the use of the word co-production. We have objected to that in writing, in meetings and consistently throughout and it was in no way co-production.”

Father Richard Nesbitt, parish priest of Our Lady of Fatima and Chair of the Residents’ Advisory Panel, however described the application as ‘the main opportunity of our generation to solve some of the problems of our beloved White City Estate’.

He said the number one issue people approach him about is housing, and that he was happy to commit to supporting the project.

He said: “My experience in terms of co-production, the Residents’ Advisory Panel’s main mission was to make sure the local voice was heard. The local voice helped to shape the project.

“This was genuinely, wholeheartedly trying to capture and involve the voice of the local people.”

Conservative councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure asked officers about whether concerns raised by residents had failed to make it into the report.

He was told the paper had been independently reviewed, and that not all of the points aired, in particular relating to consultation, are material planning considerations.

A spokesman for the council said: “This redevelopment plan will breathe new life into the heart of White City with 253 much-needed new homes, of which half will be affordable, and long-lasting benefits to the community. It includes proposals to build a new Community Hub, new nursery and new outdoor areas including an improved Bridget Joyce Square designed with residents.

“This key development forms part of our commitment to help tackle the housing crisis in London.”

Pictured top: White City Central mock-up (Picture: Hammersmith and Fulham council)