West London’s next big skyline change: the striking new mega-development with 2,500 homes and 29-storey towers
A new West London ‘mega-development’ with 2,500 homes, a supermarket and community centre is set to be approved within days.
The site on Canal Way in North Kensington, also known as the Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area (KCOA), will include 500 affordable homes in towers ranging between nine and 29 storeys, a planning application before Kensington and Chelsea Council shows.
The ‘village-like’ development also has office space, a healthcare facility, nursery or creche, restaurants, a leisure centre, a neighbourhood centre as well as a public park. The application by Ballymore and Sainsbury’s received over 1,800 objections and 1,673 letters of support.
Given the size of the development, the final plan say will sit with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan but the local council’s planning officers have recommended it for approval and councillors are set to approve it next week.
The location is currently a disused gasworks site that consists of a Sainsbury’s, a petrol station, car park, community hub and 16 social homes which would all be demolished to make way for the modern development. Given the site is in one of the 48 ‘Opportunity Areas’ allocated for redevelopment in London, it is exempt from a council Community Infrastructure Levy but £21.9million community contributions will still need to be paid to City Hall.
If approved by Kensington and Chelsea Council, which is the first stage of approval of the application, it is tipped to take 11 years to complete, with works beginning next year and ending in 2037. It will be built in two phases with the majority of residential homes being provided in the first phase.
Objectors say the development lacks transport links and the infrastructure to support more residents moving to the area. They’re also concerned about the height and mass of the designs and suggest there isn’t enough affordable housing.
Kensington and Chelsea Council said it would be serviced by new bus routes and a bridge to help residents reach the nearest Underground station. Money has also been secured to upgrade Ladbroke Grove station.
The council said though the development did not meet its threshold of providing 35.7per cent affordable homes, it still provided much needed housing in the borough. According to the application, the 500 affordable homes make up 20pc of the site by unit.
Some 342 will be social homes and 158 at the ‘intermediate’ rental rate. The council said the number of affordable homes exceeds the maximum reasonable amount for the site, according to its calculations. The target was shrunk because of the cost of decontaminating the former gas site and the fact it’s a mixture of public and private land.
According to the planning application, the site would consist of 2,519 residential homes and provide 15,950sqm of non-residential floor space. Some 10pc of office space will be on offer at a reduced rate to make up for the loss of a community hub, known as Canalside House.
Tenants in the existing 16 social homes will also be offered a new flat on the same site. The council admitted the development strays from the 2024 Local Plan to ensure new sites fit in with their local context and townscape but said the site fell into an area suitable for tall buildings. The design of most of the scheme will be determined at a later date.
The site would also lead to “overshadowing” of Grade I listed Kensal Green Cemetery and areas of the canal towpath.
The hybrid application consists of detailed development plans and an ‘outline’, which allows for decisions to be made on the general principles of how the site can be built up. The Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash memorial would not be impacted by the development.
The development site is formed of two parts with land in the northern section owned by Ballymore, Sainsbury’s, Kensington and Chelsea Council, Berkeley St William and Network Rail. The southern section is owned by the Department for Transport.
The site has been split into six separate plots of land. This application deals with five of those six while the final plot will be decided in a separate application. This land is owned by St William Homes.
Kensington and Chelsea Council will review the application when it meets on Tuesday, November 11. If approved, it will then be referred to the Mayor of London to give the final sign-off.