In December 2021, a planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) for the land at Albert and Swedish Wharf, precisely at the corner of Wandsworth Bridge Road and Townmead Road next to Sainsbury’s and the cement works. Greg Hands wrote to residents and urged them to look at this planning application and submit their own views to the council.
Greg welcomes the development of this underused site and was pleased to see that the proposal included plans to utilise the wharves and keep them running. However, his reservations centre on the significant height of the proposed buildings and the overall size and massing of the development.
The previous, now expired, planning consent for this site permitted buildings between five and 13 storeys in height and a much lower number of 233 residential units (now 281 are proposed).
In September 2021, Greg expressed these concerns to the developers directly when he learned that the tallest section would be 20 storeys tall with a total height of over 78m. This height remains unamended in the planning application. Given that the current site has no buildings even close to this height and neighbouring apartment blocks are much lower, the proposed development would be a drastic change to the waterfront and our local area. Therefore, Greg believes that the construction of this overpowering development would significantly alter the skyline and dominate the entrance to Fulham at Wandsworth Bridge Road.
Greg is also concerned about the large number of residential units in the proposed development. The total is 281, 48 more than previously approved. This considerably higher number could have adverse effects on the local community and infrastructure.
The development would be crammed in next to the busy cement works and this is not an appropriate location for excessively dense housing. The cement works is likely to be there for some time to come and already generates a lot of complaints from nearby properties, which are not as closely located as this new development.
Parking will be limited to Blue Badge Spaces only. No provision has been made for either residents or for their visitors. Visitors could therefore be forced to park elsewhere in the already stretched local road network. The development is a long way from any railway station - indeed probably the point furthest in the whole of Fulham - and better planning is needed on the impact this development will have on the road network.
Greg wrote to LBHF with these concerns.
The planning application has recently been out for re-consultation. However, as there are no substantial changes to the development plans, Greg’s original concerns remain.
Therefore Greg resubmitted his response to LBHF, and continues to monitor the application process closely.