Light at the end of the tunnel for Imperial Wharf

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Developer St George to contribute an extra £1.25million to project

The construction of a new station at Imperial Wharf in Fulham is a step closer after a Hammersmith and Fulham Council granted approval for a range of  applications from developer St George.

The consent, given at a Hammersmith and Fulham Council planning committee on October 30, sorts out details for previously approved buildings at the riverside comple.

In addition St George will now also contribute an extra £1.25 million towards the cost of the station.

The two local councils of Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea have greeted the news as local residents have been waiting for the station for a long time and there now appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council Leader, Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, says, “We have negotiated hard with the developers to get the best deal for local residents.

"I am pleased that the planning committee has given approval for these applications as they deliver more funding towards the much needed station and more low cost affordable homes to low and middle income earners.

"This is great news for residents in South Fulham and Chelsea and we will now get on with pressing Network Rail to reduce their sky-high management fees which seem to be the last obstacle delaying the construction of the station.”

Imperial Wharf has come under fire in the past for having

some of the UK's most expensive 'affordable housing.'

However, according to the council the approval also means that more low cost home ownership opportunities will help to meet the demand for low cost home ownership, particularly from younger key workers.

The changes create a broader range of different types, sizes and prices of homes, to help deliver a more balanced community with homes for sale with at least a 30 per cent discount.

Cllr Greenhalgh concluded, “In the past prestigious riverside developments like Imperial Wharf would have been out of reach to low and middle income earners.

"But now the smallest apartment costs £122,000 which is in

the reach of more modest income earners. They are not large homes but they are quality homes in a prestigious riverside housing development and I’m sure they will be very desirable to a large number of people. “

Councillor Lucy Ivimy, H&F Planning Committee Chairman, added, “The Planning Committee took care to consider these reserved matters applications in detail and came to the conclusion that they do form a well thought out and positive proposal that will bring very real benefits to the borough. We were particularly pleased to be able at last to approve the long awaited public park."

November 2, 2007