In a landmark decision for West London, councillors in Kensington and Chelsea have granted approval for a transformative 2,500-home development on a disused gasworks site, a plan that now awaits the final verdict from London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Controversial Plans for Kensal Canalside
The hybrid planning application for the Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area (KCOA) on Canal Way was submitted jointly by developer Ballymore and Sainsbury's. After a tense meeting on November 11, the council's Planning Committee voted overwhelmingly in favour, despite significant local opposition.
The scheme proposes 2,519 new homes in towers reaching up to 29 storeys. Alongside the residential units, the development will include office space, a healthcare facility, a nursery, restaurants, a leisure centre, and a new public park. The existing site, which currently houses a Sainsbury's, a petrol station, and the Canalside House community hub, will be entirely demolished to make way for the new neighbourhood.
Affordable Housing and Community Concerns
A central point of contention has been the level of affordable housing. Of the 2,519 planned homes, only 500 are designated as 'affordable'. This breaks down to 342 for social rent and 158 at intermediate rates. This figure falls well below the council's 35.7 per cent threshold, but officers concluded it was the maximum viable for the project, with reviews planned as work progresses.
The proposal attracted immense public feedback, with planning documents recording 1,800 objections compared to 1,673 letters of support. Opponents, including several councillors and the Kensington Society, raised alarms on multiple fronts.
Key concerns included:
- Inadequate transport infrastructure for the scale of the development.
- The loss of the valued Canalside House community hub.
- Potential unresolved toxic risks from the land's history as a gasworks.
- The overshadowing of the nearby Grade I-listed Kensal Green Cemetery.
- The sheer scale and density of the project.
Independent councillor Emma Dent Coad argued the plan would do "little to nothing to tackle the severe housing deprivation" in the borough's poorest wards.
The Road Ahead and Final Approval
With local approval secured, the application now passes to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who will decide whether to endorse the council's decision or call it in for his own review.
Proponents of the scheme, including a local council tenant and business owner who spoke at the meeting, emphasised the critical need for new homes. They argued that developing the long-vacant site would create something special for North Kensington and provide homes for a new generation.
Jon Roshier, a director at Rolfe Judd Planning speaking for the applicants, stressed that the scheme had to be financially deliverable. "If it's not deliverable nothing happens on this site at all," he stated. "No housing, no Sainsbury's, nothing will happen."
Following the vote, which was met with cries of 'shame' from the public gallery, Committee Chair James Husband acknowledged the scheme's significance, stating that "in the end the public benefit outweighed the harms."
