Last night Hammersmith & Fulham councillors approved hybrid plans to turn a 44-acre wasteland into 4,000-home innovation district.

Aisgill Gardens

The decision unlocks the capital’s largest cleared development site that has sat empty since the demolition of the old Earls Court Exhibition Centres.

Developers now await a planning decision from an upcoming meeting of councillors at the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea as the £10bn scheme straddles both London boroughs.

If both boroughs sign off, enabling works begin next year with first residents targeted for 2030 and full build-out running through to 2041.

Phase one will consist of up to 1,300 homes, public realm and the first cultural venue.

The wider scheme promises thousands of more homes, three cultural venues and 20 acres of parks and public realm.

The masterplan includes 2.5m sq ft of workspace aimed at climate-innovation firms and will run on a zero-carbon energy network.

Earls Court Masterplan

ECDC chief executive Rob Heasman said the approval marked a major milestone after years of co-design with residents: “This is a long-underused, centrally located site with exceptional connectivity to deliver new homes, jobs and public space at scale. Earls Court will be a new district in West London.”

Once complete, research by Arup suggests the redevelopment will pump £3bn a year into the UK economy and support 23,500 jobs nationwide.