‘We hear of a housing crisis – then you see streets like this’
CALL TO RESTORE ROWS OF BOARDED-UP HOMES LYING EMPTY IN EARL’S COURT
TFL has been urged to reopen rows of “neglected” and boardedup homes that formed a corridor to the historic Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre and was graced by Queen Victoria.
Fourteen Victorian houses and flats in Empress Place, Fulham, and several more along Lillie Road, were part of the ill-fated Earl’s Court project which originally involved building 7,500 new homes.
The street inherited its name from the story of how Queen Victoria journeyed down it to visit the Exhibition Centre and pleasure gardens in 1887, to watch the highly anticipated performance of
American entertainer Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.
Chair of the Fulham and Hammersmith Historical Society, Keith Whitehouse, 71, said: “These homes have been neglected.
“They were vacated in 2016. We have since had a street of houses being left to rot.
“They were stripped from the inside and boarded up. But if they were cleaned up they would be very attractive.”
The Earl’s Court scheme had ground to a halt after its inception 12 years ago until last year when Capco, the site’s former landlord, sold its majority share in the land to Delancey and Dutch investor APG for £425 million.
It means the Earl’s Court land, including homes and shops in
Empress Place and Lillie Road, are now co-owned by TfL, Delancy and APG.
And any new set of proposals for the 1.3 million-sq ft plot may not be built for another two to three years.
Mr Whitehouse, a retired archaeologist, said: “One minute you hear councils or the Mayor of London telling you we’re in a housing crisis and it’s terrible, then you see streets like this.”
He added that TfL, which is run by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, “should be doing something with these homes because they are just stood there doing nothing.”
The Prince pub – formerly the Prince of Wales – could again come under threat in 2021. It too sits within the regeneration land that is owned by the three parties, and its “Asset of Community Value” protection will expire next year.
Flats above these shops in Lillie Road have also been left vacant since 2016, while The Prince pub (far right) could close face closure when the Earl’s Court redevelopment starts to take place
Empress Place contains 14 properties while nine more flats, with their windows painted over, sit above the shops along Lillie Road. Like the Prince pub, the future of these shops also depends on whether APG, Delancey and TfL eventually agree to demolish them when redevelopment eventually gets underway.
TfL, Delancey and APG were all approached for comment. A spokesperson for the joint project said: “Having recently taken over as custodians of the Earls Court development, our immediate priority has been meeting with the local community to understand their priorities and aspirations for the area.
“Many of the empty buildings were stripped out in 2017 and are therefore not fit for living. However, we are reviewing options to assess whether they could be used on a sustainable basis in the future.
“Similarly, The Prince and the rest of the temporary pop up units within West Brompton Crossing will operate as normal until a new masterplan has been agreed and future works begin on site. We will give current tenants and the local community plenty of notice before this happens.”
Number 17 Empress Place was once home to award-winning classical composer William Hurlstone, before he died age 30 in 1906.