Place West London Conference 2014
The beautiful grounds of The Hurlingham Club in Fulham played host to the Place West London conference this June, with speakers outlining a number of exciting projects that are underway across West London.
The conference commenced at 2pm, with the first speakers being Colin Wilson (GLA), Richard McGreeby (TfL) and Andrew Clarke (PBE). Their presentation centred on the plans for the regeneration project happening at Old Oak Common, which will provide a new transport hub, including the proposed High Speed 2 line from London Euston to Birmingham.
The second presentation was an impressive look at the work happening at Earls Court, delivered by the Director of Planning and Development in the area, Anette Simpson. Along with the redevelopment of Lillie Square, future plans are set to reinvent the way a community operates. New homes will benefit from a great deal of external beauty, including a range of mature trees and strategically placed grassland, as well as a buzzing high street full of shops, cafes and outside space; a topic also covered in the NovaLoca blog.
The final presentation before the break came from Patricia Bench and Richard Sanderson, who discussed the potential for having a fly under tunnelling Hammersmith and creating new developable land.
There was then a pause for networking opportunities, round tables and a tour, before the presentations continued. First up was Harry Scrope of Brompton Dock, who took to the stage and outlined an ambition for folding bikes to become a part of everyday life in London. Already enjoying worldwide success, Brompton Dock is an example of sustainable transport and links in quite nicely with Anette Simpson’s presentation about rejuvenating the high street.
Next up was Chris Gammon of Brentford Football Club, who showcased the clubs brand new stadium and how it would benefit the surrounding area. Brentford’s current stadium Griffin Park is showing its age and the new stadium will allow Brentford to further increase their footballing ambitions. Having just won promotion to the Championship, they are hoping the unique new stadium will be worthy of their on-pitch success.
The penultimate speakers were Tim Smith and Ruth Bagley of Thames Valley Berkshire and Slough Council respectively. They spoke about how the Thames Valley is inevitably linked to West London and how moving forward the two areas can work together for everyone’s benefit. The final speaker was Duncan Bower of West Field, who gave a presentation about a collaborative development that is currently underway in White City. The event highlighted a real push in regenerating parts of West London for the future. With many of these developments and collaborations underway, it won’t be long before some of these under construction and proposed plans will be coming to fruition.
[…] Want to find out more about regeneration in London? Read our blog looking in more detail at the Old Oak Common regeneration project or find out what happened when we visited the Place West London conference at the Hurlingham Club. […]