Popular London borough to get huge £10billion makeover with parks, restaurants and ‘flower amphitheatre’
A BUSTLING area in London is set to get a massive £10billion makeover.
The site of a historic events and music venue in West London is set to undergo a £10billion redevelopment.
Work on the 44 acre site, where Earls Court Exhibition Centre used to be, is expected to begin next year, which is more than a decade since the famous venue was first demolished.
Once complete, the development will have 4,000 homes, 232,000sqm of workspace, three cultural venues and 20 acres of public space, including green spaces.
The three cultural venues will play into the site’s history of performance and there will also be a number of fixed and pop-up venues, as well as shops and restaurants.
Earlier reports and plans for the project also included a park with a climbing structure, slides and seating areas.
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And a ‘flower amphitheatre’ is part of the designs – though it is unclear whether these features are still included in the plans.
Eventually, there will be over 1,000 trees at the site by 2041.
During the first phase, 1,300 new homes will be built across six buildings, which includes a 42 floor skyscraper.
Earls Court Development Company (ECDC) is leading the project, which has taken four years to plan.
The Earls Court Exhibition Centre used to be a major events venue, which was closed in 2014 and then demolished.
It originally opened in 1937 with an Art Deco design and used to host lots of events like the British International Motor Show and concerts including Pink Floyd and David Bowie.
The development will also be well connected, with three Tube stations and London Overground services nearby, as well as bus routes and pedestrian and cycle paths.
Construction is expected to begin at some point in 2026.
Rob Heasman, chief executive of ECDC, said: “Our plans will restore Earls Court as a global destination, a place for ingenuity, and for the extraordinary.
“Projects of this scale require ambition, partnership and patience to bring forward, and our ambition has been shaped by four years of engagement, listening and working in collaboration with our community.”
Jamie Ritblat, founder and executive chairman of Delancey, said: “It will create 23,500 jobs across the country, a new centre for the UK’s climate innovation sector, c.4,000 new homes and benefit the UK economy by £3 billion per year.
“Three new cultural venues will reinstate Earls Court as a destination people gravitate to for unparalleled performance and experiences, and the social and economic impact will be felt strongly throughout the local economies.”
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