Boroughs | Kensington and Chelsea

Map

Map Key

Investment Opportunities
Opportunity Areas
Area of Intensification
Central activity Zone

Town Centres

International or metropolitan
Major
District

Borough Boundary
Green Belt
Metropolitan open land / Other open spaces
Rail station
Railway track
Foreshore
Water

Investment Opportunities

Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area, SW5 9TG
Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area, W10 5AA

Investment Opportunities

Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area, SW5 9TG

A vibrant new urban village strengthening the existing Earl’s Court Road District Centre with a new cultural offer continuing Earl’s Court reputation as a lively cultural destination. A minimum of 1,050 new homes, 40,000 sqm of non-residential floorspace including at least 20,000 sq m of new office space. A new cultural facility and supporting community infrastructure is envisaged including hotel, retail and leisure uses.

PLANNING STATUS: Site allocation in the new Local Plan on track for adoption in 2023 with tandem discussions for the site to come forward.

Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area, W10 5AA

Kensal Canalside is the largest brownfield site within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. There is an opportunity to transform this area into a high quality, well connected, attractive and sustainable Canalside neighbourhood for people to live work and visit. The neighbourhood will bring with it a minimum of 3,500 new homes and 12,000 sqm of commercial floorspace providing new jobs and opportunities. Working with residents, businesses and the landowners we have developed this document to provide guidance on the future development of the site which is now coming forward for development.

PLANNING STATUS: Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area SPD adopted July 2021

Overview

Kensington and Chelsea is a unique central London borough with many economic strengths: a strong visitor economy with world class institutions, cultural attractions and museums, a retail and hospitality offer, as well as strong creative and cultural industries.

This strength must be seen in contrast to the real and debilitating deprivation which also occurs across the borough. As a central London borough which benefits the income generated by many visitors, we have been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Whilst we are seeing visitors return and spend increasing we need to work alongside our partners if the borough’s strengths are to be sustained and are to be translated into opportunities for all residents.

Our vision for the future of the borough has three main strands; we will narrow the inequality which exists and ensure we provide truly affordable homes, employment opportunities and social facilities needed by all our residents; we will put green issues and the environment at the heart of all new development; we will enhance the Borough’s outstanding townscape and our rich cultural heritage, by ensuring that new development is to the highest quality and support our globally recognised town centres, shops, theatres, museums, events, festivals and markets.

Statistics

Population projections 2021 153,930

Population projections 2050 170,642

London plan new homes (ten-year target) 4,480

Building council homes for Londoners (four-year programme) 336

Key Facts

Alongside the highest property prices in the country — £1.3 million median price paid for homes (2020) parts of the north and south-west of the borough are amongst the most deprived areas in England.
The borough’s iconic shopping centres, galleries, markets, museums, palaces and parks attract an average of over 55,000 visitors each day. 11.7 million people visited the South Kensington museums before the pandemic in 2019.
There are 15,000 businesses and 136,000 jobs in the borough.

Contact

Amanda Reid, Director of Planning and Place
amanda.reid@rbkc.gov.uk

Vision

“London faces real challenges, and it is vital that councils step up and support communities and local economies. We want support from national and regional government to help us build back better after the Covid-19 pandemic, and throughout we will be focused on protecting lives and protecting livelihoods.”

Cllr Elizabeth Campbell, Leader of Kensington and Chelsea

Economic Development Strategy

Employment and skills: we will help our residents progress in employment to allow them to move into and progress through work. There is a particular emphasis on helping the long-term unemployed back into work and in supporting children and young people gain the skills that they need. We will lead through example as an employer, commissioner and procurer of services.
Business and enterprise: we will help businesses to try to ensure that the borough remains a competitive location. We will help local entrepreneurs in starting, establishing and developing their businesses, will invest in local priorities and will take a coordinated approach across the council to try to support our town centres.
Planning and investment: we will use the planning system to try to support our key economic strengths. We will seek to provide the diverse mix of premises needed to allow our business sector to thrive. We will take a holistic approach to allow our town centres to remain the vital places that they should be. We will maximise the positive benefits of development to support good growth. The Mayor’s Good Growth fund is being used in addition to Council funding to provide further local employment initiatives at the Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area.

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