Developing the Westway to 2020

The past the present and the not so distant future

2008 sees the Trust at a turning point. We were founded in 1971 to develop the land left derelict by the construction of the A40 Westway in a way that would benefit the local community dissected and disrupted by the flyover. Now we are a mature organisation, with much to offer our beneficiaries and partner organisations not least in terms of our experience as one of the first modern asset-based regeneration organisations and as a founder member of the Development Trusts Association.

We have successful programmes running across areas as diverse as community sports development, the arts and supplementary education. We run two successful community sport and leisure facilities Portobello Green Fitness Club and Westway Sports Centre. Both are leaders in their fields and centres of excellence. Portobello pioneered GP referred fitness programmes over ten years ago and is a member of the national Inclusive Fitness Initiative, while Westway became the first case study "community sports hub" for Sport England and also operates an LTA High Performance Tennis Centre and an independently financed Sports Academy - blending educational mentoring with sports training for young athletes with real competitive potential.

We spend £1.4million a year delivering our charitable programmes. This includes over £270,000 a year which the Trust gives away to support other local charities, to fund activities for community groups and to assist individuals pursuing educational courses leading to employment.

Yet on the other hand we are addressing the downside of maturity - an estate of properties which were developed, with the honourable exception of the Westway Sports Centre, over 20 years ago by an organisation with limited assets and less development experience. Yet the commercial properties which comprise around a third of this aging estate are the sole asset base which funds all our charitable expenditure.

We have achieved a lot but we face an estate in need of regeneration. The Regeneration agenda pushes in two directions. The first is in terms of looking at the development process and the potential for new building projects. The second impacts on how we use our existing developed estate and on how we utilise the Trust’s existing resources to push the local regeneration agenda.

As a result we are diverting some of our existing resources in order to make short-term impacts. Our land is too often a "dead zone" and we recognise that the Trust has not always aided the local regeneration effort as much as it could. Because this is an area where the Trust can help address issues which other bodies cannot, we believe it is justified to allocate some of our regeneration efforts toward getting more from the existing estate in terms of its levels of activity and animation and in order to make a positive impact for those who use the area and live nearby.

Bringing more art to the design

The Trust is determined to increase the number of opportunities for public art to be incorporated into the development process , and to play a role in enhancing existing Trust sites. Our commitment to providing and maintaining quality public space is undiminished and it is intended that at least some of our new developments provide cutting-edge design, while all provide a long-lasting and quality built environment, as we move away from the opportunistic and necessarily cost-conscious developments of the past, and into a more sustainably-minded future.

Latimer road site and the cross-borough cycleway and footpath

The footpath and cycleway:
The Trust estate provides the most obvious route for a Northern cross-borough pedestrian and cycle route. Much of it is already in place. The possibility of a link with the future development to the north of White City makes this project more compelling, and the developments we propose will work to extend and improve this link , although we will require grant funds to achieve this. The link cannot be completed however without projects on the local authority-owned stretches, particularly on the adopted Malton Road, and the strategic value will be much enhanced with a link to Westbourne Park station.

The Latimer Road site:
The Trust owns this small site which is somewhat disconnected to the bulk of the estate. In 2006 planning consent was secured for a 3 storey office and workspace development . In 2007 the Trust opened discussions as to the potential for our site to operate as a pedestrian / cycle gateway to the forthcoming White City North development from North Kensington. Clearly the regeneration potential in terms of employment opportunities for local residents would be significant, as there are no other such links across the railway for a considerable distance, and the potential to attract a whole new catchment of customers to underpin the economic model of the sports centre, is a valuable consideration in securing the long term future for the centre.

Negotiations are not wholly in the Trust’s hands and much will rest with the planners and highways agencies in the two boroughs which such a project would link , as well as with the developers of th land at White City.

Stable Way industrial area

This is an industrial area yielding low rents and with endemic flytipping problems. It shares its access road with a Traveller's site run by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) on behalf of RBKC and Hammersmith & Fulham.

The Borough commissioned a project study of the site, to assess the access and other problems, which proposed a long term redevelopment of the site at an independently projected cost of £6.4m. Even enhanced rental income would come nowhere close to a viable return, without substantial redevelopment grants.

The most viable redevelopment would be to integrate the site into the sports centre, (retaining the riding centre which uses part of the site and effectively links the site to the Sports Centre site via its riding arena).

Hopefully grants could be secured for such a project, and there could be a one-off opportunity for a combined Hammersmith and Fulham and RBKC initiative to secure redevelopment as part of the White City North development. This would enable the Trust to provide the Borough with land for a dedicated access to the Travellers site, thereby solving this long running problem for the two boroughs involved. As current leases have 3 years to run, it will take time to deliver such a project.

Maxilla

This area secured a consent in 2006 for flexible workspace buildings, including indicative uses for a playcentre and Health building , and a purpose built school/nursery. Although some of the intended users no longer exist or have changed priorities, the concept of a "socially minded" mixed use for the site remains, and both accomodating users in flexible designed workspace buildings and mixing community and commercial uses will enhance the long-term sustainability of the development and hopefully avoid a future "running down" problem as community needs and fashions change.

It is anticipated that the nature and relatively early availability of the site will make this the most attractive area for any relocation of services within the Borough, flowing from the the Trust's consultation exercise with the various "public building" users. It will also be suitable for such potential initiatives as community hubs.

The site at Maxilla adjoining St Marks Road will become available for redevelopment in 2008/9 when the current art installation leaves. It is hoped to develop this site shortly afterwards, probably by selecting a private partner to work with.

Thorpe Close

The proposal's we are currently evaluating for this area are about seizing the opportunity to inject some economic activity into this important artery, uplifting the Ladbroke Grove locality and adding new commercial energy to the Portobello economy, as well as financing improved community facilities. It recognises that the redevelopment of White City provides both threat and opportunity to the local economy, and the importance of linking Ladbroke Grove tube to Portobello in the most attractive manner. This will allow traders to take advantage of the enhanced tube links on the Hammersmith and City line, with the new tube station at White City seen as a potential opportunity as well as a threat.

There is a need too, because at present we are condemning our existing community hub operation to run out of dated buildings at 1 and 7 Thorpe Close. Working with private developers we see scope to redevelop these buildings placing retail on the ground floor and commercial / charitable workspace uses above leading to Thorpe Close becoming a safer retail and leisure led zone.

There is a hope we can build upon the organic success of the Portobello Green Fitness Club as a genuine community fitness centre and of the Inn on the Green venue, cementing its position as a community and arts venue - and we will be seeking out grants to facilitate this.

Portobello Square

You may know this as "the Portobello Space" or "the Acklam space", but this derelict, hoarded void has the potential to add another quality urban space and retail zone to Portobello, encouraging its extension to Golborne and improving access to Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park stations. The retail commission identified the need to protect small affordable retail outlets to retain the purpose and secure the future of Portobello. We have an idea for an outdoor/indoor trading area of very small units to provide the first trading outlet for new designers and artisans , connecting in a trading sense with the market and Portobello arcade, and supported by a training and support programme for first-time entrepreneurs and traders.

This is a spot for leading edge
Co-operation with the Borough will be required in respect of relocating the (closed) public toilets to inside the proposed retail environment

Acklam road

The success of Westbourne Studios gives us scope to extend the business space for creative industries up along the motorway artery, via our existing Acklam studios, with its mix of creative trades , to the retail trading environment of Portobello. At present this is rather a dark and forbidding zone, and although the Skatepark provides an outlet for (mostly visiting ) youth, the operation there is not a permanent development solution.

In the middle of the Acklam road stretch we have the Neighbourhood night club. Adjacent to this could be an ideal location for a mooted new "outdoor/indoor" youth and performance space. With careful design of a high amenity value front walling to Acklam road, and the construction of a "bleachers" wall inside, a very flexible and low maintenance all-weather area could be added as a sustainable venue for use by local youth and community groups. Such a space could overcome the usual weakspots for such projects, i.e. revenue funding for escalating running costs, and would require a relatively small capital grant to be found but it would need to find support with the local community.