Delancey to return Earls Court estates to council

Delancey and APG are to return the two estates at the heart the £12bn Earls Court development to Hammersmith & Fulham Council. The partners are expected to seal a back-to-back sale of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates to the council by the end of the month, after striking a deal to acquire the interests from Capital & Counties. Delancey and APG  exchanged contracts to acquire Capco’s 63% stake in the Earls Court Partnership, along with its interest in the conditional land sale agreement at the estates and other related assets for £425m on Friday. The developers subsequently exchanged contracts with the council, which has vowed to scrap plans to demolish the council housing. Capco’s interest in the two estates comprises prepayments and capitalised costs with a value of £83m. Some 19 acres at West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates are currently occupied by council tenants. The estates have been at the centre of a fierce battle for six years, after Hammersmith & Fulham Council agreed a conditional land sale in 2013. Capco agreed a £105m cash payment and a requirement to provide up to 760 replacement homes. To date it has paid £90m in annual instalments of £15m. The CLSA was approved by the Secretary of State on 18 April 2013,with the council responsible for deciding the details of the new homes required. But development has stalled amid a deadlock between the residents, the developers and the council. Council leader Stephen Cowan said: “That saga has come to an end, we have the estates back. They are safe now, we are not going to do anything to them, other than protect them. “The threat to the homes is gone and that will be final at the end of the month, once we’ve completed. “We see Delancey as a partner and we will be looking forward to working with them very positively to bring forward an exciting scheme on non-estates land.” West Kensington and Gibbs Green Community Homes has spent the past decade campaigning against the demolition of the estates and has more recently sought to create its own housing association to take control of the estates. London mayor Sadiq Khan had also previously called for the estates to be handed back to the council, with new plans to be worked up to boost the level of social rented homes. However, the tenants’ bid to acquire the housing stock was rejected by former housing minister Kit Malthouse in July. The return of the estates to the council has been celebrated by the community group, which has revived plans to take ownership of the site.   To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette