Enabling a sustainable masterplan for Earls Court

Our multidisciplinary engineering and mobility expertise has helped overcome constraints to shape a low-carbon masterplan for London’s largest cleared development site.

Location

London, United Kingdom

Client

The Earls Court Development Company

Project Status

Planning

An area dedicated to showcasing the new and extraordinary since 1887, Earls Court is now one of the capital’s largest and most complex master planning projects of recent years.

The development on the site of the former Earls Court Exhibition Centres ‌will create thousands of new homes and jobs, three new cultural and performance spaces, and a network of Exhibition Gardens and open spaces. It will target a net zero-carbon energy network and net zero operational carbon in the project overall. Developing a masterplan to deliver all this was far from straightforward due to the constraints of the site.

Protecting existing infrastructure

Earls Court is on the border of two London boroughs: Kensington and Chelsea to the east, and Hammersmith and Fulham to the west. It also has six London Underground lines running beneath it – four District Line tunnels and two deeper Piccadilly Line tunnels – as well as an Overground and freight line. In addition, the site is home to Transport for London’s Lillie Bridge rail depot, which will remain operational during the initial development before being relocated later.

NEW HOMES

4,000

MILLION SQ FT OF WORKSPACE

2.9

NEW JOBS

12,000+

Where do you start on a challenge as complex as this? We began by drawing on our long experience of the site. We were brought on board early by The Earls Court Development Company (ECDC) – a joint venture between Delancey (on behalf of its client funds) and the Dutch pension fund manager APG and Transport for London (TfL) that was formed in December 2019. After supporting ECDC with due diligence during the purchase of the site, we successfully tendered to provide civils, structures, transport and environmental design for the masterplan.

When masterplanning architects Studio Egret West and Hawkins\Brown were appointed, we supported them by analysing thousands of drawings, site investigations and other documents to create a 3D model of the site constraints. Working with our team, the architects used this model to determine where they could position the buildings on the site. We then worked out how to protect the existing infrastructure. Given the complexity of the site, specific areas required more detailed design – enabling us to produce better engineered solutions and reduce costs.

It was vital to reassure TfL and Network Rail (NR) that the project team would minimise both the risk to their assets and disruption during the development. Throughout the pre-planning stage we worked closely with both TfL and NR asset protection teams to discuss the proposed engineering solutions that would enable development adjacent to and over their existing assets. We demonstrated how these assets could operate safely during construction and throughout the buildings’ design lives.

A night visual of one of the community spaces in the proposed development called The Table.

Solving the surface water challenge

Existing infrastructure wasn’t the only challenge on this site – managing surface water runoff was also a concern, with sewer networks around the site frequently experiencing capacity issues during peak rainfall. It was important that the development would not add to this issue but reduce the site’s impact during periods of heavy rainfall.

One approach would have been to construct large concrete tanks below ground to attenuate surface water runoff. But this would have meant excavating huge volumes of material and removing it from site, and then using large quantities of concrete to form the tanks. We decided to pursue a more sustainable alternative.

On assessing the existing ground conditions, we identified an opportunity to manage much of the surface water via infiltration through soakaways formed within the site’s boundaries. However, we needed to know whether the infiltration process would still work given the changes that were being made to the below-ground profile – such as installing large, piled foundations. Our specialist hydrogeological engineering team modelled the site, in both its existing and new states, to map how water would flow below the ground. This enabled us to place soakaways around the masterplan and use infiltration to manage over 65% of the surface water from rainfall.

To further reduce surface-water discharge into the sewer network, we worked with the landscape architect to identify where sustainable urban drainage (SUDS) features such as bioswales could be installed. Rainwater will also be fed into irrigation tanks to provide all-year-round irrigation for the planting and landscaping.

In total, our design will reduce surface-water discharge into the sewer network by 95% from the site’s existing condition. Once all stages of the development are completed, its greenfield runoff rate for a 1 in 100-year storm event will have improved by 40%.

Engaging with the community

Creating and maintaining public realm that puts people first is a key ambition of the Earls Court masterplan. Our transport strategy responds to this – keeping vehicle movements either to the periphery of the site or underground, and prioritising routes for walking, wheeling and cycling. We also had to address the 8m difference in levels across the site. Given this change in level, how could we ensure that the development is accessible to all users?

The proposed Earls Court redevelopment includes individual schemes developed by architects, this includes the tallest residential building on the site designed by architects Sheppard Robson which is pictured.

Although there are design codes and guidance, it was also important to consult the community. As part of the project ECDC had worked with ZCD Architects to establish an industry leading Public Realm Inclusivity Panel (PRIP) involving a diverse group of local individuals with a range of lived experiences, abilities and access needs aged from teenagers to those in their later years.

By engaging with the PRIP our design team and other partners were able to better understand potential opportunities and challenges related to the masterplan design. For example, our specialist inclusive design experts were able to better understand how people with different vulnerabilities or safety concerns would perceive spaces, and take steps to make the plan more accessible and safer for them.

As well as involving nearby communities in the design process, the Earls Court project is also integrating the site with the surrounding area. Our transport strategy considered how the site can connect to the wider transport network. As part of this, we are continuing to develop comprehensive cycling improvements for the local area. This includes re-prioritising road space for cycling and closing gaps in the existing network by joining up the disconnected cycle networks on different sides of the masterplan site.

We had to think ahead to the future too. How will the development adapt to emerging trends such as drone deliveries? If the rise of cargo bike deliveries continues, will there be enough space in service areas? What will be the demand for online deliveries in a decade’s time? Although trends are hard to predict precisely, we had to ensure the masterplan built in enough flexibility for a range of possibilities.

An aerial view of the proposed development in West London with the River Thames in the distance.

Activating the site and inspiring future generations

The scale of development at Earls Court means that it will be many years before the masterplan is fully realised. Following the submission of the Hybrid Planning Application in summer 2024, the first phase of development – comprising over 1,500 homes, the first cultural and commercial buildings, and the park and vital east-west connections – will begin in 2026. In the meantime, a range of activities are bringing the site to life during development, including five padel courts and an immersive theatre experience. We’ve helped secure the required consents and create a strategy for locating and servicing these meanwhile uses.

We’ve also had an important role supporting our client in engaging local schools with the project through ECDC’s outreach programme with Young City Makers, which challenges children to consider the role they play in shaping their city. Our team volunteered with Year 5 schoolchildren to explore how they would create a future transport system for Earls Court. Activities have included model making and a trip to Greenwich Peninsula to investigate different modes of transport.

With the project’s impact already stretching well beyond the development site, we’re proud to have played our part in a scheme that will put Earls Court back on the global map and create a legacy for London.

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