Hammersmith to break into Wormwood Scrubs

  Plans to create a 60-acre mega-development around Wormwood Scrubs in west London are being drawn up by Hammersmith & Fulham council and Network Rail.   The pair have held early talks about the development, which would form the third and final part of Hammersmith council leader Stephen Greenhalgh’s ambitious plans to build 10,000 new homes across the borough.   The site is separated from the famous Wormwood Scrubs prison by 200 acres of parkland.   The development – dubbed the Northern site – has been unlocked by last year’s transfer of the maintenance and servicing operation for Eurostar, from the North Pole Depot – which sits at the heart of the site – to Temple Mills, in east London.   The site, which is mainly Department for Transport and Network Rail-owned railway sidings, is bounded by the Grand Union Canal at its most northerly point, and borders the A40 and £1bn redevelopment of Hammersmith hospital to the south.   Acres of unused scrubland will be transformed into public space.   Greenhalgh said: “We are in the earliest stages of bringing this underused industrial estate together to create a fantastic mixed-use development – the third mega-site that could help regeneration in the borough.”   The Conservative-led Hammersmith administration is already working with Capital & Counties on a 70-acre mixed-use development around the Earls Court & Olympia conference centre.   It is also backing plans – alongside the BBC, Helical Bar, Westfield and Marks & Spencer – for Creative London, a £2bn project that would include up to 4,000 homes on more than 50 acres in White City, including the BBC’s Television Centre.   paul.norman@egi.co.uk