Spatial Study of Hammersmith

An initial study from summer 2013 identified ⅓ to ½ million square metres of development opportunity in Hammersmith as a result of a road tunnel replacing the present flyunder. The study identified the biggest development opportunity in the centre of Hammersmith with 7-19 office floors, from the college in the east to Hammersmith Bridge Road in the west, particularly adjacent to the Arch and the crown court.

The study recognised that most development can be mixed-use residential and commercial, except for the lower floors that in many locations should only be commercial. Many new development have sufficient sunlight from the south or west, and most provides little shade on existing homes during the afternoon.

The study identified new or extended parks or squares in front of the Town Hall, north of St Paul's Church, south of St Peter's Church and north of the Arch, some with mid or late afternoon sun. The four highest buildings were placed on either side of the Arch. Further high buildings where placed south of St Paul's Green and by the crown court, petrol station and Lambda Academy.

Perspective from feasibility report showing proposing high rise buildings surrounding the Arch with very short tunnel, replacing the present crown court building, petrol station and council housing tower.

The tunnel could be built in various lengths from all the way from Hogarth Roundabout to Earl's Court Road (4000m) to only the middle, from college to town hall (1400m).

The Limehouse Link is 1.8 km long cut-and-cover tunnel from built 1989-1993 at a cost of £290m. West of Paris, an orbital motorway tunnel 10 km long consists of a 10.4m circular tube for low cars only with two lanes in either direction on two different levels. In Seattle, a similar 2 mile long and 17.5m diameter tunnel under the city centre opens in 2015.

LBHF have commissioned a feasibility, a geotechnical and an impact assessment report and have prepared a master plan based on the initial spatial study, all of which where published in mid-March 2014 at the LBHF website.