ECAAG brought Londoners together to celebrate a temporary reprieve for threatened Victorian terraced homes in Empress Place and two  pubs due to be demolished by Capital & Counties Properties Plc  (Capco) adjacent to the Earls Court Masterplan. 

Londoners celebrated a temporary reprieve from demolition for a much loved corner of London with a jolly promenade in Victorian costume.  ECAAG invited residents to join "HM Queen Victoria" and the "Prince of Wales" as they visited Empress Place and its much-loved Edwardian pub named in his honour to denounce their impending demolition by Capco.

Linda Wade, Chair of ECAAG attended as did Andrew Slaughter MP for Hammersmith. 

"We are losing so much of our built heritage and sense of place in London that appreciating what we still have takes on an added significance", said Linda Wade, Chair of ECAAG. 

Residents joined in street theatre and sang music halls songs from the period, some especially adapted for the housing crisis: "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, that I live with my mum!"

To raucous cheers from participants and spectators, Capco staff  pulled down their marketing suite’s blinds when residents in Victorian fancy dress sang the national anthem outside their Lillie Square showroom opposite Empress Place, 
 
The demolition of Empress Place and two adjacent parades of shops on the Lillie Road by Capco entity Earl's Court Partnership Ltd was due to start on the 11th January, 2016. 

Empress Place comprises two rows of attractive Victorian workers’ cottages in Hammersmith and Fulham. On the corner is the Edwardian Prince of Wales public house and a few doors up on the Lillie Road is The Imperial Arms. 

Thanks to outraged Hammersmith and Fulham residents’ application to list the Prince of Wales pub as an Asset of Community Value, demolition of this area has had to be temporarily stayed at a time when the UK is losing 29 pubs every week to developers of expensive flats and to the big supermarkets’ local outlets, designed to drive out independent traders.

The demolition of Empress Place and two adjacent parades of shops on the Lillie Road by Capco entity Earl's Court Partnership Ltd was due to start on the 11th January, 2016. 

Empress Place is comprised of two rows of attractive Victorian workers’ cottages. On the corner is the Edwardian Prince of Wales public house and a few doors up on the Lillie Road is The Imperial Arms. 

Thanks to Hammersmith and Fulham residents, who have put in applications to nominate the Prince of Wales pub as an Asset of Community Value, demolition of this area has been temporarily halted.  

Both the West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates Tenant and Residents Associations have applied as have The Hammersmith Society, The Fulham Estate Residents Association and the Hammersmith Embankment Residents Association. ​

Our campaign contacted Nicky Gavron AM (Labour Party), Darren Johnson AM (Green Party) and London Mayoral Candidate Caroline Pidgeon AM (Liberal Democrat Party), who have all written to Hammersmith and Fulham Council in support of the residents fighting to save the Prince of Wales pub for the community.

Victory for Londoners and the RMT Union as Transport for London withdraws Clause 5 from the Transport for London Bill which would have allowed developers to cover up their roles in the exploitation of public land.

After a dogged 2 years fight in which three citizen petitioners and the RMT Union joined forces to petition against Clause 5 of the Transport for London Bill, on the 8th February 2016 in the House of Lords, TfL through Tanni Grey-Thompson, withdrew the Clause.

It would have enabled TfL to enter into opaque, “Limited Partnerships” with developers, ensuring its deals on its extensive public land holdings would not be open to scrutiny. It would allow developers to minimise their tax obligations while putting all of the risks attached to any project's failure onto TfL.

The citizen petitioners and the RMT Union fought for TfL’s interaction with private companies to be transparent, ethical and in the interest of the public. 

Clause 5 came to their attention due to TfL’s involvement with the ongoing development at Earl’s Court in its Joint Venture with Capital & Counties Properties Plc (Capco). A letter dated 6th May 2014 between Sir Peter Hendy and Mick Cash of the RMT showed that had a Limited Partnership option been available to TfL on the Earl’s Court Masterplan it would have been their preferred choice of vehicle.

Transport for London in its briefing document for the House of Lords debate on Lord Alf Dub’s motion relating to the Bill today stated:

“Clause 5 would have authorised us to form or join with others in forming limited partnerships. We took note of the strength of feeling in the House of Commons during the revival debate on 16 November 2015 about the clause. We recognise that, notwithstanding the amendments which were made to that clause by the Opposed Bill Committee, concerns remain about the possible future exercise of the powers which would be conferred by it. Accordingly, we have decided to amend the Bill and delete clause 5 and references to limited partnerships when the Bill is reintroduced in the Commons.”

The RMT Union in a press release stated: “RMT in conjunction with Andy Slaughter MP, John McDonnell MP, and numerous other labour MPs and the Save Earls Court Campaign combined together to petition against the Bill and try to prevent the most ill-conceived aspects of it from becoming law.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “We welcome that TfL has finally agreed to moderate its plans. TfL made a complete mess of the Earls Court development and was setting itself up to lose hundreds of millions of pounds by disposing of state assets far too cheaply.
“However, the story is not over yet. The proposals for commercially exploiting TfL land are coming in thick and fast. Accordingly, we will remain vigilant while the remaining provisions of the Bill return to Parliament for final scrutiny."

The Bill will now return to the House of Commons for further amendments.