Fury at council 'pantomime' to allow high-rises

A high-rise flats development that residents say will "ruin" one of the last unspoiled stretches of riverside in central London has been given the go-ahead.

About 400 protesters were "tremendously frustrated and disappointed" after Hammersmith and Fulham councillors voted in favour of the scheme after a stormy council meeting.

It will see the construction of two tower blocks of 10 and 15 storeys overlooking a stretch of Georgian buildings on the north bank of the Thames.

After a highly charged four-and-a-half hour meeting last night, councillors on the Tory dominated planning committee voted seven to three in favour.

Local resident Heather Alston said: "It was a forgone conclusion. All the arguments came out and they disregarded them - it was a farce. It was nothing about democracy, it was all about someone wanting to make a name for themselves and riding roughshod over local people."

The project has been opposed by 38 local residents' associations and English Heritage and some 8,500 residents who signed a petition including actors Joely Richardson, Ralph Fiennes and Dame Sheila Hancock, director Sir Trevor Nunn, broadcaster Jeremy Vine and artist Sir Peter Blake.

The sale of the apartments will fund a new town hall but will require the demolition of an art deco cinema and a housing estate for blind tenants run by the Thomas Pocklington charity. There will be 290 flats, a new supermarket and a footbridge over the A4 connecting Hammersmith with the river.

Una Hodgkins of campaign group Save our Skyline said plans to relocate the blind tenants in Cromwell Avenue were "obscene" and condemned the meeting at Latymer School as "a pantomime".

John Jones, chairman of SOS, said: "It only serves to demonstrate the arrogance of this council and the inherent conflict of interest in the council having power to grant itself planning permission. This is a disgraceful deal which shames Hammersmith and is particularly galling as all the councillors who approved it live in Fulham."

Mark Loveday, cabinet member for strategy, said: "It is good news for businesses in and around King Street. It is good news for people who are hoping to get onto the property ladder. And it is good news for taxpayers who will not need to find £18million to refurbish the ugly town hall extension."