Earls Court’s Final Days

By the end of the month, builders will have submitted the plans for the redevelopment of a huge chunk of prime London real estate and the demolition of Earls Court.

The venue, which has staged exhibitions and a host of top rock shows including Madonna, Pink Floyd and Queen, will be bulldozed after the 2012 Olympic Games, during which it will host volleyball.

The wrecking balls will likely move in before the end of that year.

Capital and Counties, or CapCo, a subsidiary of the FTSE 100-listed property company Liberty International, recently bought the remaining 50 percent of the 26-acre site that it didn’t already own.

When parceled with two neighbouring pieces of ground owned by Transport for London and the local Hammersmith and Fulham council, the land that includes Earls Court and Olympia becomes part of a 70-acre site – enough room for 120 soccer pitches.

It will be used for housing, offices, retail units and facilities including schools, which will be embellished by parks and waterways and served by new roads.

Capco is also looking at refurbishing Olympia so that it can take on Earls Court’s exhibition business.