Residents of London 'people's estates' hail council move against developer

Compulsory purchase order could effectively block plans for parts of Earl's Court site

Hundreds of council housing residents in west London are celebrating after councillors agreed to take forward compulsory purchase order plans that could halt one one of the largest luxury developments in Europe.

The West Kensington and Gibbs Green council estates are home to more than 2,000 people. For more than a decade, the residents have lived with uncertainty about whether or not they will lose their homes as part of a 31 hectare (77 acre) development in Earl's Court by Capital & Counties, known as Capco, a FTSE 250-listed company. The developer has planned a 12bn redevelopment of the site and refers to the project as its Earls Court Master Plan.