HAMMERSMITH and Fulham Council is so ‘desperate’ to bulldoze the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates that it is ‘selling them off on the cheap’, according to Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter.

The Labour MP says the £105million sale to developers Capco, approved last week by Secretary of State Eric Pickles, was way short of its true value.

Referring to Mr Pickles as the council’s ‘cheerleader’, Mr Slaughter said: “What is extraordinary are the reasons Mr Pickles gives. And he thinks this is a good price for one third of a development said to be worth £8billion.

“Many independent experts – including the District Valuer who advised the council – queried this, saying that at the least there should be reviews over the 20-year life of the project to see if it was continuing good value for the taxpayer.”

The council says that when the value of the 760 replacement homes it will provide for the displaced tenants is taken into account, the deal is worth £250m, which it says is ‘excellent value for money’.

And Mr Pickles said he was ‘satisfied’ the sale would cover the £11m debt associated with the two sites.

Council leader Nick Botterill, who hailed Mr Pickles’ decision an ‘important step forward’ for the regeneration of the area, said: “All the proceeds will be reinvested in the borough. This figure has been endorsed as ‘best consideration’ by the council’s professional advisors, Jones Lang Lasalle and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the agreement ensures CapCo has to deliver brand new replacement homes before land is transferred.”

Residents vowed to press on with their High Court objections to the scheme, in which 8,000 new homes are scheduled to be built in four ‘urban villages’.

Campaigner Jonathan Rosenberg said: “The government has consented to the sale of people’s homes to a property speculator against the wishes of 80 per cent of residents, yet it won’t implement the promise to allow residents to take ownership of their estates.

“The Prime Minister promised power to the people. But rather than the Big Society, his government has chosen Big Bucks.”