Caroline Pidgeon has become the latest London mayoral candidate to speak out against the massive redevelopment plans at Earls Court.

The Liberal Democrat, who was chosen as its London mayor candidate earlier this month (September 17), has backed the Earls Court Area Action Group (ECAAG) and called for an urgent review of the Earls Court Masterplan.

It comes after the Green Party’s London Mayor hopeful Sian Berry also hit out at the plans earlier this month.

The 77-acre development, which straddles both Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea boroughs, will see the demolition of homes and communities as part of a sweeping redevelopment of the area, with new homes, shops and office space built.

Ms Pidgeon said: “I fully support an urgent review of the Earls Court Masterplan. Reducing London’s capacity to host major exhibitions combined with the loss of well-established communities is the very last thing London needs.”

Among the homes under threat are West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates. Its residents have recently launched a legal challenge to stop the demolition of their homes and to take control of the regeneration of the area.

This was backed by Green candidate Ms Berry, who said: “Greens in City Hall are already working on ways to give people back the power to shape their own communities, estates and new building projects, and the community here in West Kensington is showing us the way forward as well.”

Among the concerns of the ECAAG are the demolition of 22 acres of homes during a housing crisis, public health issues caused by demolition and rebuilding, lack of transparency in the planning process, and the loss of the iconic Earls Court exhibition centres.

Earls Court councillor Linda Wade is chair of the non-political group and said: “ECAAG is delighted that our campaign continues to gather support from across the political spectrum as the Earls Court Masterplan will be a crucial issue for the next London mayor to tackle.”

The development is a joint venture between Capital and Counties Ltd (Capco) and Transport for London (TfL), which own 55-acres of land in the overall site which includes Earls Court One and Earls Court Two Exhibition Centres and the Lillie Bridge depot. On a further 22 acres of land are the West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates.

According to ECAAG, the estates are structurally sound, have been brought up to Decent Homes standards and contain 58 houses that were built around 15 years ago.