London council accused of ‘no accountability’ over failure to produce Chelsea and QPR meeting notes.

The Hammersmith and Fulham Council is unique in providing information of its meetings with developers online, but was unable to produce any minutes or notes from the last two years when sought by the LDRS.

A West London council has been accused of neglecting to produce notes for more than 35 meetings with developers over the previous two years, raising concerns about accountability. Hammersmith and Fulham Council, unlike other local authorities, discloses meeting details with major stakeholders, including Chelsea FC, Queens Park Rangers, and the Earls Court Development Company, on a dedicated webpage.

 

However, the information supplied in such entries has reduced over time, with the last two years listing only the attendance and, on sometimes, the venue. When the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) requested minutes or a summary of the meetings, it was informed that the information available online is all that the council has on file.

According to Cllr Jose Afonso, Leader of the Conservative Opposition, the lack of meeting notes “means there is no accountability, no scrutiny, and no way for residents to know what was discussed or why.” However, Hammersmith and Fulham Council claims to be “best-in-class” in terms of transparency, publishing details on all meetings with developers.

The Labour administration in Hammersmith and Fulham created the homepage in an effort to distinguish itself from the previous Conservative regime, which it succeeded in 2014 and was accused of being too tied to the development business.

The page’s sub-header states that it provides “information and notes” on previous meetings, followed by a line of material that reads: “We publish details about meetings between H&F councillors, council staff and developers as part of our commitment to being transparent and open.”

Divided by year, the records initially included information such as the meeting’s objective and, on occasion, some of the themes discussed.

For example, the introductory language for an item documenting a meeting on the West London Magistrates Court site on November 25, 2019, reads: “General discussion with Dominvs and residents on issues relating to the site, residents’ concerns, and Dominvs’ proposal to engage new architect team.”

Another item from the same year describes a meeting with the Queens Park Rangers, which includes a bullet-point breakdown of conversation points as well as those who attended. However, over time, this level of detail has decreased, with newer articles often recording merely the attendees.

Meetings with stakeholders in 2025 include INGKA, an IKEA franchisee, Rockwell, and Rob Heasman from Earls Court Development Company, who is spearheading the regeneration of the former exhibition center site.

When the LDRS requested minutes from meetings held in 2025 and 2024 under Freedom of material (FOI) rules, the council stated that “the information that is on the website is the information that we hold on record”.

None of the meetings were formal pre-planning sessions, and they were all held in Hammersmith and Fulham Council offices, unless otherwise specified. Cllr Afonso, on the other hand, said that because there are no minutes, there is no opportunity to scrutinise or know what was discussed.

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