Beavers Released in Hammersmith Park

Hammersmith Park Beaver Dam

Beavers have been released in Hammersmith Park (known locally as "The BBC Park"), and already they are making an impact on the local ecosystem.

Residents visiting Hammersmith Park this morning may notice discreet new fencing around part of the lake. 

It forms part of a carefully managed pilot to reintroduce Eurasian beavers as a natural flood-mitigation and biodiversity project.

Hammersmith Park Outdoor Gym Needs Your Help

Proposed site for outdoor gym

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham consulted with local residents last September on whether to build an outdoor gym in Hammersmith Park and, if so what sort of equipment to install.

The location of the outdoor gym will be the small triangle of grass located at the eastern end of the park, near the exit to TV Centre. 

Unfortunately, LBHF say that the response rate was too low to justify the spend.  The council have re-opened the consultation, so it's important that we get a bigger response this time around.

Shepherd's Bush Market Plans Given Green Light by LBHF

Yoo Capital, owners of Shepherds Bush Market and neighbouring land, have won their battle for planning permission to redevelop the Market.  The vote in Hammersmith and Fulham Planning Committee was 3-2.

The redevelopment scheme involves the construction of forty new flats to be managed by LBHF.  Paying for the new subsidised flats is a large new commercial building.   You can read the full story at Time Out here and also at the Evening Standard.

Outdoor Gym for Hammersmith Park - Have Your Say

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham is consulting with local residents on whether to build an outdoor gym in Hammersmith Park and, if so what sort of equipment to install.

The location of the outdoor gym would be in a small triangle of grass located at the eastern end of the park, near the exit to TV Centre. 

You can have your say by emailing parks.projects@lbhf.gov.uk. 

The deadline for comments is today, Friday 15th September 2023.

Public Consultation on Alcohol in Shepherd's Bush Green

Public Consultation on the Consumption of Alcohol

Our local council - The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) - is running a public consultation on the Consumption of Alcohol on Shepherd's Bush Green.  The consultation runs until 2 April 2023. 

If you would like to comment, use the following link: https://haveyoursay.lbhf.gov.uk/. 

You will see a number of consultations currently ongoing; just scroll down to the relevant link.

No Lights for Shepherd's Bush Green Again

Westfield sparkles

Once again this Christmas, Westfield sparkles, but there are no Christmas decorations on the shopping streets around Shepherd's Bush Green.

Every year, Westfield puts on a display of light and colour, while Shepherd's Bush Green and the surrounding streets are left with nothing at all.

Even though local businesses pay business rates for local services, our Council appear unable to hang any Christmas decorations in our shopping streets.

Parking Charges Double in LBHF

Our local council, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, have recently almost doubled the cost of parking in our Borough.  Parking charges in the area have risen from around £2.80 an hour to around £5.00 per hour.  

This is a pretty steep increase.  Imagine a family taking their kids to the park; it would cost £15 just to park the family car for three hours.  

Is that affordable for many people? And is it proportionate to the actual cost of administering parking facilities?  

What this feels like is a stealth tax - and a pretty big one at that. 

No Bridge? How About a Ferry Instead?

A new campaign has been formed to petition Richmond Council for a ferry to replace Hammersmith bridge for up to five years, while our Council, TFL and Whitehall argue over who should foot bill to repair Hammersmith Bridge.  

The campaign needs more signatures; would you support a ferry being in place for five years to replace, temporarily, Hammersmith Bridge? To offer your support, click on this link and then click on the box that invites you to leave a comment.

D-Day-style Solution for Hammersmith Bridge?

Proposed temporary bridge by Tim Beckett

According to a recent article in the Daily Mail, Shepherd's Bush author and journalist Robert Hardman has identified an imaginative solution to the perma-closure of Hammersmith Bridge - a "D-Day"-style steel replacement. 

The temporary bridge is the brainchild of marine engineer Tim Beckett and his team at Beckett Rankine, builders of harbours, bridges and piers. 

Hammersmith Bridge Protest Tomorrow at 5pm

Hammersmith Bridge 

Hammersmith Bridge is now closed not just to vehicles but also to bicycles, pedestrians and river traffic. This is apparently because of an "increased risk to public safety due to a sudden deterioration in key parts of the suspension structure."

The bridge will apparently remain closed "until the engineers are confident that it is safe to re-open to pedestrians and river traffic".

But when will this be? The bridge has been closed since April 2019, following a long and sorry saga of temporary closures and regular postponement of the necessary repairs.

Tomorrow Thursday 3rd September at 5pm there will be a Hammersmith Bridge Protest Meeting, to be held on both sides of the bridge.

Guests include a cross channel swimmer who will be swimming across the Thames from Barnes to Hammersmith.

If you're fed up with the endless delays and prevarications and would like to see our council do something about repairing the bridge, show up and let your voice be heard.

Parking Consultation: Zone J / JJ

Zone J

Parking is a subject almost guaranteed to produce an emotional response from local residents. Should there be open parking? Or should there be parking restrictions? If so, where, and how will they work?

Parking Zone J/JJ (see left) seems to be more contentious than almost any other in the Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

Parking challenges include proximity to Westfield, and also QPR match days - which fill up local parking spots with visitors' cars.

A local action group, Zone J Parking Campaign, is opposing the Council's latest plans.

New Fountain Proposed for Hammersmith Park

Proposed Design

Our local Council have proposed a new water fountain for Hammersmith Park. You can see a draft of the proposed design on the left.

The idea is to have a new water fountain so that visitors to the park can get a drink of water on a hot day.

So far, local opinion is (as is frequently the case) rather divided. A number of locals are against it, suggesting that it adds to the clutter of our neighbourhood and, anyway, why spend scarce public money on an expensive new fountain when anyone who needs a drink can always pop into Play Football and get a glass of water?

Personally, I think it's a good idea, on balance.

H&F Report It App for Your Phone

Our Council has launched a new app - the "H&F Report It App" for Your smartphone.

The app allows you to report problems like fly-tipping to the Council on your phone, without the need to send an email or make a phone call.

Council to Spend £350,000 on Shepherd's Bush Green

Waterlogging on Shepherd's Bush Green in 2016

According to an article in MyLondon (formerly GetWestLondon) in November,  Shepherd's Bush Green is to get a £350,000 makeover to solve the problem of waterlogging on the Green.

Waterlogging is definitely a problem, and a number of people have mentioned this over the years, that - especially in winter - the Green can get badly waterlogged.

DIMCO Applies for 7 Day Entertainment License Until 1am

DIMCO Buildings - an entertainment venue?

The DIMCO Buildings, The Grade II listed former bus shelter which lies (slightly incongruously) at the heart of the Westfield shopping centre, have applied for an entertainment license from our council.

If you would like to comment on the application, you can do so at the official site. Once you register a view, you will be notified of the time and date of the hearing and, if you feel strongly, you can attend the hearing and offer your views.

Visitor Parking is Changing - and it's a Shambles

Shepherd's Bush residents are angry and frustrated at a new visitor parking system being introduced by our Council. The old Visitor parking permit system in Shepherd's Bush is being discontinued at the end of April, as LBHF switches to a new system, run by Ring Go.

The Council say that this is needed "to make renewing and applying for a permit easier and more convenient". So far, the experience of local residents trying to register with the new ringGo system is that it isn't easy or convenient at all.

What is the Future of Hammersmith Park?

What does the future hold for much-neglected Hammersmith Park? Our council is currently consulting with local residents to find out what people want for their park, in the future.

According to a sign recently posted in the park, titled "Improving Hammersmith Park" (see left) consultations are to take place on Saturday 10 March, from 10am until 11.15am, Monday 12 March, from 3.15pm until 4.30pm, and on Friday 16th March, from 3.15pm to 4.30pm.

You can also email parks.projects@lbhf.co.uk with your suggestions, and also visit the webpage lbhf.citizenspace.com, and scroll down to the survey for Hammersmith Park. The closing date for submissions is 25 March.

Shepherd's Bush Market Plans Killed by Council

Shepherd's Bush Market

Pity any developer trying to do business in our Borough. LBHF has, once again, declined planning permission for the redevelopment of part of Shepherd's Bush market. 

The idea was to turn the old laundry site - currently just an empty space behind the Market - to rival Shoreditch's Boxpark.  Developers had applied to open cafes, restaurants, artists’ studios and co-working spaces in 74 glass-fronted containers designed in a similar style to Pop Brixton and Shoreditch's Boxpark. 

But the Council says no. So, having killed off the last attempt to redevelop the market, LBHF now kills off another one. Is there anything developers can do to get their plans past our do-nothing Council?

BT's Phone Booth Scam

Another pointless phone booth in Shepherd's Bush

What's The Point of Phone Booths? We asked this question back in January, noting that they seem to be springing up everywhere, despite everyone nowadays having a mobile phone.

Thanks to the Hammersmith Society and the Ladbroke Association, we now have the answer.

It's not about telephones, it's about advertising. According to the Summer 2017 Ladbroke Association newsletter, phone companies like BT "can make a lot of money selling advertising space". Today, a phone booth is "no more than a hooded upright stand with an advertisement on one side and a telephone on the other".

But if this is - as it seems - just an advertising scam, without fulfilling any public need - why does our Council allow this to take place?

LBHF Freezes Council Tax - But Your Bill Will Go Up Anyway

Hammersmith Town Hall. Council Tax frozen again this year

Shepherd's Bush residents will surely be grateful that our local council, The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, have frozen Council Tax again this year.

With pressure on government finances at all levels, this is clearly welcome news for taxpayers.

But, despite LBHF freezing their bill, your local Council Tax will go up.  Why?