Petition to "Save Uxbridge Road"

Local Shepherd's Bush residents have raised a petition to clean up Uxbridge Road, one of our neighbourhood's main East-West arteries.

The purpose of the petition is to encourage our local council, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, to focus on cleaning up the Uxbridge Road, dealing with some of the anti-social behaviour and generally tidying things up.

Local residents have long complained about social problems on Uxbridge Road.  Back in 2021 the Uxbridge Rd Police Station closed and was put up for sale, a decision which did little to deter crime and disorder.  

In 2022 Jonathan Pearl, chair of FOSGB (Friends of Shepherd's Bush Green) highlighted the growing problem of anti-social behaviour. 

New Tennis Courts For Hammersmith Park

Newly resurfaced tennis courts at Hammersmith Park

Thanks to our local council, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, for the newly resurfaced tennis courts at Hammersmith Park.

The old tennis courts had deteriorated badly and were prone to flooding, collecting mud and debris in wet weather. 

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.

New Tennis Nets at Hammersmith Park

Old (top) vs new (bottom)

Many thanks to the Parks Team at the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham for the new tennis nets recently installed in Hammersmith Park. 

The old nets were in pretty bad shape, with holes so big it wasn't clear whether balls were going over the net or through it.

The tennis courts in Hammersmith Park are one of our best local amenities. You can't book them in advance - meaning that anyone can drop in at any time and play.  

You might have to wait a few minutes, but spontaneity is rewarded for the patient.  

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.

Work Begins on Hammersmith Park "Old Bowling Green"

Felled brush at Hammersmith Park

Work has begun at last to improve the "Old Bowling Green" in Hammersmith Park - that's the overgrown area beyond the tennis courts that hosts the so-called "Tiny Forest". 

Years of unplanned growth of shrubs and small trees have been cut down to make way for a more curated environment - you can see the plans from our council, the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) below.

Why is Ginglik Still Closed?

Ginglik - long derelict

Why is the former Edwardian loo-turned nightclub Ginglik still closed and derelict?

In 2021 an appplication for planning permission was put in for a change of use, the change of use being from a nightclub to a restaurant.  

Permission was for this granted by LBHF (who own the site) in September 2021, but since then nothing has happened. 

The former Ginglik site occupies a long-neglected corner of Shepherd's Bush Green, which has become a site for rubbish dumping and rough sleeping.  Surely something can be done to find a use for this most central location in Shepherd's Bush? A new restaurant would be good news - if it can be pulled off.

Hammersmith Park Tennis Courts Locked

Why lock the courts?

Sometimes our local council moves in mysterious ways.  On Sunday I went to the tennis courts in Hammersmith Park to play with my children, only to discover the courts locked.  

Two basketball players were also there, but none of us could get in.  Not to worry, I said, let's crawl in through the hole in the fence at the back.  But no luck; the council - in its wisdom and efficiency - has blocked up the hole. 

The two basketball players were undeterred; they simply climbed over the fence, while my kids and I had to find somewhere else to hit a ball. 

But how long will it be, I wondered, before someone makes a new hole in the fence? 

1,000 Parking Tickets a Week Issued in Shepherds Bush

Macfarlane Rd - Ticket Hotspot

Every week, around 1,000 Parking Tickets are issued in Shepherds Bush.  Each year nearly 49,000 Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are issued by Hammersmith & Fulham Council in our neighbourhood, W12.

Tuhin Reynolds-Imam has done extensive research to find out exactly who is getting parking tickets, and where.  

To find out the top places in The Bush to get a ticket (and how to avoid them), see the detailed results below, with data taken from Tuhin's website proviser.com.

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. 

"Tiny Forest" Planted in Hammersmith Park

"Tiny Forest" in Hammersmith Park

According to recent news reports, Hammersmith Park is set to house London’s first "Tiny Forest", planted in the old Bowling Green in the Park.  

Our Council, LBHF, posted a news story about the forest back in March.

But where is this forest? And how do you get there? Turns out, it isn't that easy to find, and there isn't any legitimate public access.

Westfield Sparkles, But No Lights for Shepherd's Bush

Westfield sparkles

Westfield sparkles again this year, but our local Council have again failed to find any money to put up Christmas decorations on 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 to cheer the place up.

Our Council seem unable to hang any Christmas decorations in our shopping streets.

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.

No Christmas Lights Again for Shepherd's Bush

Christmas Lights at Westfield

Uncle Scrooge would be proud of our local Council, who once again have failed to find any money to put up Christmas decorations on Shepherd's Bush Green.

Every year, Westfield puts on a sparkling display to pull in the crowds, while Shepherd's Bush Green and the surrounding streets are left with nothing to cheer the place up.

Cathnor Area Traffic Consultation Ends 20 Sept

Cathnor Rd Option 1

The Cathnor Road Area Traffic Consultation Ends on 20th September.  If you'd like to have your say, follow this link, and vote on the best outcome.

Our local Council, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), are trying to solve the problem of "significant southwest bound movement from Westway to Goldhawk Road travelling through the Wormholt park Area and then to the Cathnor Park Area".

As ever, traffic calming measures have their pros and cons, and not everyone is likely to be happy.

Residents in Coningham Road are unhappy because one of the new proposals is to block off through roads between the Uxbridge Rd and the Goldhawk Rd and Askew Rd, which could force traffic down Coningham Rd - which already carries a good deal of traffic. 

LBHF install LampPost Charging Points

In an imaginative move to make it easier to charge electric cars, our council have installed "LampPost Charging Points" at various points in the Borough. The idea is to take an existing supply of electricity - a street light - and make it available to owners of electric cars.

Since very few residents in our borough have garages where cars can be parked and charged overnight, this offers a unique opportunity to charge your electric car on the street. 

It's an imaginative solution to the problem of how to charge cars in a borough chiefly composed of Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing.

LBHF Summer Grants Scheme Launched

United in Hammersmith & Fulham, our borough’s new place-based giving scheme, has launched a Summer Get Together grants scheme, and is looking for up to 40 local events to fund.

Through the scheme United will help support anyone in the borough organising a picnic, street party, lunch, sporting event, fun day or other community activity with and for their neighbours.

Hammersmith Bridge to Close for Good?

Hammersmith Bridge today

According to a recent article in the London Evening Standard, Hammersmith Bridge "may be shut to drivers for good" as the repair bill for the ailing structure nears £100m.

Rather than find a way to pay for the repairs, our local Council, LBHF, seem to have decided on a new idea - to celebrate the closure instead.  Hammersmith Bridge is being re-branded as a "green" bridge - cycles and pedestrians only. No more polluting wicked cars.

Nick Fairholme, TfL’s director of project and programme delivery, told a conference: “Although we want to reopen it, [a full repair] is not going to be a cheap fix. If there is public support for leaving it as a pedestrian and cycle bridge then we will have to consider that.”

The trouble is, Hammersmith Bridge is a major traffic artery for thousands of Londoners, and the closure has forcibly re-routed six bus routes. LBHF say that they have no money for repairs, but there are two simple ways that the money could be raised.

Hammersmith Bridge Closed Indefinitely

Local residents are furious as Hammersmith Bridge has been closed by our Council "indefinitely".

This is the latest development in a long-running and sorry saga of delay and neglect, in which our local Council has continuously kicked the long-postponed repairs into the long grass.

Back in October we reported - to a furious response from LBHF - that the price tag for repairs had risen to £36m from the 2014 estimate of £25m.