St Stephen's Wins Best Primary School in UK

St Stephen's Church of England School in Shepherd's Bush has won the "TES" Award (the "Oscars" of school awards) in the category of Best Primary School in the UK.   There are around 21,000 primary schools in the UK - so this is a huge achievement for our local school.  

Deluxe Coffee Works - Welcome to The Bush

Deluxe Coffee Works

Coffee in Shepherd's Bush just got a little bit better (actually, a lot better) with the opening of the Deluxe Coffee Works in Macfarlane Rd.

Deluxe is located in a former light industrial building tucked in among residential houses in a small corner of The Bush - just off Shepherd's Bush Green. 

Deluxe is mainly a BtoB (Business to Business) operation, importing and roasting their own beans on the premises, but they also sell delicious fresh roasted coffee directly to the public. 

And, today, the opening day of the new "roastery", they are offering free coffee to locals.  But there is no sign on the door - you'll just have to follow the crowds. 

Hammersmith Park Japanese Garden September Newsletter

Hammersmith Park

The Japanese Garden in Hammersmith is one of the many pleasures of our neighbourhood. 

The Garden gets a regular cleanup by local volunteers; Japanese Garden Chair John Gordon-Smith also writes a monthly newsletter about the Garden. To see the latest news, see John's newsletter below. 

Corona Testing Comes to Hammersmith

A new Corona testing centre has opened up in Hammersmith, housed inside the Hammersmith Club in Rutland Grove. They've even bagged the handy url www.coronatestcentre.com. The test they use, which I took this morning, is the Boditech Antibody Test, a test developed by a South Korean company.

Google "Boditech Antibody Test" and not a great deal comes up; there is no Wikipedia page yet, for example.  So is it the real deal - is the test worth having?

Covid-19 Update from Macfarlane Rd

Macfarlane Rd

In Macfarlane Rd, my local corner of Shepherd's Bush, the indefatigable Belinda Mitchell-Innes has been organising leaflets, a Facebook Group, and a WhatsApp Group to help keep an eye on the most vulnerable and make sure local people stay safe.

Belinda also posts a weekly newsletter, offering the latest on how to survive the lockdown in the Bush. See below for Belinda's full local roundup.

Your Chance to Vote on Hammersmith Park Playground

Hammersmith Park Playground is getting a makeover, and our Council has decided to let the public decide which design should win. 

Now is your chance to vote. Follow this this link to the official LBHF site, and have your say.

There are three designs to choose from, which you can see at the official site and also below.

Wood Lane Petrol Station Plans

Petrol Station on Wood Lane by Karl and Craig

According to a news item at WhiteNoise, the old Esso petrol station on Wood Lane is to be taken over by Elephant Magazine, who are to turn it into "a new space [to] act as a meeting place and hub for performance, discussion, film screenings, talks and workshops put together by our editors and curatorial team. A café , shop and outdoor garden area complete this."

So, in plain English then, the old petrol station will become an arts cafe.

Princess Victoria Pub to Re-Open

Princess Victoria

Excellent news for residents of Shepherd's Bush - the Princess Victoria pub (which now has its very own Wikipedia page) on the Uxbridge road is set to re-open, according to a piece at Shepherd'sBushW12

The new owners are the Three Cheers Pub Co. A licensing application has been submitted to our Council, LBHF by Six Cheers Ltd. You can view the application and add your own comments here.

ITV To Move to White City in 2018

Jonathan Ross is coming to Wood Lane

ITV Studios is to relocate from the South Bank to White City Place and Television Centre.

ITV Studios is moving its Daytime production business from their present location south of the river Thames to White City, described as a "growing hub for the creative industries in west London".

ITV Studios Daytime will be based in White City during the redevelopment of their South Bank site.

Election Season Again - Who Will Win?

Andy Slaughter MP

It's election season again, with a General Election set for 8 June. Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter, who defied his party's national setbacks in the 2015 General Election and was re-elected with a convincing majority, must fight once more to retain his seat.

We don't yet know who his opponents will be, but one thing is for sure - Andy Slaughter is a skilful politician who almost doubled his share of the vote at the last election. Even with Labour lagging in the polls, it will surely take an impressive Conservative candidate to unseat this well-established MP.

Evening Standard "Guide to Living in Shepherd's Bush"

Westfield extension 

The Evening Standard have run an extensive piece on life in Shepherd's Bush, exploring property, food and life in general. As the ES puts it: "Shepherd’s Bush and nearby White City are at the centre of an £8 billion regeneration that will see the already massively popular Westfield London shopping centre expanded with a new John Lewis flagship department store, plus 70 new shops and restaurants and more than 1,500 new homes at the White City Living development." To see the full article, follow this link.

Tri-Borough Agreement to End

Hammersmith Town Hall

The Tri-Borough Agreement between The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, Westminster Council, and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, is coming to an end.

BBC news have reported on it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39415618.  So what does it mean for residents of Shepherd's Bush?  It may mean hikes in Council Tax, given that the original TriBorough Agreement, brought in when all three councils were run by the Conservatives, was designed to save money in the first place.

TFL Gets Planning Permission for Railway Arches

Restored arches near Wood Lane - how it might look

In November 2016 Transport For London showcased its plans to redevelop the arches near Wood Lane Tube station, to take advantage of the Westfield extension and the new proposed public park which will straddle the Hammersmith and City railway line.

TFL’s plans to transform 31 railway arches near Wood Lane Tube station into retail units and commercial space have now been granted planning permission by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

W12 is "Getting its Mojo Back" Says Evening Standard

White City - how it might look

According to a recent article in the Evening Standard, W12 is "getting its mojo back", thanks to all the new construction work in our neighbourhood.

"Westfield is expanding, the BBC building is being transformed, and Soho House is moving in — W12 is staking its claim as London’s latest hotspot".

To see the full story, follow this link.

Shepherds Bush Businesses Rates Up By Nearly a Quarter

Dorsett Hotel - flagship business in Shepherd's Bush

Businesses in Hammersmith and Fulham are likely be faced with a massive increase in the local Business Rate.

A leaked breakdown of changes in business rates show Shepherds Bush businesses are in line for a whopping 22.8% increase – a huge extra burden to carry.

The changes in Business Rates are designed to reflect rising rental property prices - and our borough is one of the worst affected. 

Heathrow Gets the Green Light - Bad News for Shepherd's Bush?

The new face of Shepherd's Bush? Wikimedia

Heathrow's new runway has been given the green light by the Government, despite strong opposition, including from Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter.

The new runway's flight path will likely lie directly above Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith. That's very bad news for pretty much everyone in our neighbourhood.

Shepherd's Bush Flats in Flames

One of the big multi-storey blocks of flats to the south of the Shepherd's Bush roundabout was today in flames, as fire caused the evacuation of over 50 people. You can see the full story at the BBC here and also at ShepherdsBushW12. Shepherd's Bush Green has been closed for much of the day, leading to huge traffic jams and congestion. By tonight, fire chiefs were reporting that the blaze was under control. The London Fire Brigade was called at 15:44, with 999 control officers taking over 40 emergency calls to the incident. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Should Hammersmith & Fulham Declare Independence?

According to our Council, the residents of Hammersmith & Fulham bucked the national trend in the recent referendum by a wide margin, voting 70% in favour of remaining in the European Union. Just 30% voted to leave, on a high turnout of almost 70%.  Hammersmith & Fulham Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Cowan also sought to calm the nerves of anxious Europeans in our neighbourhood. He said that the Council "wants to send a very clear and very warm message of welcome to the thousands of EU citizens that have made our borough their home."

Night Tube To Begin On 19 August

The Night Tube, the 24 hour Underground service that was scheduled to start last September, is now due to start on 19 August, with the Central Line leading the way.

This means that trains from Shepherd's Bush to central London will run 24 hours a day, making London (like New York City) "The City That Never Sleeps".

A good thing then for late-night clubbers, and night-shift workers, but less welcome perhaps for anyone in Shepherd's Bush who wants a quiet life.

To Brexit Or Not To Brexit

Eddie Morgan is a film-maker who lives in Shepherd's Bush (his production company Northern Town has its home on the Goldhawk Rd), and a passionate Europhile. In this video he has made with Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister sets out his case for why the UK should remain in Europe. It's an emotional piece, filmed amidst the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, and his argument is basely largely on the peace and prosperity that Europe has enjoyed since the disaster of two world wars. No bogus economic statistics here - just an old-fashioned call to arms.