Morrisons Comes to Shepherd's Bush

Morrisons New Location on Wood Lane

Grocery giant Morrisons looks to be joining the local retail landscape in Shepherd's Bush, with a new shop set to open on Wood Lane.

The new premises is to be a Morrisons Daily and will located at "Unit H2 Macfarlane Place, Wood Lane, London W12 7FR.

The new shop will be open from 7am until 11pm daily.  

Farewell to Table Tennis at Westfield

Table tennis outside Westfield - in happier times

If you’ve passed by the bus station outside Westfield White City recently, you may have noticed something missing. The all-weather table tennis tables, once a quirky fixture of the concourse, have quietly disappeared.

For years, the tables were a rare bit of public fun in an otherwise functional transport hub.  Commuters, kids, and the odd shopper laden with bags could be spotted sticking around for a quick game.  They made the bus station feel less like a waiting room and more like a community space.

Demolition of BBC Car Park Begins

Scaffolding is up, and the long process of demolition of BBC Car Park on Wood Lane is underway. 

Work began in mid June 2021, but the work will take some time; the old car park is a massive structure filled with concrete ramps, and with deep foundations.  

It will take "at least 35 weeks" to remove it, so local residents in Macfarlane Rd are bracing themselves for many months of noise, mess and general disruption.

ITV Moves to White City

ITV moves to White City

Some good news for our neighbourhood; ITV is moving operations to White City.  ShowBiz is back in the Bush. 

The broadcaster has signed a 13-year lease on Broadcast Centre in White City from the BBC, as it moves all of its London based staff into one location for the first time.

Friday Night - Trouble in White City

Friday Night in White City

On Friday night, the White City Estate was the site of an incident of some fairly serious public disorder, the latest in a series of illegal street parties turning into riots - and violence against the police.

Anyone trying to get some sleep in West London on Friday night can hardly have missed the noise of the Police helicopters circling overhead. 

According to BBC news, "seven police officers were injured after police tried to break up an unlicensed music event in west London."

But if "Unlicensed music event" sounds to you like some innocent fun on a friday night, think again. Local resident Adam tells the story.

Imperial College Campus Almost Complete

Imperial College Campus viewed from South of The Westway

The Imperial College Campus which has been slowly rising on Wood Lane, North of the Westway, is almost finished.

What is now clear is just how very undistinguished the architecture is. An opportunity to create a new and beautiful campus from scratch has been lost; what has been completed is an odd jumble of weird-looking buildings.

The site is dominated by the 34-storey ziggurat which towers over the Westway and was politely described by the Hammersmith Society as "controversial". "Very ugly" would be a better word for this weirdly asymmetrical building which now dominates views north from Shepherd's Bush and White City.

Theatre Party at the Troubadour on 1st November

Outside Edge theatre company is having their 20th birthday party at the Troubadour in White City on Friday 1st November.

The event takes place at 6pm on Friday 1st November, and all are welcome.

Outside Edge Theatre Company describes itself as "the UK’s only theatre company and participatory arts charity focused on substance misuse and addiction."

So, everyone is welcome - but expect soft drinks rather than a full bar. 

Elephant Cafe - How it Turned Out

Elephant - how it was meant to look

Last summer the old Esso petrol station on Wood Lane got taken over by Elephant Magazine, who promised to turn it into "a new space to act as a meeting place and hub for performance, discussion, film screenings, talks and workshops". Plus, of course, a  "café, shop and outdoor garden area". As often happens these days, the plans were accompanied by a shiny digital image of what the development might actually look like. So, how did it actually turn out?

Troubadour White City Theatre To Open This Summer

Troubadour White City

There is good news for theatre lovers in White City.

A new pop-up 1,200 seat theatre will open this summer in the old BBC car park on Wood Lane.

The venue will be known as "Troubadour White City Theatre", and will be one of the largest entertainment spaces in London when completed. 

Hammersmith Park Needs Friends

Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park

Hammersmith Park is a small but precious scrap of green space in a very urban part of our borough. 

Located in White City, next to the former BBC TV centre, it has been the subject of some local controversy in recent years.

The 2015 plans to install a series of football pitches run by Play Football, was a big concern for many local residents, especially the lack of consultation with residents' groups. 

More recently, a proposed expansion of the Japanese Garden has ruffled a number of feathers. We asked John Gordon-Smith, Chair of the Friends of The Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park, to explain what is being planned. 

Royal College of Art Show Starts 23 June

Animation by Marcia Stewart at the RCA

The Royal College of Art, our new neighbours in White City, and launcing their latest graduate show at White City Place on 23 June.

The exhibition will feature the work of many different artists including animators, designers and illustrators and is open to the public from Saturday 23 June until Sunday 1 July in the WestWorks and MediaWorks buildings at White City Place.

White City Consultation Wed 25 April

White City is changing

White City Developers Stanhope are hosting a panel discussion on the future of White City on Wednesday 25 April at 6.30pm.

The panel will include representatives from Stanhope, our Council, Imperial College, and local residents' groups.

To sign up for the event, which is free, follow this link to the EventBrite page.  All are welcome.

Planning Drawings for EdCity on Display Today

Updated plans for "EdCity" – a new education hub in White City, as well as new housing and community facilities, are going on display at a public consultation today and tomorrow.

The proposed plans would see the site currently occupied by Ark Swift Primary Academy, Harmony Neighbourhood Nursery and the Adult Community Learning Centre be redeveloped to create a new school and nursery.

The new plans would also include new affordable and private housing, the first "OnSide Youth Zone" in west London, offering affordable activities for local young people, as well as new offices, a revamped adult education centre and a public square.

White City Living Video

In the video above you can catch a glimpse of what White City will look like when St James have finished their White City scheme, known as "White City Living". St James is the property developer currently re-developing the old M&S warehouse site to the east of Wood Lane, next door to Westfield. You can see our post about their original plans back in 2014.  In May 2015 they got planning approval for their proposed steel and glass project, which will be not unlike Paddington Basin in appearance and design.

White City Ziggurat Towers 34 Stories Over Wood Lane

34 storey tower on Wood Lane

The new 34-storey tower rising at the top of Wood Lane is politely described by the Hammersmith Society as "controversial".

"Very ugly" might be a better word for this weirdly asymmetrical ziggurat which now dominates views north from Shepherd's Bush and White City.

It's yet another example in our neighbourhood of a missed opportunity to build something genuinely attractive. After all, Imperial College had a blank canvas when they started planning their new £200m White City Campus north of the Westway.

Instead of creating something beautiful, their architects have put up - for the most part - bland and characterless high rise buildings. The site is brand new and shiny but it already manages to look dated.

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.

White City Vision in the Evening Standard

White City - the vision

Another vision of the new White City development has been published in the Evening Standard.

It's a promotional piece, but it has some nice 3D images of the future of White City, and gives a useful impression of how the redeveloped neighbourhood will look.

On the left you can the see the new John Lewis department store, part of the ongoing expansion of Westfield, and further to the left the tall towers of the St James development on the old M&S warehouse site.

Pergola on the Roof is Back

Pergola on the Roof

Pergola on the Roof, the rooftop restaurant that brings outdoor dining to the top of the old soon-to-be-demolished carpark on Wood Lane, re-opened to the public on 3 May. 

Open all summer long, until 1st October, Pergola on the Roof follows on from Storeys, the 2015 street food venture that brightened up White City for the summer of 2015.

Former Unigate Dairy Site Plans To Go On Display

Imperial College Campus

Plans for the old Unigate Dairy site in White City will soon go on display.

Imperial College London, who own the land and plan to develop it, are holding a public consultation on their proposals for what will be the southern part of their new White City campus.

The university, which is building from scratch an entirely new campus in White City, says that feedback from the event will be considered before a planning application is submitted to our local Council (LBHF) later this year.

Art Giveaway by White Noise

Soon-to-be-demolished BBC East Tower

White Noise, a website about creativity in White City and West London, is running an art giveaway for local people.

The pieces being given away are twelve sculptures created using textures and wood taken from the soon-to-be-demolished former BBC East Tower.

The East Tower will be demolished sometime this year as part of the White City TV Centre development.