What is The Shepherd's Bush Conservation Area?

Shepherd's Bush Conservation Area

Shepherd's Bush Green may be a "a windswept traffic island ringed by kebab joints and mobile phone shops" - as the Financial Times memorably put it in May 2014 - but it is also, perhaps slightly improbably, a Conservation Area. Which is odd, given that Shepherd's Bush is also part of the White City Opportunity Area - a area considered part of the masterplan for development in London.  So, our Council has a duty both to protect our neighbourhood, and also to develop it.  Confused? You're not the only one.

What is a Conservation Area?
According to the LBH&F's official website, Conservation Areas "are defined in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as areas of special architectural or historic interest, the character of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance".  Furthermore, "since 1971 the council has designated 45 Conservation Areas covering around half of the borough". That's a pretty big area.

What about the White City Opportunity Area, isn't that in conflict with conservation?
Yes it is. The whole purpose of the White City Opportunity Area is to create opportunities for development. New housing, new jobs, new developments up and down Wood lane - all around our neighbourhood.

So how do you protect an area from development, whilst at the same time promoting development?

Planning law in Shepherd's Bush is a very confusing world. But it least it creates plenty of work for lawyers, to argue about what it all really means.

To see LBH&F's official page regarding the Shepherd's Bush Conservation Area, follow this link. And to see more about the White City Opportunity Area, follow this link.

---Alex

The Bush Telegraph offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story about our neighbourhood, email us at shepherdsbushblog(at)gmail.com.