Shepherd's Bush's New Park

Proposed public park. 

Did you know we're getting a new public park in Shepherd's Bush? It's all part of the new Westfield development, and that of St James to the north - on the old M&S warehouse site east of Wood Lane.

The whole area is being redeveloped, and the price exacted by the Council from the developers was a new public park. It's not huge and, since it runs below the Hammersmith and City tube line, it will be noisy. But still - new green lungs for our very urban neighbourhood can't be a bad thing.

To imagine what it will look like, see the photo to the left.


You're looking at the Hammersmith and City tube line, which will straddle the new park. The building to the left is the new John Lewis, part of the new Westfield extension, which will double the size of our already immense shopping centre.

To the right of the photo is the new St James development - a steel and glass construction which will dominate the landscape north of Westfield. You can read about it here.

St James development

At the top of the photo is Wood Lane, and beyond it the new redeveloped TV Centre, which will replace the old BBC home with flats, offices, sound stages - and a new Soho House club with rooftop swimming pool.

The photo on the right shows what the St James site will look like - lots of big towers, not unlike Paddington Basin.

You may notice that the park looks rather bigger in this older photo (right) than it does in the new one at the top.  So, the park seems to be getting rather smaller over time. Let's hope it doesn't shrink any further, now that everyone has their planning permission in place.

Will it be a nice park? The developers certainly hope so.  According to the folks at Stanhope, who are redeveloping TV Centre, Transport for London (TFL) are also investing in the park, clearing out and upgrading the old railway arches. The idea is to make room for cafes and restaurants, creating a much more liveable public space.

Hopefully, this new green space will provide Bush residents with something to look forward to when the cranes and bulldozers have moved on.

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@gmail.com.