What's Happening in Shepherd's Bush in 2017?

Westfield 2.0

2017 will be a busy year for Shepherd's Bush, especially in the White City Regeneration Area, where multiple developments will permanently alter the skyline.

Sometime in the latter part of 2017, probably October, we should see the opening of the newly-expanded Westfield's John Lewis Department store, which lots of residents will be pleased about.

Helios Building

This year will also see the completion of Phase One of the TV Centre development on Wood Lane, transforming the old BBC TV centre into a new urban residential area. The BBC isn't going away entirely, as some new sound stages will remain open for their use.

Other grand projets include a new public park, which is supposed to link up Westfield with the new John Lewis, bringing new shops and restaurants to the railway arches (owned by TFL) underneath the Hammersmith and City line.

TFL is planning on redeveloping the arches, now that they will be surrounded by posh new developments. According to TFL, the new arches should be "available for new tenants" in October 2017.

Pergola on the Roof plans to re-open this summer, bringing inexpensive hipster outdoor dining to the top of the old BBC Car Park on Wood Lane.

The Bush theatre will re-open, with a new slate of anti-right-wing plays. For example Hir, playing this summer, will "ridicule the American Dream".  Expect a lot more overtly political theatre from artistic director Madani Younis.

This summer, as soon as the weather gets nice, Shepherd's Bush Green will likely become a sea of litter, just like last year. And, also like last year, our Council will likely fail to do anything about enforcing its litter laws, apart from sticking up notices saying "zero tolerance" for littering.

But don't hold your breath for any news on fixing up poor old Shepherd's Bush Market. Despite the millions of pounds spent on the proposed redevelopment and the (presumably) huge cost of the litigation, the result ended in failure for the developers, Orion. And, since our council doesn't have any money, and not much time for property developers anyway, any new plans to redevelop the site will surely be years away. Love it or hate it, Shepherd's Bush Market won't be changing any time soon.

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.