Sunday, 23 April 2017

Hoxton Hotel Proposal for Shepherd's Bush

The Hammersmith Society has revealed details of the proposed Hoxton Hotel on the west side of Shepherd's Bush Green. The proposed new hotel will displace the current Post Office, and the existing buildings will likely be demolished, assuming that planning permission is granted. The image above shows the Dorsett Hotel on the left, and the proposed Hoxton Hotel on the right.

Existing buildings on Shepherd's Bush Green - due for demolition
The Hammersmith Society is broadly supportive of the scheme, and "consider that redevelopment is appropriate for the site", as the present late 50s or early 60s building "makes no positive contribution to the west side of Shepherds Bush Green".

In other words - it's ugly.

The new building will include "a local cafĂ©, free wifi and yoga". So the Hammersmith Society is giving the project a cautious welcome, though they have "written [to the developers] expressing concerns about the height and juxtaposition" of the new building.

In their recent newsletter the Hammersmith Society wrote:

"The west side of Shepherd’s Bush Green is an interesting mix: the fine Arts and Crafts 02 Empire, (formerly a music hall built in 1903 by Frank Matcham) at the south end and the Dorsett Hotel (built as a cinema by Frank Verity in 1923) as a centrepiece, whilst at the north end there are two substantial and mundane commercial blocks. The Hammersmith Society has been taking part in pre-planning discussions for the redevelopment of the first commercial block next to the Dorsett. This is the location of the post office, (soon to be moved into Westfield), and now owned by the Hoxton Hotel Group, which has existing London hotels in Shoreditch and Holborn.

We have welcomed the replacement of this dull building by a hotel, which includes promise of community connectivity with cafe and yoga studio. Following discussions with the Hammersmith Society and others, a responsive development team has made considerable improvements to the design. This will be an inoffensive and reasonably scaled building, and providing there is careful, rich architectural detailing the development would be appropriate


The Shepherd's Bush Blog offers a personal view on life in Shepherd's Bush. If you would like to contribute a story, email us at shepherdsbushblog(at)gmail.com. And don't forget to add your opinion in the comments section below.

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