DIMCO Buildings to become Events Venue

DIMCO Buildings - an entertainment venue?

Westfield, as anyone in our neighbourhood can hardly have failed to notice, is building. But the great northwards expansion of the UK's sixth largest shopping centre does not include the DIMCO buildings, a former electrical station for the central line which (slightly curiously) has listed building status.

Westfield now wants your views on what the future of the DIMCO buildings should be. The current proposal is to turn them into a new entertainment venue.

Westfield did not have planning permission to remove the listed DIMCO buildings (where scenes from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? were filmed), but this was described at their website as one of their "aspirations for the future", in order to create "a spectacular new civic square which could provide a variety of uses throughout the year".

For now, they have settled on turning DIMCO into a new venue. You can see their letter below, in which they are consulting with local residents on how best to develop the structure as a new entertainment venue.

Not everyone is happy, of course. Local residents, especially those in nearby Macfarlane Rd, fear the extra traffic and disturbance that is the inevitable consequence of night-time entertainment. Shepherd's Bush itself is already a Saturation Zone (though Westfield itself is not included), and anyone who has sat in the seemingly endless traffic jam that is Wood Lane can hardly long for more visitors. Still, Westfield generally gets what Westfield wants - whatever the locals might say.

The Shepherd's Bush Blog 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.