Polish BBQ in Shepherd's Bush on Saturday 30th May

A traditional Polish BBQ is being held on 30th May from 1pm to 5pm in Two Wheels Only Workshop 206 Wells Road, Shepherds Bush, W12 8DB. There will be free polish sausage & beer, 1960's music, test rides on Junak Vintage Scooters and other attractions.

What Is The Shepherd's Bush Saturation Zone?

Cumulative Impact Saturation Zone

What is the Shepherd's Bush Saturation Zone? Most residents of Shepherd's Bush have probably never heard of it, or have the faintest idea what it means. But it is important, and it does matter.  The Shepherd's Bush Saturation Zone is a special licensing policy which was created by the Council in 2010 to restrict the expansion of licensed premises in an area which was already "saturated" with places to drink. In short, it was an attempt by the Council to keep booze in the Bush under control. So how does it actually work?

Free Stuff To Do Near Shepherd's Bush - Bishop's Park

Bishop's Park - kid heaven

Bishop's Park is one of West London's well-kept secrets, tucked away in a sleepy corner of Fulham - and one of the loveliest parks in and around our neighbourhood.  It is also one of the best-designed parks for children I have ever come across.  The playground is excellent, full of swings and climbing frames, and it even has a special spraying fountain for kids to play in when the weather is nice. It's pretty much a perfect place to take children in London, especially since it sits just next door to the river Thames, and fabulous Fulham Palace.

Council Offers (Nearly) Free Compost Bins To Bush Residents

Free compost! Photo: Wikipedia

Hammersmith & Fulham Council is encouraging residents to compost their kitchen and garden waste. The Council has teamed up with GetComposting.com to offer composters at subsidised prices, with a 220-litre model available for £12, instead of the usual £39.99. So, it's not exactly free, but it is being offered at a pretty big discount.

Shepherd's Bush Debates Future of Hammersmith Park

Members of the public question the Council

At a meeting on thursday at the White City Community Centre, local residents questioned members of the Council about the future of Hammersmith Park, and what the recent changes to the proposals by Play Football might mean in practice. The meeting was nowhere near as bad-tempered as the last public hearing, when Play Football's Barry Hunter received a two hour public flogging from an angry crowd, but there was still a sense of frustration and anger from the many people who showed up.

Should Westfield VUE Be Allowed a 24 Drinking License?

Westfield London. Photo: Wikipedia

Westfield VUE cinema has applied for a 24 drinking license - allowing it to serve alcohol 24 hours a day.  This is great news for film-goers who fancy a drink at 4am, but less good perhaps for local residents near Westfield who fear the trouble and disorder that comes with 24 hour drinking. Shepherd's Bush was declared a "saturation zone" a few years back by our local Council, meaning that the official licensing policy would be to reject new applications for alcohol licenses.  With a public hearing at the Hammersmith Town Hall scheduled at 7pm on Tuesday 19th May, will the Council support local residents, or back the business interests of Westfield instead?

Hammersmith Park Consultation Now Open - Have Your Say on May 14th!

Following a grass roots campaign led by local activist and writer Virginia Ironside, and supported by The Bush Telegraph, Play Football have at last agreed to revise their plans to convert around one third of Hammersmith Park into pay-per-use five-a-side football pitches.  Following the campaign, which you can read about here, and also here, the Council has now announced a new round of public consultations, in which local residents are strongly encouraged to participate. So, what is happening and how can local people get involved?

(Almost) Free Stuff To Do Near Shepherd's Bush - May Fair at St John's Notting Hill on Saturday 9th May at 1pm

May pole dancing at St John's Notting Hill

This saturday May 9th is the annual May Fair at St John's Notting Hill, an event which has been running for the whole of my adult life and a great place to take the kids.  The event starts at 11am and features face painting, may poles, a bric-a-brac stall, home baked cakes and jams, and tons of other stuff. Profits go to good causes around the world. Best of all, it costs just £1 to enter, and kids are free.

Shepherd's Bush MP Andy Slaughter Re-Elected, Doubling His Majority

Andy Slaughter. Photo: Wikipedia

Congratulations to local MP Andy Slaughter, who has defied his party's national setbacks in yesterday's general election and been re-elected to the constituency of Hammersmith with a convincing majority.  It is testimony to Andy Slaughter's skills as a politician that he has again increased his share of the vote, this time roughly doubling it to win an impressive 50% share, more than enough to bring him home to victory.

Time to Vote! But Who For?

Polling Day by William Hogarth

Here at the Bush Telegraph we won't urge you to vote for any particular party, and we suspect that you wouldn't pay any attention if we did.   But we do urge you to vote, and to vote not just on the national party platforms but on the local issues that confront our neighbourhood.  Ask yourself - what will our candidates do to make our parks better and our streets cleaner? Are they in favour of new development and investment, and if so will they ensure that new developments bring benefits for our whole community? Luckily for you, we have already asked our four main local candidates what their plan is for Shepherd's Bush - if they get elected.

Millicent Scott Puts the LIb Dem Case for Shepherd's Bush

Millicent Scott

With the General Election now just days away, we asked our local Lib Dem candidate, Millicent Scott, to answer the same questions we put to the other main candidates hoping to unseat incumbent Labour MP Andy Slaughter.  So, for those residents of the Bush who still remain undecided, what do the Lib Dems offer the voters of Shepherd's Bush?

Uxbridge Road Becomes the River Uxbridge as Gas Board Puncture Water Pipes

Don't forget your canoe

The gas works contractors on the Uxbridge road must have been digging in the wrong bit of the street when they struck and broke open the water supply to much of Shepherd's Bush, turning our neighbourhood into a fast flowing river on Thursday.  Local residents will have found out the news first of all when they turned on their taps around noon and found - nothing - as all the water ran down local streets instead.

David Akan - Green Party Candidate for Shepherd's Bush

David Akan of The Green Party

David Akan is the Green Party candidate for our local constituency of Hammersmith, hoping to unseat incumbent Labour MP Andy Slaughter. We asked David the same questions we put to the other candidates - questions which focus on local rather than national issues. After all, our local neighbourhood is where we live and work - these are the problems that we face every day.  So, what do the Greens offer the Shepherd's Bush voter in the upcoming election?

Construction on Westfield Extension To Begin in May

Westfield expands northwards

Construction work on the extension to Westfield Shopping Centre is set to begin in May.  Demolition work has of course already begun, with great swathes of brownfield land north of Westfield turned to rubble. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of May and continue through until October 2017, if our Council gives the green light. So should we welcome this massive expansion of what is already one of Europe's largest shopping centres?

Does Shepherd's Bush Market Need Saving?

Shepherd's Bush Market in April 2015

The plans for the redevelopment of Shepherd's Bush Market are controversial, not least because they involve the demolition of the much-loved Cooke's Pie and Mash shop on the Goldhawk Road, featured in the classic film Quadrophenia. Recently some of the Market traders went to the High Court to fight against its redevelopment.  The legal action was begun in the High Court on March 26 against the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, to quash a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) issued by the Government for the development. But is this proposed development really so bad, and should local residents oppose it?

Hummingbird Deli Opens in The Bush

Hummingbird Deli

Until a few days ago, we lacked a decent deli in Shepherd's Bush.  We had plenty of supermarkets, and lots of places to buy hummus and flat bread, but nowhere could you find a good old-fashioned delicatessen.  Now, the Hummingbird Deli has opened up on the Uxbridge Road, bringing yummy things to our high street and making our local neighbourhood even more of a foodie's paradise than it already was.

Who Ruined The Imperial War Museum?

Imperial War Museum - photo by Chris Gunns

Recently I took my nephew, visiting London from California, to see the refurbished Imperial War Museum in Southwark. I'd been telling him how great it was, and indeed it used to be one of my favourite museums in London - bright, airy, full of fabulous stuff like Spitfires and Sopwith Camels suspended from the ceiling in its cavernous interior.  The museum was closed for well over a year for an extensive (and expensive) refit and the result is that it has been completely ruined. How could this happen? How could so much public money have been spent on such a horrible mistake?

Free Stuff to Do in Shepherd's Bush - Chiswick House

"Chiswick House" by Patche99z via Wikimedia Commons 

Yes, I know, Chiswick House is definitely not in Shepherd's Bush, but it's not that far away and it is situated in the middle of one of the most beautiful and least-visited parks in West London. Chiswick House itself is a stunning neo-Palladian mansion built in a visually harmonious classical style, a perfect example of 18th Century architectural and landscaping. The gardens surrounding the house are gorgeous; right now the camellias are in bloom, occupying the extensive greenhouses which have been recently been restored to their early 19th century glory.

Reprieve For Hammersmith Park?

Hammersmith Park - worth saving?

There is good news at last about the future of Hammersmith Park, which has (until recently) been threatened with a proposed new development by Play Football which would see one third of the park effectively privatised and turned into pay-per-use football pitches. According to our redoubtable local campaigner Virginia Ironside, Play Football has agreed to a full consultation on a new scheme for the park that will keep it in public ownership and also upgrade its facilities. So, good news at last then?

Can the Historic Palladium Theatre Be Saved?

How The Green Might Look

In January we reported the threat to The Shepherd's Bush Palladium, (more recently known as the Walkabout Pub), which was facing demolition and redevelopment.  Formal planning permission has now been sought by its owners, the Dorsett Regency hotel, to demolish the old cinema, even though the building lies within a Conservation Area, and replace it with a sixteen storey tower (see above).  So, the question is, will the developers get their way, or can one of Shepherd's Bush's most historic buildings be saved?