Are You an Idler?

Anyone in our neighbourhood being driven crazy by parked up lorries running their engines in your street - help may be at hand.

Our Council are looking for volunteers who want to be part of a new campaign to reduce air pollution - by stopping drivers from running their engines while they are parked. The campaign is called "I'm no Idler", and subtitled "Vehicle Idling Action".

The idea is to try and stop drivers from running their engines while they are stationary, and raise awareness of the dangers of air pollution.

Letter from Calais

The Jungle, Calais

Toni Sharpe is a teacher who lives in Shepherd's Bush. She recently took a career sabbatical and travelled to to the refugee camp in Calais - known as "The Jungle" - to teach English classes to some of the people living there.

Here, Toni shares some of her thoughts about her experience, in the form of a camp diary.

Walkabout Seeks Planning Permission

New building viewed from the north side of Shepherd's Bush Green

Dorsett Hospitality International, the group who renovated the old Shepherd's Bush Pavilion and have turned it into a successful hotel, have now made a formal planning application to redevelop the old Walkabout pub, formerly the Shepherd's Bush Cinematograph theatre. 

The proposed building, which includes a new tower built into the old facade, has taken into account extensive community feedback, and aims to make the new building fit better into the context of the existing Dorsett facade. 

Boundary Review To Bring Electoral Change to Shepherd's Bush

Hammersmith Constituency

Boundary changes are coming to Shepherd's Bush.  Today, the constituency of Hammersmith is a moderately solid Labour seat; our local MP Andy Slaughter managed to buck the national trend at the last election  and increase his majority to a very respectable 6,518 votes.

However, under the new proposed Boundary Changes, everything is up for grabs.  Three wards: Askew, Wormholt & White City, and Shepherd’s Bush Green – are to be broken away from Hammersmith and will make up a new constituency - to be named Ealing Central and Shepherd’s Bush - along with six wards from Ealing.

Watch Out For Moped Muggers in Shepherd's Bush

Beware of thieves on bikes

Street crime seems to be on the increase in the Bush. A local Mum was recently mugged in our neighbourhood by two men on a motorbike who drove past her, snatched her bag, and made a swift getaway.

She rang 999 and was told by the police that there is an "absolute epidemic of this in London at the moment".

Michaelmas Fair on Saturday 24th September 11am to 3pm

St Stephen’s Church on the Uxbridge Road is hosting a Michaelmas Fair this coming Saturday 24th September - from 11am until 3pm.

The fair will be held in St Stephen’s Church and the neighbouring hall, selling all sorts of gifts and goodies.

The fair is being held in aid of the St Stephen's Roof Fund, which is seeking to raise £200,000 to fix the Victorian roof, now leaking and badly in need of restoration. It's a family-friendly event that will include all sorts of things for sale, plus entertainment for children.

Morrisons Shepherd's Bush to Close

Morrisons in Shepherds Bush is to close. The big supermarket in the West 12 Centre is to be shut down with the loss of around 170 jobs. 

Local MP Andy Slaughter described it as "terrible news for the W12 area and to the 170 staff who work in the store".

It seems like an odd decision. Morrisons always seems to be a busy store, with plenty of footfall. What a shame for both local residents and - of course - all the employees who will lose their jobs.

Lonely Shed to Be Demolished

Disused Electrical Sub-station - to be demolished

The old electricity sub-station on Shepherd's Bush Green is to be demolished.

According to Parks chief Ian Ross, the "necessary consents have been obtained, including a Certificate of Lawful Development".

Our Council now "awaits a date for works to be carried out to demolish the building."

Hammersmith Magistrates Court to Close

Hammersmith Magistrates Court

The Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that Hammersmith Magistrates Court is to be closed.

This latest closure follows on from last year's closure of Hammersmith County Court.

Anyone who needs access to the Law Courts will now have to travel outside our Borough.

Shepherd's Bush Market - Back to the Drawing Board

Shepherd's Bush Market

Plans to develop of Shepherd's Bush Market are now being started afresh, after five fruitless years locked in litigation, in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to secure planning permission for the scheme.

Opposed by the majority of market traders, and thrown out by the Supreme court last month on the basis of a technical violation of planning law by the former Secretary of State Eric Pickles, Orion's former plans to redevelop the market are now officially being abandoned. So the whole byzantine process must now begin again.

Re-Re-Revised Walkabout Plans

New building viewed from the north side of Shepherd's Bush Green

Dorsett Hospitality International, the group who renovated the old Shepherd's Bush Pavilion and have turned it into a successful upscale hotel, have unveiled re-re-revised proposals for the old Walkabout pub, formerly the Shepherd's Bush Cinematograph theatre. 

The fresh drawings have taken into account community feedback and aim to make the new building fit better into the context of the existing Dorsett hotel. 

Shepherd's Bush Flats in Flames

One of the big multi-storey blocks of flats to the south of the Shepherd's Bush roundabout was today in flames, as fire caused the evacuation of over 50 people. You can see the full story at the BBC here and also at ShepherdsBushW12. Shepherd's Bush Green has been closed for much of the day, leading to huge traffic jams and congestion. By tonight, fire chiefs were reporting that the blaze was under control. The London Fire Brigade was called at 15:44, with 999 control officers taking over 40 emergency calls to the incident. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Children's Funfair in Ravenscourt Park until 21st of August

Stuck for things to do with the kids this summer? The John Parnham children's funfair is in Ravenscourt Park until the 21st of August.

Entry to the funfair is free, but the rides are not. All rides and inflatables are token-operated.
Tokens are bought at the token box on site
£1 a token - 12 tokens for £10.

The fair is open every day from 3rd August - 21st August 2016 from 11-6pm

Pergola on the Roof Seeks Extension until December 23

Pergola on the Roof - now at TV Centre

Pergola on the Roof, the rooftop restaurant that has brought outdoor dining to the top of the old soon-to-be-demolished carpark on Wood Lane, has applied for planning permission to extend its rooftop run beyond the summer until the end of December.

Good news then for outdoor diners, but perhaps less welcome for the residents of Macfarlane Road who haven't necessarily been thrilled by the noise and general disturbance. 

St Stephen’s Michaelmas Fair on Saturday 24th September

St Stephen's

St Stephen’s Church on Uxbridge Road are hosting a Michaelmas Fair on Saturday 24th September. The fair will be held in St Stephen’s Church and the neighbouring hall, selling all sorts of gifts and goodies.

The fair is being held in aid of the St Stephen's Roof Fund, which is seeking to raise £200,000 to fix the Victorian roof, now leaking and badly in need of restoration.

The fair will include all sorts of things for sale, plus entertainment for children. And it's not too late to get involved yourself. Why not take a stall and sell some stuff?

Final Victory for Shepherd's Bush Market Traders?

Shepherd's Bush Market

Market traders at Shepherds Bush Market are celebrating a new legal victory, finally (it appears) seeing off the redevelopment project by Orion, which has been the subject of conflict and litigation for the past six years.

According to Leigh Day, solicitors for the market traders, Orion have abandoned their efforts to appeal the latest ruling in the ongoing legal battle over the future of the market.

"5 Star" Car Wash To Be Demolished

The "Five Star Car Wash" at 10B Shepherd`s Bush Road, just to the south of Shepherd's Bush Green, is to be demolished and replaced by - yes, you guessed it - a block of flats. Another piece of Old Shepherd's Bush will soon be history.

Arguably though, what is surprising is that relatively low-value businesses like this one have survived for so long as land values has risen. The car wash sits on prime development land and the planning application submitted will involved squeezing 28 residential units (10 x 1 bed, 15 x 2 bed, 2 x 3 bed and 1 x 4 bed) out of the site. Well, no-one can say we don't need more housing in our neighbourhood. To see the planning application, follow this link.

Why Is Our Council Failing Shepherd's Bush Green?

Recently we reported on the sea of litter that greets anyone crossing Shepherd's Bush Green in the morning.

The story got a good deal of traffic, and we received many comments and emails from local residents, suggesting that the state of Shepherd's Bush Green is something that people in our neighbourhood care about.

So we contacted our local Councillors, Mercy Umeh, Natalia Perez, and Andrew Jones to ask them if they could help us out in the fight to clean up Shepherd's Bush Green. What was the result?

Who Are Your Local Councillors?

Most of us have no idea who our local Councillors are, but we ought to. Why? Because Councillors are the link between the voters and the Council - it's the way in which local government is held to account by the electorate.

If you've got a problem in your local neighbourhood, the chances are your local MP won't be able to help much, because local issues are mostly decided at a local level.

But your local Councillors should know where the levers of power are located  - and also how to press them.  So, in Shepherd's Bush, who are our local councillors, and how can you reach them?

Review - Boys Will Be Boys

Here at The Bush Telegraph we're big fans of the Bush Theatre, our temple of culture on the Uxbridge road, currently undergoing a major renovation.

Overall, the standard of theatre is very high, comparable with the best of the West End, but lately we've noticed a bit of a detour into some less thoughtful programming. Think the naughtily-titled "F*ck the Polar Bears", or "Islands", a potty-mouthed rant against tax avoiders. It's not that these plays don't have something to say, it's just that what they do say isn't necessarily very well said.

"Boys Will Be Boys" continues this recent trend. Here is what our reviewer thought of the play, which is currently playing at Bush Hall until 30 July.