Westfield Latest: John Lewis to Open Early 2018

John Lewis - opening early next year.

John Lewis is coming to Shepherd's Bush. The new seven storey department store will open early next year, and will soon begin to recruit staff - bringing further jobs and investment to our neighbourhood.

The new roles at the store are to start in February or March 2018.

John Lewis has also submitted a Licensing application for its various restaurants and bars, which you can find here.

Cycle Superhighway Proposal - Good News?

Cycle Super Highway

Residents of Hammersmith and Chiswick aren't all thrilled about our Council's new proposals for a "Cycle Superhighway" that will run through both neighbourhoods. The Hammersmith Society, while in favour (in principle) of better cycling routes, has come out against the scheme.

Lidl to Open "Early 2018" in Shepherd's Bush

Lidl is coming to Shepherd's Bush. According to a sign in the window of the proposed new store, the supermarket chain is about to start a "full refit" of the new store, which they suggest will take 6 months, leading to an opening in "early 2018".

West 12 shoppers will surely be pleased that a big supermarket chain is backing this corner of the Bush.

Many were disappointed when discount supermarket Morrisons closed its doors, and even local MP Andy Slaughter got involved in the protest.

It's also a vote of confidence in the West 12 Shopping Centre, which has been looking a bit tatty ever since Westfield opened its doors back in 2008.

LBHF Consultation on Funfairs on 23rd October

Shepherd's Bush Green plays host to a number of fun fairs at various times of year, but not everyone is delighted. Many local residents object to the noise and disturbance, and the mess that is created.

So it's surely good news that our council, LBHF, is organizing public meeting at the town hall on 23rd October. If you'd like your voice to be heard, come along and have your say.

Hammersmith Bridge Closed from 21 - 29 October

Hammersmith Bridge will close for a week from Saturday

According to TFL, Hammersmith Bridge will be closed to traffic from  5pm on Saturday 21 October until 5am on Sunday 29 October, while essential repair works take place.

This latest bridge closure will once again create traffic chaos, forcing drivers over Chiswick Bridge or Putney Bridge instead. 

Hammersmith Bridge currently operates under severe weight restrictions, with only one bus in each direction permitted on the bridge at any one time.

Historic Buildings Group AGM on 14th November

Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group are having their annual AGM at the Dorsett Hotel, Shepherds Bush Green, on Tuesday 14th November.  Doors will open at 6.30pm, and the meeting starts at 7pm. Anyone who is interested in the history of Shepherd's Bush - and its preservation - is welcome to come along and get involved. The historic fabric of our neighbourhood is under constant threat - earlier this year we lost the lovely Art Deco Cineworld in Hammersmith - replaced by a big hole in the ground after our local Council killed the development, without any apparent plan for what might replace it.

Old Laundry Site Planning Application

Old Laundry Site

A new planning application has been submitted for the old Spring Grove Laundry site that runs next to Shepherd's Bush market (the laundry itself closed in 2009).

You can't see the site easily from the street, but if you take the train from Shepherd's Bush Market Tube Station to Hammersmith - you can get a pretty good view.

White City Living Video

In the video above you can catch a glimpse of what White City will look like when St James have finished their White City scheme, known as "White City Living". St James is the property developer currently re-developing the old M&S warehouse site to the east of Wood Lane, next door to Westfield. You can see our post about their original plans back in 2014.  In May 2015 they got planning approval for their proposed steel and glass project, which will be not unlike Paddington Basin in appearance and design.

Tube Strike Planned for Thursday

Central Line and Hammersmith & City line are likely to be affected

London Underground station staff may be striking again on Thursday.

Members of the drivers' union Aslef are set to strike on Thursday in a dispite over working conditions. Talks between the two sides are supposed to continue today.

Even if the strike is only a partial one, conditions will be horrendous for those able to get to work. Thursday might be a day to work from home, for those who can.

Shepherd's Bush Market Plans Killed by Council

Shepherd's Bush Market

Pity any developer trying to do business in our Borough. LBHF has, once again, declined planning permission for the redevelopment of part of Shepherd's Bush market. 

The idea was to turn the old laundry site - currently just an empty space behind the Market - to rival Shoreditch's Boxpark.  Developers had applied to open cafes, restaurants, artists’ studios and co-working spaces in 74 glass-fronted containers designed in a similar style to Pop Brixton and Shoreditch's Boxpark. 

But the Council says no. So, having killed off the last attempt to redevelop the market, LBHF now kills off another one. Is there anything developers can do to get their plans past our do-nothing Council?

Princess Victoria Pub to Re-Open

Princess Victoria

Excellent news for residents of Shepherd's Bush - the Princess Victoria pub (which now has its very own Wikipedia page) on the Uxbridge road is set to re-open, according to a piece at Shepherd'sBushW12

The new owners are the Three Cheers Pub Co. A licensing application has been submitted to our Council, LBHF by Six Cheers Ltd. You can view the application and add your own comments here.

Charity Cricket Match at Chiswick House on 16 September

Cricket at Chiswick House

St Stephen’s Church and St Stephen's School will be battling it out on the cricket pitch on Saturday 16 September at a charity fund-raiser to be held at one of West London's most beautiful locations - Chiswick House.

The event 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 replacement.

Families and children are welcome, and you are also welcome to bring a picnic.

White City Ziggurat Towers 34 Stories Over Wood Lane

34 storey tower on Wood Lane

The new 34-storey tower rising at the top of Wood Lane is politely described by the Hammersmith Society as "controversial".

"Very ugly" might be a better word for this weirdly asymmetrical ziggurat which now dominates views north from Shepherd's Bush and White City.

It's yet another example in our neighbourhood of a missed opportunity to build something genuinely attractive. After all, Imperial College had a blank canvas when they started planning their new £200m White City Campus north of the Westway.

Instead of creating something beautiful, their architects have put up - for the most part - bland and characterless high rise buildings. The site is brand new and shiny but it already manages to look dated.

BT's Phone Booth Scam

Another pointless phone booth in Shepherd's Bush

What's The Point of Phone Booths? We asked this question back in January, noting that they seem to be springing up everywhere, despite everyone nowadays having a mobile phone.

Thanks to the Hammersmith Society and the Ladbroke Association, we now have the answer.

It's not about telephones, it's about advertising. According to the Summer 2017 Ladbroke Association newsletter, phone companies like BT "can make a lot of money selling advertising space". Today, a phone booth is "no more than a hooded upright stand with an advertisement on one side and a telephone on the other".

But if this is - as it seems - just an advertising scam, without fulfilling any public need - why does our Council allow this to take place?

Lidl Coming to Shepherd's Bush

Two weeks ago I was having my hair cut by the excellent Polish stylists in the West 12 Centre (£5! How can you go wrong?) and I asked what was happening to the old Morrisons space that has been empty since November 2016. "Lidl is coming", they said. "Really? Is that true?" I asked. "50% true", they said.

Anyway it turns out that the rumour is true, and it just goes to show that barbers and hair stylists always get the news first.  Lidl is coming, hopefully in place by Christmas, so budget supermarket shopping will return to Shepherd's Bush. You can read the full story here.

King Street Development Dead - Cineworld Demolished

Cineworld in Hammersmith - demolished for nothing

The Hammersmith Society, guardians of good architecture in our neighbourhood, have reported that the redevelopment of King St in Hammersmith is dead, apparently because of "differences between the Council and the developer". 

What is most disappointing about this is that the Cineworld, the lovely old art deco cinema on King St, has already been demolished, leaving a giant hole in the ground next to the Town Hall, and no prospect of anything good coming of it. 

Music For Grenfell at St Stephen's Church 27 July at 7pm

Music For Grenfell is a concert to raise money for the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster, and will take place at St Stephen's Church on the Uxbridge Road  Thursday 27th July, from 7pm.

Tickets are £10 on the door, or available online through this link.

New Post Office - Not The Worst Place on Earth

Many Shepherd's Bush residents were very upset when our local Post Office on Shepherd's Bush Green closed. Local MP Andy Slaughter even got involved, chiding the Post Office for abandoning the area.

The new Post Office is in Westfield, at the back of WH Smith. I went there this morning and found myself in a shiny new space with short queues and mailing machines that actually work.

Notable by their absence were the crazy people who used to mumble menacingly in the (reliably long) queue in the old Post Office on Shepherd's Bush Green.

To remember just what you are missing, read Richard Herring's memorable piece on the "worst place on earth" that was the old Shepherd's Bush Post Office.

Why Does LBHF Take So Long To Repair Our Parks?

Hammersmith Park climbing mound in April 2016

Early in 2016 some long-overdue repairs were begun by our local Council, The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, to the children's playground in Hammersmith Park. A company called Valley Landscape Management put up fences around the damaged climbing mound (see above) and began repairs. But, more than a year later, the job still isn't done. Why does it take our Council so long to complete basic repairs to our parks?

The Funfair is Back - But Must It Be For a Full Month?

The funfair is back. Good news for some, but for many local residents, who hate the noise and disturbance, it's a betrayal of promises by our Council to reduce the impact of these events.

George Irvin's Funfair is here for a full month this time, from 21 July until 20 August. That is much longer than usual (in the past it's been around 2 weeks tops), and now it is open until 10pm, surely well past most childrens' bed-times.