Shepherd's Bush Green Is a Mess

Shepherd's Bush Green yesterday morning

Anyone who walks across Shepherd's Bush Green in the mornings will be familiar with the sea of litter that is deposited there every night.

Food, empty bottles, soda cans, McDonalds wrappers - all sorts of junk gets left there - often right next to the bins. It's a depressing sight, and there doesn't seem to be any attempt to enforce the laws against dropping litter.

£80 Fine For Littering in The Bush - Does It Work?

Zero Tolerance. But what does that really mean?

In our neck of The Bush there are plenty of signs threatening "zero tolerance" for litter bugs - and an £80 fine for dropping litter.

In theory, this should mean clean streets, but in practice it doesn't seem to.

In fact, the lamp posts with the "zero tolerance" signs seem to be a favourite gathering place for litter, a special gift for the law enforcers who obviously aren't there.

So, does our Council actually fine anyone for street littering in The Bush?

Why Can't We Clean Up Shepherd's Bush Green?

Shepherd's Bush Green on a Summer Morning

Back in 2014 we first started started posting about the sorry state of Shepherd's Bush Green, and the failure of our Council to do anything about enforcing the law.  Six years on, things are worse than ever.

Walk across Shepherd's Bush Green in the morning and you will see piles of fast food, empty bottles and cans, often dumped right next to the bins.

The worst thing is that there doesn't seem to be any attempt by our Council to enforce the laws against dropping litter. Why not?

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?

£100 Fine for Peeing in The Bush

No longer legal in The Bush.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Public urination in Shepherd's Bush is now officially a criminal offence.  From now on, people caught publicly urinating and defecating in Shepherd’s Bush can be fined up to £100.

Shepherd's Bush Green has traditionally been a bit of a public loo. Chris Underwood put out a call on his blog to nail the "Poo Man of The Bush" back in 2013, for a charming individual (see photo below) who took a dump on the brand new children's playground on Shepherd's Bush Green.  He was caught in the act on CCTV.

Shepherd's Bush Green is Still a Mess

Shepherd's Bush Green yesterday morning

Two years after we first started started posting about the sorry state of Shepherd's Bush Green, and the failure of our Council to do anything about the enforcement of laws against litter, things are as bad as ever.

Walk across Shepherd's Bush Green in the morning and you will see piles of fast food, empty bottles and cans, and a depressing picture of destitute humanity, for many of whom the serious drinking begins at 8am.

The worst of it is that there doesn't seem to be any attempt by our Council to enforce the laws against dropping litter.

What's Happening in Shepherd's Bush in 2017?

Westfield 2.0

2017 will be a busy year for Shepherd's Bush, especially in the White City Regeneration Area, where multiple developments will permanently alter the skyline.

Sometime in the latter part of 2017, probably October, we should see the opening of the newly-expanded Westfield's John Lewis Department store, which lots of residents will be pleased about.

New Year's Resolutions for Shepherd's Bush

A tree is not a place to dump your old junk

We all need a few New Year's Resolutions, and Shepherd's Bush is no exception. Whether or not we stick to them, resolutions are a way of occasionally taking a good look at ourselves and seeing how we might improve things, just a little bit.  So here is our list of New Year's resolutions for Shepherd's Bush.

Resolution No 1 - Stop fly-tipping
The streets of Shepherd's Bush are not a dumping ground for your bin bags, fridges, and old mattresses. Find some place else to get rid of your old junk.

Should it Be a Crime to Pee in Public?

Charming in a fountain, less appealing in your street. Photo: Wikipedia

You might think that public urination is already a criminal offence, but it turns out that it is not.  At least, not yet. The person peeing against your garden wall might be committing trespass, or even a public nuisance, but there is no criminal sanction for public urination (or worse).  Now, our Council is looking to change the law. If a new measure gets passed, people caught publicly urinating and defecating in Shepherd’s Bush could be given a £100 fine. So, should we support this new law?

Friends of Shepherd’s Bush Green Meeting 3rd Sept

Shepherd's Bush Green - can it be improved?

The inaugural meeting of FOSBERG (Friends of Shepherd’s Bush Green) took place on Tuesday 3rd September 2019 in the library of the Bush Theatre on the Uxbridge Road, at 7.30pm.

About a dozen members of our local community came together, including Councillor (and former Mayor) Mercy Umeh, with the goal of trying to make a positive contribution to our neighbourhood.

This first meeting was held to gather ideas on what to do to try and make things better in Shepherd’s Bush. We all know what the problems are; the solutions to those problems are perhaps less obvious.

Campaign To "Fix Uxbridge Road"

Fix Uxbridge Rd 

In 2025 a campaign was launched by a number of Shepherd's Bush residents to clean up the Uxbridge Road, hoping to persuade our council the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham to take action to improve our local street scene.  

We invited campaign organiser Noor to share her thoughts on what the "Fix Uxbridge Rd" campaign is all about, and what it hopes to achieve.

 

Five New Year's Resolutions for Shepherd's Bush

Few of us wouldn't benefit from a few improvements, and Shepherd's Bush is no exception. We live in a busy, vibrant community which is - let's face it - a bit rough around the edges.

What would make our neighbourhood a better place to live in 2019? Below are four suggestions for ways to make life in the Bush just a little bit better.

Why is Shepherd's Bush Green Still a Mess?

Shepherd's Bush Green

Why is Shepherd's Bush Green still such a mess? Right now the western end of Shepherd's Bush Green feels like a gypsy encampment of weird camouflage fencing, chain link and portaloos. 

Around this dystopian architecture squats a semi-permanent encampment of drunks and derelicts, who sit in a fog of a marijuana smoke amid a litter of Jack Daniels bottles and general detritus. 

Japanese Garden Gets New "Torii" Gateway

New Gateway for Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park

The Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park has been given a new gateway, or "Torii", thanks to a generous donation by former Chair of the Friends of The Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park, John Gordon-Smith. 

The Japanese Garden at Hammersmith Park dates from 1910, and is the chief legacy of the Japanese-British Exhibition that took place in White City.

Broken Glass in Children's Playground in Shepherd's Bush

Broken glass in the playground

Three years after we first started started posting about the sorry state of Shepherd's Bush Green, and the failure of our Council to do anything about the enforcement of its own laws against anti-social behaviour, things are as bad as ever.

Walk across Shepherd's Bush Green in the morning and you will see piles of fast food, empty bottles and cans, and rubbish everywhere.

As the evenings get longer and warmer the problem will get worse.

On the left is a photo taken by a local parent, who last week cleaned up a small pile of broken glass from the children's playground on the Green.

What sort of person leaves broken glass in a children's playground? And why do we seem to be helpless to do anything about it?

Cherry Blossom Comes to Shepherd's Bush! --- Thanks to Our Local Council, and Councillors

Could Shepherd's Bush look like this? Photo: Wikipedia

National politics can be a frustrating business; your individual vote doesn't count for much and nothing really ever seems to change.  But locally, it is possible to make a difference.  Recently our Residents' Association won a small victory when we managed to persuade the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to plant some new cherry trees in our street.  A small thing, you might think, but flowering Prunus Pandora will greatly brighten up our corner of the Bush, especially in Spring.

Lib Dem Candidates Elsie and Fergus Want Your Vote on 7 May

Elsie Gisslegård and Fergus Ustianowski

Local council elections will be held on May 7th. We invited local candidates Elsie Gisslegård and Fergus Ustianowski, who are standing for the Liberal Democrats, to say why local people should vote for them on May 7th. 

"We moved to Shepherd’s Bush because we love it here. We walk the dog on the Green every morning, shop on Uxbridge Road, and feel the same frustrations every other resident does. The litter that lingers, the paths that feel unsafe after dark, the sense that nobody in the council is really listening.

Ash Dieback Comes to Shepherd's Bush

Ash dieback on Shepherd's Bush Green. There is no cure

Hymenoscyphus fraxineus (that's Ash Dieback to you and me) has come to Shepherd's Bush. Pity poor neglected Shepherd's Bush Green, as its mighty ash trees are turned into firewood.

The trees that line the edges of the park are London plane trees - a kind of super-hardy sycamore, a variety that seems to tolerate all the pollution we can throw at them.

But the ash trees aren't so lucky, and our benighted green will be all the poorer without them.

BLM Protest in Shepherd's Bush on Sunday

Shepherd's Bush Green

A Black Lives Matter protest is to be held on Sunday at 12.45pm on Shepherd's Bush Green. According to a recent article at W12, the protest will be "peaceful, and socially distanced", as well as "family friendly" and will "include live music and socially distanced dancing".

Many BLM events have begun in peaceful protest and ended in violence. Let us hope, for the sake of everyone in our neighbourhood, that Sunday's protest is as peaceful as promised.

Let's hope it also doesn't leave a big mess behind. Protests don't generally involve live music and dancing - this one sounds a lot like a street party.

To see what a recent street party in White City was like - read this blog post.

Funfair Returns To Shepherd's Bush - But At What Cost?

The funfair is coming back to Shepherd's Bush Green from 24 March until April 10.  Good news then for young children and their families.

Trouble is, these funfairs seem inevitably to cause huge damage to the Green, which even at the best of times could use a bit of love and attention.

What with a daily distribution of litter, a generous helping of winos, and now ash dieback killing the trees, the last thing Shepherd's Bush Green needs is huge lorries to smash up the pathways and the turf even more.