As I reported in my last News Update, the Cineworld Cinema is due to close imminently and work will start on its demolition. A planning application has now been received by the Council in respect of revised details for the housing and new offices on the west side of Nigel Playfair Avenue. The planning reference number is 2016/00619/VAR. The consultation period is open to 18 April. Your committee will be commenting. Initial indications are that not all the changes are positive unfortunately.

(See Newsletter Page 2) : An application has now been received by the Council. The planning reference no. is 2016/01230/FUL. The address on the application is given as 104 King Street.

Early indications are that it is similar to the 2013 application (Ref. 2013/01017/FUL) which local residents accepted. Is the latest application just keeping the existing one alive while new denser proposals are being considered? The consultation period is open until 26 April. Peter Raymond is Chairman of the Cambridge Grove and Leamore Street Residents’ Association.

Ref 2013/02238/FUL: Appeal in July

As local residents will be aware Linden Homes submitted a scheme (designed by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands) for this peninsula site opposite Ravenscourt Park a couple of years ago.

After a planning forum it was refused permission by the Council. Linden submitted a revised scheme and again it was refused, chiefly on grounds of over-density and lack of affordable housing.

The Hammersmith Society objected on both occasions. Linden is appealing against the Council’s decision, the Hammersmith Society has been accepted by the Planning Inspectorate as a Rule 6 party to the appeal, meaning we prepare Proofs of Evidence and give evidence at the appeal. The appeal itself will be held at the Town Hall from Wednesday, 2nd July until Friday 4th  July. All welcome to observe.

We are engaged in registering our first Asset of Community Value in Hammersmith – the Anglesea Arms in Wingate Rd, W6.

Registration does not prevent an Asset from closing down or changing hands, but the community is informed of any proposed sale and has an opportunity to buy the Asset. Even if a purchase is not practical, registration prevents a sudden sale from under the community nose.

The owner of the Asset is informed of the registration and is thus aware of the value placed on it by local residents. If you have been a patron of the Anglesea Arms you can help register it with a supporting letter. Please contact me and see this guidance for more details.

Do you know of an unloved space in the capital that could be developed into a green oasis providing relief from the hustle and bustle of the city?

The Mayor, Boris Johnson, is calling on volunteers and community groups to apply for grants of up to £20,000 each to help transform London’s unloved spaces into ‘Pocket Parks’ – tennis-court-sized green retreats for local neighbourhoods to enjoy. Nearly sixty parks have already been selected with an offer of funding, but forty more are needed – grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 are available. Applications will close at 5pm on 10 March.

If you have any questions about submitting an application please contact or tel. 020 7239 1286.  More information

In addition to the larger proposals for development – those which hit the news – our everyday bread-and-butter covers many smaller applications. These might include advertising boards and Highways’ proposals, as well as over-ambitious domestic applications. We respond by using the short-cut offered in Planning Alerts mentioned above. To take one example, the Shepherds Bush Telephone Exchange in Uxbridge Road. We objected to it, the Council refused permission and we have just received notice that the Planning Inspectorate has received an appeal from British Telecom. Outcome: not yet.

At a packed meeting at the Town Hall on 12 February the Transport, Environment and Residents Services Select Committee presented the draft Feasibility Report on the Flyunder, and took questions from the audience. The report is clear and well presented and may be read  here (See pp.6-29).

The completed report will be sent to the Mayor in March with a view to enlisting GLA support. There is much still to learn about the implications of a tunnel but a surprise to many – including myself – is that the longer the tunnel, the less traffic is likely to use it (p.14), i.e., a shorter Option 1 tunnel will scoop up more traffic (and be less expensive). The shortest proposed version buries the Flyover only – if it was extended west by a few yards to clear the Town Hall and Furnivall Gardens it would help deliver the environmental and amenity benefits that we seek while not increasing surface traffic.