Ravenscourt Park Arches

There are as far as we know no immediate threats to our Open Spaces in Hammersmith but we always have to be vigilant. For example, Wormwood Scrubs is within the OPDC area and there are anxieties as to what effects all the development may mean for this Metropolitan Open Land. Similarly Little Wormwood Scrubs (on the other side of Scrubs Lane) could be under threat from a re-arrangement of the West London Railway Line. There are of course always issues to do with Parks maintenance which have to fight for funds against other Council spending.

The Hammersmith Society is affiliated to the Open Spaces Society and they have concerns about open spaces in London generally. I would urge members to support their campaign as below:

Of course, this is only one of many campaigns and informatives issued by the London Forum of Civic and Amenity Societies. Therefore it is entirely appropriate that we can congratulate its Chairman, Peter Eversden for his MBE in the New Year’s Honours.

Derek Chandler, Secretary of the London Forum wrote : Peter says he is delighted to receive the recognition for his volunteering work over the past 35 years in the civic movement but considers the award is for the achievements of London Forum’s team and of its 150 community groups and individual members across London.

Peter is also chairman of the Bedford Park Society, a past trustee of the William Hogarth Trust and a member of the Mayor’s Outer London Commission since 2009. He joined London Forum as a trustee in 1996 and became its chairman in 2001. Peter has been involved in the development of the London Plan since the GLA was created and the London Forum’s 25th anniversary in 2013 was celebrated for all its members by Boris Johnson at City Hall in appreciation of the work done by community volunteers.

Hammersmith Town Centre as it could be with the flyunder

The first meeting of the group of local residents to review proposals for the Town Centre including the Flyunder took place on 3 December.

There are 25 on the panel and the Hammersmith Society Committee is represented by myself, Melanie Whitlock, Rosemary Pettit and Richard Winterton.

The first meeting involved a summary of the group’s terms of reference and what the Council hopes to achieve. The brief is wide ranging and ambitious. Meetings will be held once a month and the outcomes will influence the Local Plan and the Supplementary Planning Document proposed for the Town Centre due to be published in May/June. The next meeting on 21 January will include a briefing by Transport for London (TfL) on their various proposals for the Broadway site including a rumoured threat of 40 storey towers. We understand that the Council will issue progress reports on the Working Party from time to time.

A separate group, headed by Charles Wagner, is investigating the possibilities in this area. If you are interested please contact Charles at 

This briefing event took place in the Town Hall and was useful and informative. There were 34 attendees and several presentations explained the principles and showed examples where Neighbourhood Plans had either been implemented or were still going through the process.  Two separate initiatives are being pursued : Henry Peterson advises as follows :

Old Oak Neighbourhood Forum and Plan

Proposals for a neighbourhood plan for the Old Oak area continue to be developed, and the following residents groups and amenity bodies in Ealing and in Hammersmith & Fulham, are involved in current discussions.

• The Island Site Residents Association (TITRA)
• Wells House Residents Association
• Wesley Estate Residents Association
• Residents of Midland Terrace/Shaftesbury Gardens
• Residents of the Old Oak Estate
• Friends of Wormwood Scrubs
• Brickfield Association of Residents (Eynham Road area)
• Residents of Woodman Mews

For those who find the planning system incomprehensible, our President Hans Haenlein recommends this ‘We Plan London’ animation.

http://citiesmode.com/

The Hammersmith Society does not support the potential award for the brickwork at Ravenscourt House (site of the former police accommodation in Paddenswick Road – now student housing which we thought was a mediocre scheme) but we certainly support and applaud the Council for its tenacious efforts on Enforcement against unauthorised development, rogue advertising and the like.

I am delighted to announce that the local artist Ben Johnson has agreed to be our second Annual Honorary Member.

Last year its was Annette Albert. Hopefully Ben is known to most of you and he has an international reputation. He has lived in Hammersmith for more years than he cares to remember with Sheila his wife, and has a studio both at his home in Hammersmith Mall (usually open as part of Open Studios) and in Dalling Road which he shares with Peter Blake. He does extraordinary super realistic pictures, painstakingly crafted and his most famous are probably his views of Liverpool, Jerusalem and Hong Kong. He is currently working on a fantastic painting of the Alhambra Palace and other Muslim buildings. He currently has a major retrospective exhibition ’Spirit of Place’ in Southampton City Art Gallery. He has done much to promote and support Hammersmith.

For more details of Ben’s extraordinary work, visit www.benjohnsonartist.com

Best wishes

Tom Ryland
Chairman
The Hammersmith Society

Campaigning for over 50 years