We welcome as members individuals and organisations who care for Hammersmith
As a Member, you will receive at least two printed newsletters and regular email updates each year, outlining our activities, and giving you the opportunity to participate in our campaigns. Members are always encouraged to take an active part in the work done by the committee – come along and see if you can help.
The membership year runs from 1st January, and only costs £6 for individuals £8 for couples or families, and £15 for organisations. Additional voluntary donations are always welcome.
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Council (LBHF)
This is the panel set up to advise the Council and Planning Officers on the design quality of major planning schemes.
We have been critical of the operation of the panel for a long time as we felt it was not transparent in its operation nor representative of local views. The current administration closed the panel down at the beginning of last year. The panel has now been reinvigorated and we are delighted that our comments and recommendations have been listened to, and the new panel will include non-architect members from the Hammersmith Society, the Fulham Society and the Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group. The West London Architectural Society and the local RIBA Branch will also be able to nominate local representatives.
The 16-page April Newsletter has been published and circulated to subscribing members. Subjects include:
If you’re not yet a member, please join us to receive our latest newsletter. All newsletters that are available to download can be found here
The Council’s Email Alerts to Planning and Licensing applications are always informative. To never miss a planning application in your area, register with the Council. You specify the area you are interested in – and it’s as easy as that. In addition to receiving prompt notice of applications you can click through to the application itself, look at the documents and, if it is a small application, click on ‘Make a public comment’ and write your comments in the box provided, then receive a receipt (and your comments) in your email Inbox. If your concern is of interest to the Hammersmith Society please forward to us. We’ll be glad to respond.
In the next few weeks, you can expect to see the closing of the Cineworld Cinema in King Street. Many have used this for all our years of living in Hammersmith. This will mark the commencement of the Town Hall/King Street Regeneration Project. The revised and generally more popular mixed use scheme was approved back in November 2013. It will be a phased scheme providing replacement offices for the Council where the cinema is now, about 200 new residential units, a new public square with shops, restaurants and a new Curzon cinema. No doubt there will be publicity and more specific information on the programming of the project. Watch this space!
Continued →
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.
Policing is another area where serious cut backs are being considered – or accurately forced on the Metropolitan Police. The H and F Safer Neighbourhood Board is chaired by David Millar, a Hammersmith Society member. They are organising two public consultation events in Hammersmith under the heading of ‘Have your say on crime, antisocial behaviour and policing where you live’ as follows :
Light refreshments will be provided : For more information contact : or call 020 8753 2816
Supported by the Mayor’s Office for Policing for London.
There is a new Council consultation on a proposal to stop weekly collections: It’s all about saving money : What do you think?
I live in a house and have space to store rubbish – unwillingly for two weeks – but what if you live in a small flat where storage is a real problem ? Weekly bin collections are surely the least we can expect in a civilised community.
Please go to the consultation
For two if not three of the last AGMs we have given a Wooden Spoon to the Council for their lack of a policy on street tree pits – that is the area around the base of the tree in the footpath. We have shown that there is no consistency of treatment which varies from just earth, to hoggin, to black tarmac to various forms of ‘bound gravel’. This is despite the formation of a StreetSmart guide adopted by the Council about 10 years ago after much exhortation by the Hammersmith Society. Lots of Borough’s deal with this problem successfully. It is a difficult problem as trees have to receive water, their roots go all over the place and dogs do nasty things on them.
As a result of our campaign, Harry Phibbs has been particularly tenacious in trying to get answers from Council Officers : They have recently come up with a new product – another form of permeable bound gravel which is being trailed at the moment around the Brackenbury area and Kings Street/St Peter’s Square – see illustration.
What do you think? Looks smart – will it last?
An alternative approach – not necessarily suitable for all locations – or certainly busy ones – is the personalised planted approach. I understand this is being trailed in Fulham (I am afraid the photo is from another Borough – but the principle is the same).
What do you think? Please contact Harry Phibbs or the Highways Department with your views.
Small Sites policy in the new London Plan
Today’s #archivejigsaw is a London Underground poster for the 1910 Japan-British exhibition held in London. The exhibition was an attempt by Japan to introduce its culture to the West, and included Japanese gardens with imported trees, bridges and stones: orlo.uk/ACsMS
— Hammersmith Society @(HammersmithSoc) 1 day ago
We are pleased to announce that the new @LidlGB store will be opening in Kings Mall on Thursday 11th March. 🛒 🛍️ Read the full announcement here ⤵️ bit.ly/3bhb87q
— Hammersmith Society @(HammersmithSoc) 6 hours ago
@grantshapps @CharlotteV And #hammersmithbridge - of course !
— Hammersmith Society @(HammersmithSoc) 9 hours ago
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