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 Jan, and only costs £6 for individuals, £8 for couples or families, and £15 for organisations. Additional voluntary donations always welcome.
The CS9 saga has been running for a couple of years now, and we’re finally beginning to achieve some clarity in the plans for Hammersmith.
CS9 has been renamed CW9 “CycleWay 9” to distance it from existing Central London Superhighways, and provide a facility serving a wider demographic than those installed to date. The image being promoted is shown in TfL’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner’s Tweet, left, although we feel obliged to point out that despite the wording, the photo is not London at all – this was Copenhagen in 2015. Nevertheless we believe this more inclusive vision is an appropriate aspiration for our borough’s roads.
Together with other members of the community, we have been successful in persuading H&F Council that TfL’s CS9 plans were flawed, now two different cycle routes are planned: a fast commuter route using the somewhat underused paths alongside the A4, and something closer to a “Quietway“ plus urban realm improvements (greening) in King Street and Hammersmith Road. More on the council website, where an online debate has started.
We expect to be part of the planned residents consultation as we are concerned about potential negative impacts on pedestrians and retailers, significantly slower buses/traffic/increasing pollution, for which there is evidence from schemes such as Winchmore Hill and Waltham Forest. TfL’s own CS9 Air Quality Report predicts only walking-speed traffic along Hammersmith Road at Olympia, and no overall improvement in air quality. A council meeting is planned for 9th Sept, which you should attend if you are interested in this scheme (see our diary)…
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Eagle-eyed members checking our diary will have spotted that Heathrow chose to splashdown with its consultation roadshow in Hammersmith Town Hall on Wednesday 24th July, the 50th anniversary of the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts.
The date helps highlight the importance of this consultation, something that would provide all of Hammersmith with an experience aggregating daily to something rather closer to launch than to tranquillity. We had the consultation about airspace earlier in the year (results pending), proposing changes to airspace with new overflights, regardless of a third runway or any other expansion. This consultation covers the Third Runway et al, equivalent to adding a new airport the size of Gatwick.
Please attend the consultation if you can; below are half a dozen pointers to questions you might ask. Please beware that if you offer a preference for this option or that, you may well be counted as a “supporter” of some kind. If you can’t make the Hammersmith event, there are many others elsewhere.
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Cllr Harcourt describes Hammersmith Bridge problems
At our AGM on 12th June, members of the audience asked a number of questions about the Bridge.
As we reported in our recent newsletter and over the previous 4 years, the bridge has been in trouble for a long time, not helped by a couple of bomb attacks in its history.
Fortunately Councillor Wesley Harcourt (Cabinet Member for the Environment) was in the audience, and offered us an impromptu update on the works to repair it. He made it clear that the Council is committed to repairing it as a fully working bridge, and that final decisions on the scope of work are yet to made as they depend on the level of funding available from TfL (who want to run double-decker buses), and the Government. The two key issues appear to be:
He described the cracks found, and mentioned the details, photos and videos available on the council website here. He also described the effect on traffic on other bridges and roads, notably Chiswick, Putney and to a lesser extent Wandsworth, plus the apparent disappearance of 25% of the bridge traffic, though that may be variability and measurement error. He noted that more environmentally-friendly electric buses actually weigh more due to the batteries, just to add to the mix.
He committed to the council finalising plans and schedule in August, though we have no idea how long the work might take as yet, due to the many variables, and 3 years remains the disappointing figure quoted. We urge the council to embark on the essential repairs as soon as practicable, notwithstanding Government inertia. The outcome of these discussions can’t be resolved soon enough.
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The Special 20-page Anniversary Newsletter has been published, celebrating 30 years of Hammersmith Society Awards. Printed copies are being distributed to subscribing members.
In this edition, as well as news stories, we discuss some recurring themes in a little more depth. 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
Hammersmith Highline location (photo: Hammersmith BID)
We’re intrigued by the possibility of a linear park or alternative use for the disused part of the District Line viaduct between the Kings Mall flats and the new Sovereign Court, as proposed by Hammersmith BID and West London Link (known for the Flyunder concept) as part of the London Festival of Architecture 2019. Inspired by the New York highline and the Promenade Plantée in Paris that preceded it, there’s a competition open for ideas – details here. The project has it’s own Twitter page, where you can follow progress.
Given the challenges of the location and some of the similarities, we’re attracted to the new tropical roof garden above the Crossrail station at Canary Wharf as a source of inspiration, but the site will lend itself to many interpretations, so do please take part if you have ideas.
Several committee members attended the latest Heathrow Consultation held on 24th Jan. A more detailed article will appear in the next Newsletter, but in the meantime the essential take-aways are summarised in the graphic shown, short-cutting the 26 consultation documents.
“Arrivals-1 for the northern runway”
This shows one of the most problematic proposed new arrivals flight paths “Arrivals-1 for the Northern runway” (used 75% of the time for early mornings), overlaid with a “heat map” of the Society’s membership. Make no mistake, the majority of members would be directly overflown at 2000-3000ft. The “Arrivals-2” option is worse for some members, with overflights between 2000-2500ft in the southern part of Hammersmith.
We urge you to respond to the online questionnaire answering “neither – prefer no expansion” to most questions, or use appropriate detailed responses largely the same as Chiswick’s, see: http://chatr.org.uk. You must do this by 4th March.
Currently, no Hammersmith residents are directly overflown, and those living North of King Street (the majority of our members) hear rather less of the early morning arrivals along the river that plague those living further South, particularly in TEAM mode between 6-7am as described here.
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TfL has issued its response to previous consultations on the cycle route from Kensington Olympia through Hammersmith and Chiswick, and says construction of the route on the north side of the Hammersmith Broadway gyratory will begin this year.
There are no substantial alterations to the section from Hammersmith Broadway to the end of King Street. Local criticism had centred on the congestion of traffic and pedestrians, and the likely delays for buses if the roadway is narrowed at the east end of King Street to make space for a segregated two-way cycle lane: TfL says delivery vehicles will use parking bays or park in Blacks Road or Angel Walk. We are sceptical as to whether that message will get through to security service vans delivering to banks, for example.
There were also worries about increased risk to pedestrians from cyclists. TfL has decided to drop the term “Super-Highway”, saying it sends the wrong message. A local family cycling group has welcomed the scheme, so let’s not forget it is not just fast commuter cyclists who want cycle lanes. But the TfL report specifically excludes the option of a commuter route parallel to the length of the A4, and is vague about the prospect of a fast route in Hammersmith, which the Council announced last month.
We understand LBHF is having further discussions with TfL.
A number of exhibitions are being held across the borough this month concerning the design of the HS2 station at Old Oak, which is at the heart of the OPDC area. This is the major interchange between HS2 and The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail), due to be the busiest interchange in the UK after London Waterloo.
The architects are WilkinsonEyre and let us hope they come up with a design which measures up to the importance of the project.
Details of times and locations are shown in the diary with links to maps – the first event is today, 5th February.
Engage with both local and national organisations to discover how you can best protect wildlife. Part of London Climate Action week, sponsored by LBHF.
See: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-for-wildlife-wormholt-park-tickets-366935914197
2MIN VIDEO: Wet wipe island on the Thames - campaigners call for legislation feat @thames21 @ajmacconville youtu.be/0bk2WApPh_o via @YouTube
— Hammersmith Society @(HammersmithSoc) 3 days ago
Full House at our Awards and AGM 2022. More/Larger photos on our website/Insta @hammersmithandy @LBHF @EmmaApthorp @boys_nicholas @FlanLawArch
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Wild for Wildlife - walks, talks and stalls to celebrate nature in Wormholt Park. 📅Sat 02 Jul at 11:00 to 16:00 📍Wormholt Park
— Hammersmith Society @(HammersmithSoc) 5 days ago
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