We welcome as members individuals and organisations who care for Hammersmith
As a Member, you will receive regular updates outlining our activities, giving you the opportunity to participate in consultations and campaigns. We'll invite you to our Awards Evening and AGM, and other events. 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.
This year’s Award Nominations are open – winners of Awards and wooden spoons will be announced at the AGM at Olympia on 12th June. Members and their guests will be warmly welcomed at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Please do nominate your choice – see our awards page to understand the process and the various award categories, and to review/comment on the list of existing nominations which are being added to the website as they come in. Nominations close on 15th May.
It would help us if you can send us a photo with your nomination.
The Council has launched a 12-week consultation on the future of Linford Christie Stadium at the edge of Wormwood Scrubs here. The present stadium is dilapidated but heavily used by Thames Valley Harriers athletics club and other local groups. the options offered are:
Wormwood Scrubs Pony Centre (photo: © David Hawgood)
This will be a highly charged debate with competing demands. On the one hand, H&F Council like all other councils is facing a severely squeezed budget. On the other, Wormwood Scrubs is a green lung for west London with a special character that has been described as “more wild than tamed” . Placing a 45,000 seat sport and entertainment venue at its very edge will bring huge numbers of people to a place which is used and valued for quiet recreation, low-key amateur sports, dog-walking and bird watching, and its designated Local Nature Reserve areas.
The Hammersmith Society’s response to the consultation is here:
Hammersmith Society – consultation response.pdf
Continued →
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.
Former garage, Wellesley Ave (photo:yell.com)
Developers appealed against the decision of the Council to refuse permission for the development of substantial office accommodation on the site of the former Aston Martin garage. Local residents had objected to the proposals on a wide number of grounds. They also regret the passing of the garage which was generally a well mannered and friendly neighbour.
The appeal was dismissed after careful consideration by the Inspector. The major reasons given were:
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.
Continued →
(Click on images for full-sized versions, then scroll through the set)
The big and complex application for redevelopment of the 14 acre site, which includes a cluster of Listed Buildings, was approved by the Council’s Planning Committee on 30 January, having been been given a very speedy journey through the planning process.
In our view it was not fully ready to be approved, and we had hoped to gain some modifications on height and architectural detail. There are also serious concerns about how the local area will cope with the numbers of additional workers and visitors to the exhibition halls and performance spaces, while TfL has stated that there is no prospect of extending regular District Line service to Kensington Olympia station in the immediate future, and adjacent bus routes have been recently curtailed.
In our comments we stated that the new development would breathe new life into a very special part of Hammersmith. But the proposed theatre block on Hammersmith Road, the height of the central office building rising above the original Olympia buildings, and the Thomas Heatherwick – designed hotel extension on the south-east corner, which will date very quickly, should have been given more time and thought to get right.
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.
King Street West. Block B (image: LBHF)
The application will go to the Planning Committee on Tuesday 12 February. If approved, work on site could begin later this year.
It has been a long time coming, after extensive public consultation, and the feedback we have from members is that they are keen to see the new open space opening up the Town Hall to King Street, high-quality new building, new and innovative access to the Town Hall interior and the return of a cinema.
The revised, and likely final Town Hall plans, filed under ref. 2018/01500/FUL, are being exhibited this Friday 4-8pm and Saturday 10am-2pm – details in our diary. You are doubtless familiar with the project’s development over the years, and the changes brought about after consultation with members of the public, the volunteer Town Hall Commissioners, this Society, and Historic England.
The following significant changes are listed:
In the invitation (full details), the leader of the council says:
We propose to demolish the ugly Town Hall extension and bring Hammersmith:
Continued →
©2025, The Hammersmith Society | Privacy | Contact | Join | @ Subscribe | ⓘ
Campaigning for over sixty years