Nomination for a Wooden Spoon, 2025.

The Hammersmith Belle

The former Hampshire Hog / Hampshire has struggled in recent years, changing hands, names and formats several times, including in the midst of the pandemic in 2020. It used to have a restrained image commensurate with its elegant 1883 Victorian architecture – see below.

In its most recent incarnation it has joined the Belle pubs and restaurants group as the Hammersmith Belle, and taken on their standard sports bar brand appearance with fake LED-lit mini-trees outside, described in the nomination as having the appearance of a ‘Bulgarian Black Sea beach resort’ (who knew? – Ed).

This fits with an increasing trend for pandemic-inspired pavement encroachments, in a way that can erode the character of a city – building by building – and in the same way that the Uxbridge Road petitioners have mentioned. These do actually require planning consent, and should be the subject of enforcement. In this case, as many, no consent exists.

While it’s good to see this large longstanding establishment being reinvigorated – and in its original function – despite the 4.6 Google review ratings, the unsympathetic paint scheme, the brand’s generic plastic trees, loud signage, and pavement encroachments don’t seem to do the streetscape or building justice. Rather than help make the case for a vibrant sports bar, the additions seem to detract from an otherwise valiant effort to improve the frontage with its many thriving window boxes, and planting in the garish containers next to the trees, which unlike them, is actually real.

For reference, the appearance is shown below – from 2016:

The Hampshire Hog, 2016 [photo: Edward Hands / Wikipedia]

Rivercourt LTN council information

In the six months since the temporary Rivercourt Road LTN was put in place, we’ve received messages nearly every week – vanishingly few positive – and it’s still regularly our most read article on the website.  Messages fall into the following categories, with more than one correspondent questioning legality:

• Implementation problems:
  • I’ve received a fine, I don’t know why.
  • The signage / wording is poor – I had no idea I wasn’t supposed to go down there.
  • I paid for a visitor by RingGo who still got fined.
  • I witnessed someone reversing into the A4 – the ‘turning circle’ is dangerous – or – I witnessed an accident caused by someone slowing down/stopping to read the signs and being hit from behind, creating a multi-vehicle shunt – example images below.
• The LTN is damaging my business, I’m leaving the borough.

Rivercourt crash front

Rivercourt crash rear-end

The “local access only” wording and cacophony of messy signage is considered deceptive by many correspondents – this and many of the other are points were raised in our original article.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that when challenged on a PCN fine, the council may back down, rather than attend a tribunal, however there’s rather more to this story, when considered in the light of the recent High Court case.

JULY 2025 UPDATE Based on the council’s publicity, residents may have believed that they could allow visitors, quote: “Local residents can also easily get access for the visitors by using the RingGo app, which has proved widely successful in residential areas throughout the borough…” The words throughout the borough are misleading and only part of the story. In fact only residents in certain streets extremely close to Rivercourt Road can provide access for their visitors. LBHF now says (but doesn’t yet publicise the details): Cromwell Avenue, Weltje Road, Beavor Lane, Vencourt Place, Ravenscourt Park, (only some properties: from junction of King Street to the train bridge) and Ravenscourt Road (only part from junction of King Street to the train bridge).  A number of residents have written to us, detailing problems they’ve had with the Ringo system which was supposed to have been upgraded five years ago to properly support LTN access, but still has senior moments.  Caveat emptor.

The West Dulwich case

Last month, the legality of the way in which an LTN was implemented by Lambeth Council in West Dulwich was tested in the High Court, and found to be unlawful.  It wasn’t the legalities of the LTN itself, but the poor way in which consultation was carried out, and the way in which the council failed to take due consideration of well researched and detailed evidence provided by local people in a 53-page submission.

Nomination for a Nancye Goulden Award, 2025.

Bradmore Square is a small space tucked away behind Bradmore House on the Broadway, with which we and the Historic Buildings Group have a long history. The back entrance to Hammersmith tube and bus station, and the increasingly popular Broadway shopping centre is conveniently adjacent.  Recently the public realm has been noticeably improved.

Bradmore Square 3

Bradmore Square 2

Bradmore Square 1

The nomination notes that “it’s additionally impressive that the pots continue to be green and watered, even throughout the dry weather that we have been having”.

Mogden sewage works [photo : eight2O]

With the recent boat races having brought with them the annual hand-wringing over river pollution, providing the Mayor with an opportunity to remind us of his 2024 pledge to make London’s rivers swimmable within 10 years, it seems an appropriate moment to review the status quo in this long running saga.

In addition to the annual boat race related news, there have been a number of stories in the wake of the recent Thames Water TV documentary and the related Tideway Tunnel or ‘Super Sewer’ completion, after more than a decade of construction.  The programme revealed a team of people battling the odds to keep an overstretched system working, and not always winning. It must be disappointing for those working on the project to have so much of the news created by the things they were working for years to fix.

There’s the small matter of the automatic outfall monitors now mandated by OFWAT which, connected directly to Twitter, became an effective way to allow the public to beat the water companies with their opprobrium.  It may be that there were plenty of spills before these monitors, but that nobody could put a number on them, and the increasing heavy rainfall episodes have clearly not helped.

Original Super Sewer plans

Notwithstanding the connection to the Super Sewer at Hammersmith under the watchful eye of our own Capability Brown, and at Fulham on Carnwath road, there have been quite a range of related stories that help illustrate the causes, effects and work being done – or not – to address them, here’s a roundup:

Nomination for a Nancye Goulden Award, 2025.

The replacement of the bus lane in King Street by a temporary cycle lane during the pandemic was not without it’s critics, including in this parish, given its impact on public transport – particularly with the problematic ‘floating bus stops’ pictured, plus the effect on the public realm – two of our top concerns.

But the recent creation of two rain gardens, together with gravel replacements for a significant number of tree pits on both sides of the western end of the street represent very significant improvements. The hard landscaping and tree pits were done by Conway under the council’s mandate, paid for by the Green Investment Scheme, but interestingly, the planting was undertaken by HCGA under contract to the council, partly by local volunteers.

King St rain gardens

King St rain gardens

King St rain gardens

The gardens are already maturing after only a few weeks and will surely only get better in time. The adjacent gravel tree pits are a perfect example of what the society has campaigned on for well over a decade, awarding wooden spoons to the council in successive years for failing to improve the ‘asphalt situation’ around the borough’s trees. It didn’t seem to take Conway very long to dig out the old asphalt in around a dozen pits, and replace it with permeable and attractive real gravel. These represent what we’d like to see by default everywhere – of course in creative cooperation with guerrilla gardeners such as the award-winning Askew in Bloom, and The Green Project where they’re planting too. 

Rivercourt LTN council information

Last year, we were contacted by residents of Rivercourt Road concerned about the increased traffic they said they were experiencing. Rivercourt is the road formerly running one-way towards King Street from the Great West Road as shown adjacent, with its twin – Weltje Road – running one-way towards the A4.

On Thursday, Rivercourt road became a trial two-way LTN with non-residents (those not registered with an LBHF parking permit), Blue Badge holders, and businesses required to get a permit or be fined by ANPR cameras at the A4 junction. On the same day, Rosamund Adoo-KD (Ella’s mother) described LTN’s as the worst thing ever  to happen in red route areas (the adjoining A4 is a red route). Regardless of the intent, we question whether this is the right solution.  JULY 2025 IMPORTANT UPDATE – see later article

A4 LTN signage. Note wording ‘LOCAL ACCESS’ not ‘£130 FINE FOR TURNING LEFT’

These roads are effective ways to get to and from the A4 and King Street without going all the way to Hogarth Roundabout or adding to Hammersmith Broadway’s congestion and emissions, and are therefore important for a significant number of residents, non-residents, schools, visitors and businesses alike – plus the wider environment – hence our interest.

The council have not published audited statistics, though claim ‘4000 motorists’ a day which in itself implies private cars, but is just as likely to be your plumber, a delivery van, cab or a coach serving the three adjacent schools. Some residents of the road have been campaigning to reduce traffic; and there are of course concerns about the increased number of cycle-related accidents at the junction with King Street since C9 was added, notably including a vocal Jeremy Vine.

Conway make Rivercourt Road 2-way

LTN signage Rivercourt Road

The LTN was created by an 18 month temporary traffic order in September, which you can see here . It was announced publicly on 20th November – the same evening that Conway were photographed burning off the road markings – and implemented with surprising haste the next day.  The fixed signage shown, matches the discreetness of the traffic order, especially amongst the visual cacophony of all the other signage, and one can imagine that many won’t have time to read it, and its potentially expensive consequences, having come off the busy and faster A4. 

It’s been suggested that speed bumps might be a rather simpler and better disincentive, but that would cost money rather than raise it.  The council will be rubbing their hands with glee as their coffers fill up.  Recall that the controversial South Fulham TCPR was created the same way, then made permanent, further dividing the residents, creating a 12,000 signature campaign, and pushing some businesses over the edge, while rapidly ballooning the council’s £34 million fines income which we reported as ‘only’ £18.9m the year before. There is at least a three-week grace period before fines start being issued.

“David Bowie” cycles in Copenhagen, 2024

Will Norman, London’s cycling Czar, has been promoting Danish cycling culture for a decade, usually without mentioning it by name. So, on a recent trip to Copenhagen, it seemed worth making an ad-hoc study of the cycling scene.

Cycling in Denmark, 2015

Will Norman at Kensington Town Hall

Back in 2017-18, when the whole CS9 debate got going in Hammersmith, in addition to a proposal for a cycle lane down Kensington High Street, the picture adjacent kept popping up – it’s clearly not London for several obvious reasons. Appearing first in Mayoral pronouncements on London cycling and on Twitter, it then appeared as a huge backdrop as Dr. Norman tried to convince hundreds of residents at Kensington Town Hall that he had a plan for them. A little sleuthing revealed unambiguously that this was Copenhagen in 2015, which, by and by, triggered this story. Copenhagen in 2024 looks unchanged – it’s a remarkably different culture, well worth a look.

Rush Hour, Copenhagen September 2024

Firstly there’s very little testosterone evident, historically the fuel of choice for London’s cycling campaigners – until e-bikes were found more effective. There’s still the occasional Lycra-clad hooligan running the lights in Copenhagen, but that’s perhaps 1 in 1000, and people shrug, assuming that a Darwinian intervention will deal with the problem in time. The lack of testosterone is perhaps due to the fact that there seemed to be as many – probably more – women and there’s a good cross section of the population of every age on two wheels, as the photos show. To reinforce this, all bikes seem to be of the “sit up and beg” style, so you meet and greet your fellow cyclists and pedestrians in a civil way. There are practically no “heads down” racing bikes.  Surely to Dr. Norman’s delight, leafier parts of London have started to look like this too, particularly at weekends, but our rush hours look rather different.

London cycling 2024

Secondly, the wearing of helmets, Lycra, and related body armour simply isn’t the big thing it is in London. Perhaps 10-20% wear helmets, often jauntily, but not in defiance of other road users. A pair of flip-flops and a soft cap are more common. Altogether it’s a relaxed culture, not that they’re ambling. The flat roads allow reasonable speeds to be achieved, and as a pedestrian, you need to watch your step. People both walking and cycling are noticeably more obedient in following of the rules of the road and traffic lights.

Bike fest near a Copenhagen Station

Vice Chair Richard Winterton introduces the 2024 awards

Richard Winterton and Dr Nicola Stacey of HOLT

Andy Cutts, Development Manager for Youngs Pubs receives 2024 Nancye Goulden Award for The Defectors Weld

Committee and former committee luminaries

Members gather at the 2024 AGM

Guest Speaker Sally Prothero of the London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust on “London’s parks and open spaces at risk”

Guest Speaker Sally Prothero of the London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust on “London’s parks and open spaces at risk”

Dr Nicola Stacey of HOLT receives 2024 Tom Ryland Award for conservation of the Leaning Lady/woman

Alistair Maddox, White City Place client services director receives 2024 Nancye Goulden Award White City landscaping

Faye Davies of Burrell Foley Fischer receives 2024 Tom Ryland Award for Conservation of the Ravenscourt Park Tea House

(AGM Photos: Franco Chen. Click for full-size versions)

Summary

This year there were no suitable nominations for the main Environment Award, which is probably the result of limited major project starts during the pandemic. The projects of recent Environment Award winners had started before the pandemic, completing in the last year or two.

In keeping with a tradition that started in 2015 with The Dorsett, and continued through The Palladium in 2022 and The Hoxton in 2023 adjacent, we had another winner close by, on the opposite corner to The Lawn, The Defectors Weld, winning a Nancye Goulden Award for its newly restored facades.

Tree pit Hammersmith Grove

We broke the recent run of Jane Mercer guerrilla gardening awards this year with no nominations, but we’re pleased to see previous winners still going strong. It’s notable that the most popular picture on our Instagram a month ago was the properly permeable low cost ‘hoggin’ or gravel tree pit shown adjacent, a welcome addition to the Hammersmith streetscape, and something we’ve long campaigned for in preference to the council’s default, asphalt, helpfully despatched by last year’s Jane Mercer winners in several spots around the Askew Road. Wooden spoons were awarded to the council in four of the last eleven years for poor asphalt tree pits.

Our second Nancye Goulden award this year was for landscaping associated with the White City area regeneration. There are a number of excellent examples between and around the new buildings which significantly improve the streetscape. We particularly noted the space between the Ed City building and the new home of L’Oreal at Gateway Central – a popular lunchtime retreat.

In the last couple of years, there had been few candidates for the Tom Ryland Award for Conservation, but happily the tide turned this year, and we had three!  We awarded the Ravesncourt Park Tea House for the council’s careful restoration, and the well-known Leaning Lady statue, restored through the efforts of affiliate SPRA, Heritage of London Trust and the council.

Award winners 2024

Wooden Spoon, 2024

For the second time in their short history, the Livat planters have been nominated by a member. They were nominated for their effort in cheering up King Street and Ashcroft Square when they appeared in 2022, but on reflection, the committee decided that they didn’t quite make the grade for an award. Since then, little maintenance appears to have been done in King Street, and they have become an unfortunate eyesore. As every council knows, plants, particularly those in relatively shallow planters need watering, care, and maintenance. That bit of the equation seems to have been missed, and instead they have become impromptu ashtrays for the adjacent ‘smoking benches’.

Livat planters 1

Livat planters 2

Livat ‘smoking bench’

However, upstairs in Ashcroft Square, things are looking up, with some new planting. Perhaps there’s been some guerrilla gardening? Enough to save the planters from the wooden spoon?

For comparison, this is a street scene near the back of Victoria station, showing how a little TLC and suitable arrangement of planters can transform a small area into an attractive ‘parklet’.

Victoria street scene

‘Snowdon Collection’ Trimphone – still with pulse dialling!

You’ve probably heard that the old copper phone lines will soon be switched off for good, after over a century of service. Since December 2023, you haven’t been able to buy a new land-line service from any company, the so-called “Stop Sell” date.

The exact switch-off dates have been moving around between the end of next year and January 2027, with variability in what Openreach (the wholesale supplier), and BT, Plusnet, Virgin Media etc (the retailers) say, which confuses the situation, but early 2027 appears the latest possible date. Beware that if you upgrade your broadband to “fibre” now,  or terminate your phone service rather than switching to another provider, you’re on the slippery slope to no conventional land-line, you cannot get it back once lost – possibly including your number – at any price.

Here we look at what the options and opportunities are, and note how surprisingly environmentally unfriendly and limited the default BT offer turns out to be, when compared with other options, and especially when compared with existing and in terms of environmental impact, the old tech. Google has similarly discovered that its new AI tech caused a 40% rise in power consumption last year, with AI reckoned to be 100 to 1000 times as energy intensive as traditional server activities, but here the percentage increase can dwarf even that, recalling that the IT industry is currently as responsible for as many global CO₂ emissions as air travel.

The change is happening globally – the US date was 2022, Canada 2023, and European countries have set various dates from 2021 to 2030.  The Luddites amongst us will be forced to act shortly, in one way or another, and if “full fibre” needs to be installed, the front of your building will very likely need a new hole drilled in it, hence our interest.

Here’s what Ofcom say. What they don’t appear to say is that there are independent services, a range of magic boxes, and even virtual solutions to convert your land-line number to the new tech, so that if it’s of value, you can keep it, without physical upheaval, and even use it on a mobile, independently of your existing supplier or broadband contract – read on.

The lack of a land-line won’t worry many, with unlimited calls now the norm for mobile contracts, and the most frequent users of land-lines now possibly nuisance callers, but it may be of concern if :

• You only have a land-line and no broadband internet connection.
• You have a burglar alarm with a monitoring service (auto dialler etc).
• You have a telecare service (falls detector etc).
• You run a business with a number that people know, which is also doubtless widely published.
• You want a full-featured desk phone, or the reliability and convenience of multiple phones around the home, rather than using your mobile.