Hospital Saved!

The Council backed campaign to save a local hospital was today victorious in the High Court. As local community campaigners joined with their local authority to toast having seen off the combined weight of faceless technocrats and Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt, local people who use the health services were breathing a sigh of relief.

Congratulations to the people of Lewisham. And what a contrast to the abyss faced by those living in Hammersmith & Fulham. Unlike Lewisham the Council first joined the local campaign, only to abandon it having secretly negotiated a closure programme with the technocrats. No A&E Department will be left in the borough and those needing emergency treatment will need to try to survive a longer journey to hospitals in other parts of the city. Our Council's response to that is to resort to political point scoring, with remarks like this:

The soon to be former hospital buildings, such as Charing Cross on the Fulham Palace Road, will be sold off to property developers in order for luxury flats to be constructed. Sound familiar? At all?

In the meantime, and despite the unholy alliance of H&F Council and the Department of Health, our own local community campaign is carrying on the fight, with a meeting set for tomorrow at 7pm at Rivercourt Methodist Church in Hammersmith. That will be an opportunity to tell the Independent Panel now investigating this closure deal why our own hospitals are a wee bit more important than our Council seem to think. I can't be there on account of being on me 'ols, but I urge those of you inspired by the victory in South London to try to achieve a similar outcome in the West. 

Botterill accused of “Lies” over Market

H&F Council Leader Nick Botterill has been accused of telling porkies by the traders of the Goldhawk Road set to lose their properties and freeholds under the Council’s controversial scheme to redevelop the area with a property developer who plan to construct seven floors of luxury flats on top of the site.

In a letter to the Fulham Chronicle Mr Bottterill repeats a claim that the traders have been made formal offers, which the traders themselves dispute. No such offers have been made or received, they say. Given this Council’s record on the scheme, which has already fallen foul of the High Court, I’m inclined to believe the traders.

They say they plan to submit a letter pointing out Mr Botterill’s untruths. It will be interesting to see if the newspaper decides to publish it. It is one letter among many flying around at the moment with many objectors to the scheme also having received a letter from the Council recently suggesting that they have "misunderstood" the scheme and may wish to withdraw their objections following some "clarifications". The only way the objectors could have received such a letter is if the Council had used its database of objectors – a database they have denied those opposing the scheme on the grounds of it being prejudicial to the current legal inquiry. Given that this letter repeats claims of fact that the traders themselves dispute, it would seem that these letters themselves are prejudicial.

But that’s how they roll, folks. I understand that of the 225 people they wrote to, only 4 have withdrawn their objections. Which speaks volumes.

Blog Holiday Starts!

I shall be in France for most of the next month pop-pickers - have a great break yourselves and enjoy the heatwave! Back late August.

Ark School gets top marks

The Ark school on Hemlock Road has soared to the top of the tables recently, receiving an "outstanding" status as a result of a recent Ofsted inspection, reports the SW Londoner website.

The school, which forms a central plank of this Councils' Free Schools education policy is clearly doing very well indeed. I know a number of parents who send their kids there who uniformly sing its praises, both for educational standards but also the ethos and culture of the school. It seems like a fun place of learning.

So well done to all of them.

A night at the Empire

Last night I visited a venue I have always been curious about but like probably most Bushers have never actually ventured inside. The Shepherd's Bush Empire, like its' sister in Hackney, is a London institution. Built in 1903 it functioned as a BBC theatre for a lot of the 20th century until the 1990s. Since then it has played host to bands such as the one I saw last night, a New Zealand outfit called The Black Seeds.

The band themselves were excellent, they're a kind of experimental UB40, basing most of their songs on reggae but building a lot more layers on top. There are 6 or 7 on stage at any one time including saxophone and trumpet!

The bar queue

Anyway back to the venue. It reminded me a lot of the pictures we saw from the inside of the old pavilion in terms of design and decor with an ornate Victorian balcony for the stalls. If you are upstairs you get to see the crowd slowly build below ... at one point I thought it was going to be tiny but the drifters soon became a packed house. Which was also the case for the downstairs bar, which was under constant siege by a ten deep queue - don't bother unless you're really thirsty and don't mind spending nearly a fiver per pint.

The security guys on the door hand out wristbands to let people go out and come in, mainly for the purposes of smoking, but I saw a lot just nip over to the Green pub and enjoy a cheeky pint instead! Overall the venue seems to be well run and and I'd definitely go again; so if you haven't yet seen it for yourself check out their website and take your pick!

Bush woman missing: Police appeal

Local police are appealing for to find a vulnerable elderly missing woman from Shepherds Bush.

Mary Williams, 77, was last seen as she left her care home in Elgin Close, W12 at around 07:50hrs this morning, Saturday 13 July.

Mrs Williams is described as black with a slim build and uses a walking frame/stick. She was last seen wearing a beige coloured blouse, a purple/red coloured long skirt. Officers are concerned for her safety and welfare.

If you have seen Mrs Williams or know of her whereabouts please call police on 101.

Beckham in Bush Pie Shop Battle

The new David Beckham ad for Sky Sports which has started airing to preview the new football season features a traditional English Pie and Mash shop as part of the storytelling, requested by David himself.

Cookes Pie and Mash shop in Shepherds Bush has been in business since 1899 and pies and liquor for the Paris ad shoot were hand delivered by long term owner Audrey Boughton. But the business has been under pressure from property developers and a compliant Hammersmith Council looking to sweep away over a hundred years of retail tradition for a number of Goldhawk Road shops and replace them with a modern residential development.

Here's Audrey:

“We were proud and delighted to be asked to supply the pies for David’s Ad. We are a business founded in community, tradition and our local roots, and admire David for never losing his. Being near to QPRs ground we are very used to being part of both the football player and fan community”.

"But all our traditions are close to disappearing with the plans in place to compulsory purchase our shop and those of our neighbours. At a time when British retail is struggling it staggers is that shops trading well – and with an individual streak – can be sacrificed like this. It seems to go against all that the Government, Boris Johnson and the likes of Mary Portas are supposedly championing.

"What makes it worse is that rumours have been spread from somewhere that we have already shut down. That is not the case and we are fighting tooth and nail through the Courts to preserve our shop and what we believe in".

The next leg of the battle is set for this Monday and Tuesday in the High Court and all support that can be shown in evidence for their shops, retail heritage and the fairness of our Council's approach along with their colleagues Orion the property developers will help their case.

Bush Market: Court battle starts

Our Council finds itself landed back in the High Court on Monday and Tuesday as the shopkeepers of the Goldhawk Road, which were publicly promised they would be protected by the Leader of H&F only to be sold down the river, fight for their futures.



Supported by the majority of Market traders, the shopkeepers will have a sense of deja-vu having already defeated the Council in court over the way in which the whole process has been handled, with a Judge ruling it illegal. Despite talking tough on issues of law n ordah our Council has proceded ahead anyway, and issued the shopkeepers with compulsory purchase orders.

We have already established that the actual fate of the shopkeepers now hangs on the result of the 2014 local elections. If the current administration falls it will be the end of the current scheme. And Transport for London, who own the land, recently revealed that they oppose the scheme.

But this battle is important nonetheless and will be keenly watched by residents, councillors and their colleagues at Orion the property developers too. 

Bush Green builder wins gong

The contractors who eventually got round to finishing the renovation of the Green has been awarded a prestigious industry gong as the " manufacturing, engineering and infrastructure company of the year" at the inaugural London Loves Excellence Awards 2013.

Bushers will remember that this project, which undoubtedly has brightened our neighbourhood from what it was, was possibly one of the longest running projects many of us have ever seen. First up was the need to force our Council to change their minds by way of a Planning Inspectorate review, which saw residents win significant concessions from the original plans in terms of saving trees and preventing a cafe being installed on the Green. Secondly it was the discovery of poisonous and dangerous materials left over from the second world war and thirdly, well, it was the wrong sort of rain which dogged the washout that was last summer.

Now, though, we are rewarded with what is demonstrably a highlight of W12 and for that few would begrudge this award to FM Conway, nor to the Council who have delivered a shiny new Green that is being enjoyed in the sun at the moment. We got there eventually. Well done all.