We’re sad to announce that West Hampstead Life is stopping the presses. After nine years, it’s had a really good run, but Tuesday’s “What have you missed…” will be the last post on the site and the final newsletter is going out as soon as I hit “publish” on this post. As you know, for […]
Living in West Hampstead brings its unique challenges, opportunities and emotions. One minute you’re all This place is awesome and the next it’s more Why aren’t there any useful shops? There are the ups and downs of West End Lane. You might bag the last table for brunch at the Wet Fish Café. via GIPHY […]
Sad times on Monday night in Kilburn as the Good Ship hosted its final Monday-night comedy gig. The Good Ship closes this weekend after changes to its licence has made it unprofitable and forced owner John McCooke to sell. Monday night comedy was a core part of the formative years of the West Hampstead community […]
We have had to cancel tonight’s hustings at the Sherriff Centre. Following the terrible attack in Manchester last night, which has left 22 people dead and dozens more injured, the political parties have suspended campaigning. Sadly this sort of disruption of the democratic process is surely one of the aims of terrorism. While calling a […]
H&K promises once again to be closely fought battle and West Hampstead is the marginal bit of a marginal constituency. Given the snap election, hustings have been thin on the ground in 2017 – in fact we don’t know of any large-scale hustings at all. We’re therefore very pleased to announce that we’ve teamed up […]
Storm Doris hit West Hampstead hard with trees and even a brick wall blown over. M&S opened in West Hampstead Square on Wednesday, but just two days later a fire broke out in one of the other tower blocks with five fire engines attending. A ninth-floor balcony was damaged but thankfully no-one was hurt. Presumably […]
There’s always a bit of excitement when a major new shop or restaurant opens in the area. Some scoff at the fervour with which chains are welcomed. Others just scoff the food they sell. Marks & Spencer’s food hall in West Hampstead Square will undoubtedly be a boon not just for those eventually living in […]
If you’re following the Maygrove Road parking story, then you’ll be interested in this update from MILAM (the local residents association) chair Monica Regli. Monica presented the MILAM deputation on parking and traffic issues to Camden’s environment and cultural scrutiny meeting at the town hall. She says that councillors were largely sympathetic to the problems […]
Gondar Gardens – the old reservoir site in the northern reaches of West Hampstead – has had more than its fair share of development proposals over the past few years. Some have been rejected – even on appeal – and some have been accepted. Yet nothing has actually been built. The most recent decision was […]
West Hampstead is an “area of intensification” – how far are we to meeting the 2031 housing target? (Spoiler: Very). In Valentine’s week, what better than an Insight into one of our local florists? Swiss Cottage councillor Andrew Marshall, who has already said he will not seek reelection next year, left the Conservative party over […]
If you live on, or walk or drive down Fawley Road then you won’t have failed to notice the leak that’s been spewing water down the street for the past week. It’s not the only one – Achilles Road and West End Lane also have leaks – harking back to the time a few years […]
It’s been a long-time coming. La Brocca closed its doors in June 2015, but its replacement – Bobby Fitzpatrick’s – opens tonight. Bobby’s owners, ULG (who also run The Gallery and The Alice House), have opted for a louche 70s theme for the new bar. West Hampstead Life was – of course – at the […]
Almost exactly four years ago there was a tragic accident on West End Lane. A Mercedes driver in his 80s careered off the road and onto the pavement near Dynham Road. Desreen Brooks was killed as her husband managed to push their toddler son out of the way. American student Amy Werner, off to meet […]
We couldn’t avoid the bandwagon entirely… here’s a fantastic photo of an “over-foliaged” (it’s a technical aboreal term) monster Acacia tree on Fortune Green Road sent in by Louise O’Keefe.
Ballymore’s increasingly delayed West Hampstead Square megaproject has taken another turn for the bizzare. In a marketing document seen by West Hampstead Life, the developer is selling the long leasehold for the commercial part of the development with a breakdown of who the tenants will be. The words “West Hampstead Square” appear nowhere in this […]
More than six years ago I tweeted about a hairdresser on Broadhurst Gardens (long gone). It was a bit of an experiment in using Twitter for local news. Would there be enough stuff to talk about? Was Twitter really going to take off? Most pertinently, were people in West Hampstead interested in getting local news […]
The West Hampstead & Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Plan was passed in a referendum. An overwhelming 93% of the 2,522 votes cast were in favour of the plan. The plan is therefore now a statutory planning document and it looks like 156 West End Lane will be its first real test. Camden is launching a […]
The referendum on the local Neighbourhood Plan is this Thursday. Find out more and do please vote. West Hampstead Life is supporting a “Yes” vote. Sir Nicholas Winton, who arranged for hundreds of children to escape the Nazis, died. Sir Nicholas was born in West Hampstead. We profiled him last year. Another year, another successful […]
The campaign to “Save West Hampstead“, which is actually about the 156 West End Lane proposals, is in full swing and has published a detailed list of its objections. It’s unclear how much support the campaign has beyond the streets immediately surrounding the development site. The Railway finally reopened. The Neighbourhood Development Forum is ramping […]
Newly elected Hampstead & Kilburn MP, Tulip Siddiq, gave her maiden speech in the Commons. There’s already a campaign set up to contest the plans for 156 West End Lane, which affects Lymington Road residents. In October, The Gardens bar on Broadhurst Gardens is going to become a “colonial style cat jungle & human restaurant“. […]
Tulip Siddiq, newly elected Labour MP for Hampstead & Kilburn, stood up yesterday lunchtime to make her maiden speech to the House of Commons during the EU referendum bill debate. After kicking off with a few witticisms about the constituency, she turned her attention to the more serious issue of immigration. She also managed to […]
The first outlines of the 156 West End Lane redevelopment plans were published. Looks like three eight-storey blocks, but firm details are hard to come by. A good crowd braved the damp June weather on Saturday for the first of this year’s Film on Fortune Green screenings. Local author Simon Inglis introduced the classic To […]
Developer A2Dominion held two drop-in consultations this week, revealing its first plans for 156 West End Lane. The redbrick site, currently occupied by Travis Perkins, has been sold by the council as part of its Community Investment Programme to raise money. The plan is for a mixed-use development, with 202 dwellings spread across three blocks. […]
There are two public consultations this week about the proposed redevelopment of 156 West End Lane. The developer – A2Dominion – is proposing ~200 homes, of which 50% would be affordable, alongside community, commercial and employment space. The drop-in events are on Thursday and Saturday. Astonishing or well-deserved? Tortellini Cup, the pasta kiosk in the […]
La Brocca changes ownership on Monday after 24 years. The new owners are no strangers to West End Lane though. A woman was hit by a take-away delivery bike on Saturday evening in West End Lane as she crossed while both lanes of traffic were stationary. An ambulance arrived, but there is no news on […]
Tonight will be the last time David Locke presides over the bar at ever-popular wine & sports bar La Brocca. After an incredible 24 years of being open 7 days a week, this West Hampstead institution that’s as well known for its jazz as its rugby nights (and early mornings), will be changing hands. The […]
Carphone Warehouse on Finchley Road was robbed on Wednesday. Social finally cleared out the shop… and although the rumours have been that it was to become a bakery, it now seems that “fashion and lifestyle brand” Joy will be moving in. There’s a licence application in for two weekends of Oktoberfest in Kilburn Grange Park. […]
After the election, Conservative Simon Marcus was gracious in defeat, while 2010’s 3rd placed Ed Fordham (who came closer in 3rd than Simon did in 2nd) admits to still finding it hard to cope with losing sometimes. A beehive was spotted in a back garden on Tuesday and then a swarm of bees made someone’s […]
Labour’s Tulip Siddiq won Hampstead & Kilburn by 1,138 votes. The Conservatives’ Simon Marcus was second, with Maajid Nawaz a long way back in third, ahead of the Greens’ Rebecca Johnson and UKIP’s Magnus Nielsen. Turnout was 67.5%, up slightly from 2010’s 66.3%. Relive the night with my live Twitter feed. Ronnie Carroll, the candidate […]
It’s all over. Tulip Siddiq has won Hampstead & Kilburn for Labour by just 1,138 votes. In the context of the evening, that’s not a bad result for Labour. The final votes Tulip Siddiq (Lab) 23,977 Simon Marcus (Con) 22,839 Maajid Nawaz (LD) 3,039 Rebecca Johnson (Green) 2,387 Magnus Nielsen (UKIP) 1,532 Ronnie Carroll (Eurovisionary […]
4.03am Oliver Cooper has won the Hampstead Town by-election, triggered by Simon Marcus standing down. He won comfortably ahead of Labour, with the Greens just nicking third from the Lib Dems. Holborn & St Pancras looks to be all but done and dusted, but Hampstead & Kilburn is definitely tight. Tulip, looking tired, said “What […]
If you’ve been following the election at all, it’s been hard to avoid Tulip Siddiq. The Labour candidate for Hampstead & Kilburn has been all over the papers over the past few weeks, with spreads in the Standard and lengthy profile pieces in the Independent and Sunday Times. If you want all the background on […]
Liberal Democrat Maajid Nawaz is on television far more than any of the other Hampstead & Kilburn candidates and yet despite his high profile and self confidence, he is still a distant third favourite for the seat with pollsters, pundits and bookmakers. Maajid’s assured manner and strong hustings performances could well mean that he outperforms […]
Simon Marcus wants to be your Conservative MP. He also really wants you to know that he would be a strong independent voice for Hampstead & Kilburn. On the Conservative backbenches, but independent. Throughout the hustings, and in his interview with West Hampstead Life, Simon has gone to considerable lengths to make clear that he […]
There were two unconnected fires – one in a flat in Greencroft Gardens on Thursday, and one above Hana on West End Lane/Cannon Hill on Saturday. No-one was injured in the first, no further details on the second, except that Hana will be closed for a few days. The Netherwood Street clean-up is a great […]
If you’ve ever had cause to walk from West End Lane to Kilburn High Road via Sherriff Road, you will have been on Netherwood Street. You probably hurried by trying not to notice the unsightly dump between the pavement and the railway line. All manner of refuse, including builders waste and evidence of rough sleeping, […]
The existing Liddell Road businesses have been given until the end of the month to quit the site before building work starts on the school/flats/commercial space. WHL reviewed The Petite Corée – we agreed with everyone else! Local marathon runners gritted their teeth on Sunday. Did anyone local best Mark Townsend’s 2h59? No doubt at […]
I was an early sceptic. Korean French fusion? In West Hampstead? Really? It sounded pretty risky – the sort of thing that Kitchen Nightmares are made of. The reality, thank god, is astonishingly good. This is partly because The Petite Corée’s food isn’t really Korean-French fusion. Jae, the deadpan chef, though Korean, has trained in […]
TfL has shelved its plans to axe the 13 bus route and extend the 139 to Golders Green. Every party seems to be claiming it was their campaign wot done it; TfL simply says that the consultation overlapped with the election so it’s stopped it. There was a tragic road accident on Thursday when a […]
The death of Dr Naz Mahmood last year shocked the West Hampstead community, and as the details emerged around his death, that shock and sadness only grew deeper. On Saturday, Naz’s partner, Matthew Ogston, begins a 130 mile walk in his memory at the cemetery on Fortune Green Road and everyone in West Hampstead is […]
An operating pub in Maida Vale was demolished without warning, planning permission or the knowledge of the landlady. A Mercedes crashed through the church gate of St Mary’s church on Abbey Road. Samuel West, actor, and director of the Tricycle’s latest play After Electra, talked to West Hampstead Life about the play and his take […]
Disco Soup, according to local organiser Thomas Fassnacht, is a “global movement tackling food waste with free festive culinary events.” Sounds bizarre, but it’s actually a innovative way to get people both thinking about and acting on what is becoming a major global issue. And now you can get invoved in West Hampstead. According to […]
The Evening Standard ran a lengthy propery-related feature on West Hampstead that focused heavily on the neighbourhood’s strong community spirit. The restaurant replacing Mamacita is “Cedar“, a Lebanese place that has an award-winning outlet in W9. Tom got his Easter eggs from El Rocio. There’s a new bench in Hampstead cemetery in memory of Dr […]
St James’s church filled up fast as locals poured in for the West Hampstead Life hustings at the Sherriff Centre. US social and political commentator PJ O’Rourke was in the front row for a BBC Radio 4 documentary; Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis was a couple of rows further back – off-duty, though still tweeting; and a […]
Social, Mamacita and La Smorfia all closed. The strip between Tesco and Sainsbury’s is changing particularly fast. Should parking revenue from the area be spent on improving road safety around Fordwych Road? The West Hampstead Life general election hustings are this Tuesday at The Sherriff Centre. A bus stop on the Kilburn High Road got […]
A year after the campaign started, Camden finally looks set to rid West End Lane of estate agents boards. Matthew Ogston, partner of Nazeem Mahmood who died last year after falling from his balcony on Fawley Road, spoke to The Guardian in a moving must-read interview. Next week we’ll explain how you can show your […]
As the May 7th election gets closer, and election literature starts to pour through you door, how best to know who to vote for? Go to a hustings to hear the candidates answer questions – maybe your question. If you’ve never been to a hustings before, or aren’t sure if they’re really for you, why […]
If you had clothes at Delicate Dry Cleaners, next to Barclays, you can now pick them up from D&D Dry Cleaners, at 68 Fortune Green Road. The timetable for the NDF referendum has been released. A large bear caused consternation on West End Lane. Spring continues springing on Fortune Green, but the commitee is chasing […]
Camden councillors voted in favour of the Liddell Road scheme. Only two members of the planning committee voted against. You can watch the whole thing. The meeting refers to some calculations by the NDF on the economics of the Liddell Road scheme, which were published on West Hampstead Life. And if, somehow, you’re new to […]
Surely we all get that flush of pride when you’re in central London and a 139 heading home sails into sight? Destination West Hampstead. All that may be about to change according to plans by TfL, which are up for consultation. Based on analysis of passenger flows, TfL is proposing that the 139 would continue […]
Camden councillors voted tonight to give the go ahead to both the proposal to build the school and to build the housing and employment space that will help fund it. The debate lasted just over an hour and a half and got rather tetchy at times. It brought home how complex the funding issues are […]
It’s decision time tonight for Liddell Road, but what’s at stake and why has it been so controversial? What’s the deal? The council has an obligation to provide enough school places for local children and the projections are that some 400 places are needed in the West Hampstead area in the very near future. Where to […]
The planning application for Liddell Road will be decided on Tuesday when it goes in front of the planning committee. The session is open to the public (7pm Camden Town Hall) Fordwych Road will be closed between Minster Road and Mill Lane Monday and Tuesday this week for resurfacing. Mark Carney, governor of the Bank […]
Police closed roads around the police station in West Hampstead on Saturday night after a suspect package was found. Thankfully the all clear was sounded fairly soon afterwards. The fire in Snowman House the week before was caused by a tealight. The fire brigade tweeted a photo of both the offending candle and then the […]
A fire on the 10th floor of Snowman House was swiftly brought under control, with only one person treated at the scene despite more than a hundred people being evacuated. The fire was caused by a tealight! 1980s’ popstar Steve Strange, who died this week, got his stage name from a West Hampstead postman. The […]
Steve Strange, frontman of 1980s band Visage, has died in Egypt following a heart attack. He was 55 and best known for the Visage hit Fade to Grey. Local historian Dick Weindling recalls how Strange (real name, Steven Harrington) picked up his unusual name: “In 1978, Jean-Jacques Burnel the bass player with The Stranglers lived […]
A few weeks ago the BBC ran a story about that first democratic camera, the Brownie. The article triggered some readers to send in their own Brownie photos and these included a couple of photos taken by Merryl See Tai in West Hampstead. Merryl’s on a quest to try and identify the people in one of […]
Camden came out fighting over the Liddell Road controversy, with a letter in the CNJ, a newsletter, and a lengthy blogpost by finance chief Theo Blackwell. There was a major police incident on Mill Lane on Tuesday evening although quite what triggered it remains unclear. We woke up to snow on Tuesday. Even if you […]
The Alliance’s appeal to raise money to send the body of staffmember Natalia Czekaj back to her mother in Poland exceeded its target, allowing the pub to also pay for the funeral. Thank you to everyone who donated. Flooding at Farringdon at the start of the week and planned engineering this weekend has meant chaos […]
Camden has extended the deadline for comments on its Liddell Road redevelopment planning applications to February 12th. In practice, if you still want to comment, then submissions will be considered right up to the time of the vote, which is likely to be in early March. Of the non-statutory responses Camden has published so far: Objections: 32 […]
The school due to open at Liddell Road in 2016 (assuming Camden councillors vote in favour of the council-led scheme), is an extension of Kingsgate School rather than a separate school. We’ve discussed the reasons for this before. But what does this mean for the admissions point of the new split-site school? Over the past […]
The organisers of the campaign to raise funds to send the body of Natalia Czekaj back to her mother in Poland would like to express their gratitude to locals for giving generously to the cause. In total, they raised £8,400, which means that they can also help Natalia’s mother cover the funeral costs as well. […]
Thameslink services will not run between St Pancras and Farringdon Monday due to the flooding. Here’s a train going through the standing water. Camden released its viability report on the controversial Liddell Road development. The NDF chairman called it “an insult to the local community“. There’s yet another (though probably final) chance to discuss the […]
Camden council claims that it cannot reveal the costings and valuations behind its proposal for Liddell Road “in accordance with the legal advice we have received.” This led to a farcical response to a Freedom of Information request made by former Conservative council candidate Andrew Parkinson. Andrew had asked to see the Liddell Road viability […]
Heaven knows the people of West Hampstead have opinions. You hear them expressed loudly at every local meeting, anyone with a local twitter timeline will be drowning in them, and they fill the WHL inbox. But not everyone can attend (or enjoys) those meetings; Twitter is a noisy place littered with sunset photos and hashtags, […]
The five big parties have now all announced their candidates for the Hampstead & Kilburn constituency in May’s general election. We take a look at the runners, the latest thinking on the outcome, and the critical role West Hampstead will play in the final vote count. Put March 31st in your diaries for the West […]
On January 6th, Natalia Czekaj was found dead at her home in Harrow. Natalia worked behind the bar at The Alliance pub on Mill Lane where she was much loved. A 34-year-old man has been charged with her murder. Locals are raising funds to help Natalia’s mother repatriate her daughter’s body to Poland, which she […]
What appears to have been an electrical fault caused the O2 centre to be evacuated early Sunday evening and it will reopen Monday. Cinema-goers, shoppers and gym members were all turfed out in the cold. The Neighbourhood Forum passed its exam and got a £6,000 lottery grant. The referendum is likely to be in the […]
T.S. Eliot – arguably the greatest poet of the 20th century – lived for two years in Compayne Gardens. Local actor and writer Edward Petherbridge has put together a short film, While the Music Lasts, about Eliot’s time in West Hampstead, which is well worth six minutes of your time. In 1915, Eliot married Vivienne […]
The West Hampstead and Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Forum has had two good pieces of news in the past week. Yesterday it announced a £6,000 grant from the Lottery, which will help enormously in setting up a sustainable Forum that can last beyond the delivery of the plan. Secondly, and even more importantly, the draft […]
The West Hampstead & Fortune Green Neighbourhood Development Plan passed its independent examination and will now go to a referendum. More on this later in the week. New Year means gym memberships sky rocket, but what’s the right deal for you? We crunched the numbers, weighed up the pros and cons, and cut through the […]
The votes are in and have been independently counted and verified. Which means I looked at them. With a staggering 42 percent of the vote, we had a runaway winner for Tweet of the Year. Congratulations Freddie Gavita. We had a tie for second place, both with 11 percent of votes. Well done Shirley […]
Happy New Year! It’s a bumper fortnight round-up this week The plan was submitted for the major overhaul of the Overground station, enabling it to cope with the increasing number of passengers passing through. More than 125 people responded to the NDF’s survey on Liddell Road and there is overwhelming opposition to the council’s scheme. […]
The West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum has been running a survey since the start of November to gauge locals’ reactions to the council’s proposals for Liddell Road. In total, there were 128 responses, and the full results will be published on Monday; however West Hampstead Life has been given an exclusive preview of some of […]
Film Club is back in 2015 with a movie that looks like it’s going to set the quality bar high for the new year. Birdman is an extraordinary film from the visionary filmmaker Alejandro Iñárritu. It stars Michael Keaton; once a Hollywood A-lister thanks to his role as the superhero Batman, but an actor whose […]
As the sun sets on 2014, we thought you might like a little reminder of some of the best sunrise and sunset photos taken and tweeted this year.
It’s as much a part of the Christmas holidays as being left hanging under the mistletoe or getting the gristly bit of the turkey… the West Hampstead Life Tweet of the Year competition is back for 2014. Who will join the roll of honour that stretches back to Jon Kelly, Heather Wilson, and Corinne Gladstone? […]
West Hampstead is changing fast (too fast perhaps for some). Lets take a look back at the stories that made the news in 2014 (click the images to go to the full story) January 12 months later, the building still hasn’t been repaired. The year began with a violent storm that ripped down the tube […]
The planning application for the redevelopment of the Overground station has been submitted. The Overground network has seen an enormous increase in passenger numbers over recent years. West Hampstead’s position as a major interchange point means that 13 million people pass through each year, of whom 5.6 million used the Overground station (TfL, 2012 estimates), […]
Camden’s application to redevelop Liddell Road was finally submitted: a school (420 pupils), 106 flats (4 affordable), and a 5-storey workspace building. More details and pictures. A new bar opened in Kilburn (no ambiguity over its location). It looks very promising. Cook – the frozen ready meals business that cooks its meals on the premises […]
On Friday evening, business partners Will Partridge and Jimi Pearce opened the doors of Kilburn Ironworks to welcome suppliers, the press and a few other invitees. Kilburn Ironworks is where Vince Power’s eponymous bar/club used to be on Kilburn High Road near the junction with Iverson Road. It has changed almost beyond recognition with exposed […]
The council’s controversial plan to build a school, flats and employment space on the Liddell Road industrial estate took a step forward on Friday when the planning applications were submitted. Yes, applications plural. Although all the documentation that accompanies the applications is presented as a coherent set of documents, the applications themselves are split into […]
Thankfully we rarely see the London Air Ambulance hovering over West Hampstead, but this lunchtime the red helicopter landed first on Fortune Green, and then about an hour later in Kilburn Grange Park. Air ambulance arrived at Fortune Green a little while ago with a great clatter and uprush of fallen leaves @NW6FOFG pic.twitter.com/t1EmVALBqA — […]
The O2 centre and Camden council are collaborating again to encourage shoppers to give a small present for one of 129 children who are in foster care in the local area this year. Last year, the scheme distributed more than 100 presents. Homebase has donated a “Gift Tree”, whichi is standing proudly on the upper […]
The 85-year-old driver who caused the death of Desreen Brooks on West End Lane in 2012 was found guilty of death by dangerous driving, but cleared of grievous bodily harm against US student Amy Werner, apparently due to a lack of concrete evidence. He will be sentenced before Christmas. A lorry apparently drove into the […]
A fight broke out on Maygrove Road on Wednesday; the police stopped some men all of whom denied involvement “even the one with minor injury”, according to Sgt Ian Hutton. The trial began of the 83-year-old man charged with causing death by dangerous driving in the accident two years ago that killed Desreen Brooks and […]
A man in his early 30s died on Sunday morning after collapsing outside the North London Tavern in Kilburn. There has been no official statement by the police, but it appears he had a heart attack. A passer-by spotted a corn snake in Parsifal Road and helped it into a recycling box before alerting the […]
[updated] Sometime around 1am Sunday morning, police closed Kilburn High Road between Dyne Road and Christchurch Avenue. Initial reports were that a man in his early 30s had died following an altercation at a pub, believed to be the North London Tavern. Subsequently, staff at the NLT told one customer that a man had had […]
After a great turnout for The Imitation Game, NW6 Film Club is back at the Tricycle on Monday December 8th, for another bargain night. The movie is St Vincent – the story of a misanthropic hard living old man who unexpectedly ends up looking after a 12 year old boy. This may sound like a […]
A rail replacement bus hit parked cars on Broadhurst Gardens on Sunday morning causing considerable damage and blocking the road for some time. This was the worst incident in a terrible weekend for local transport as both the Jubilee and Met lines were closed, there were two sets of roadworks on West End Lane, Belsize […]
A rail replacement double-decker bus travelling down Broadhurst Gardens crashed into a series of parked cars just past the junction with Priory Road this morning causing significant damage to the vehicles though no passengers appear to have been injured. The bus became wedged against one of the cars and was unable to move. This led […]
Toomai was a long time coming, with delays over both planning permission and building works (an entire wall had to be reclad). When it opened it was overwhelmed with customers and the service groaned under the weight of expectation. Now, several months in, and having finally formalised its menu, has it found its feet? It’s […]
Camden “deselected” the developer for 156 West End Lane (the Travis Perkins building), but insists it’s still seeking 50% affordable housing there. Talking of affordable housing, what will the West Hampstead property market look like next year? The portacabin classrooms at Hampstead Cricket Club were being dismantled as the girls school returns to its permanent […]
The minutes from the last Neighbourhood Development Forum meeting contain an interesting snippet towards the end. 156 West End Lane: Stuart (representing Travis Perkins) reported that the site was marketed last year and Mace was selected as preferred developers. Mace have now been ‘deselected’ by the Council and a shortlist of developers have been asked […]
The rash of commercial burglaries in the area continued unabated with Remix salon among the latest victims. The number of businesses hit over the past few weeks has hit double figures. The Hampstead Butcher & Providore opened its West Hampstead branch on Saturday. Govia, Thameslink’s new operator, has got off to a very shaky start. […]
The Hampstead Butcher and Providore opened its doors this morning fulfilling the wishes of many people over the years who’ve demanded a butcher return to West End Lane. It’s the second bite of the cherry for owner Philip Matthews, who came close to opening in West End Lane a couple of years ago. Ready for […]
In an interesting exchange this afternoon on Twitter, locals called out Love & Liquor (formerly The Westbury and before that The Red Lion) on Kilburn High Road for trying to perpetuate the idea that it was really in Maida Vale and not Kilburn. In an astonishing coincidence, while this was happening someone made a small […]
Waitrose opened on West End Lane. Barely anyone noticed. It was all Twitter could talk about all day. But by the end of the week the backlash had begun. Last Sunday night, Toomai was burgled – thieves took cash, alcohol and prawns! West End Lane Books was also burgled on Friday night and La Brocca […]
You’d think it was the second coming. Excitement levels on Twitter – where usually everyone is so level-headed and calm, right? – have been reaching fever pitch. But even yesterday it looked as if the fitters had their work cut out to get West Hampstead’s newest supermarket ready in time for this morning’s 7am opening. […]
The weeknight street food market has been a roaring success, so we thought what better way to ward off the spirits around Halloween than by gathering together and sharing some delicious street food and hot spiced punch… with discounts! On the evening of October 30th, starting at 7.30pm and running until about 9pm, come join […]
