The first pictures have emerged of what West Hampstead Overground station is going to look like after a complete remodel. The £7m scheme is still in its early stages but it looks like it will resemble most other modern stations with an abundance of glass and steel. The Overground station, which opened in 1888, handles […]
The campaign to save the Ballymore trees may have failed in its immediate aim. However, Camden has agreed – after much badgering – to slap a Tree Preservation Order (a TPO) on the largest sycamore that falls on Network Rail’s land. Much good it will do. The TPO means the tree can’t be felled without […]
This morning the trees on the Ballymore site, which have been the subject of so much protest, are being felled. Cut logs are being piled up and a woodchipper is making short work of the spindly branches. The petition that hoped to stop the removal of the trees reached 897 signatures.
True to its word, Cedar Estates – the agent with the most boards on West End Lane – has been removing them today. Four other estate agents as of writing (Paramount, Vita, Parkheath and Dutch & Dutch) have also pledged to remove their boards. If you want to ensure none of them creep back, and […]
A ban on all estate agent boards on the commercial strip of West End Lane is looking likely. Three agents – including worst offender Cedar Estates – have committed to West Hampstead Life that they’ll remove all boards by the end of the week. To ensure they don’t creep back, read this article and sign […]
The free school campaign is making waves again. Make that free schools. Plural. Having struggled to get much traction in the latter half of 2013, the NW6 Free School group has re-emerged with a new name, a shiny website and a mildly controversial claim that Liddell Road would be the ideal site for its schools […]
A small group of about a dozen people stood in the weak winter sunshine this morning protesting about the removal of the trees on Ballymore’s West Hampstead Square site. It had been described as a “vigil”, but that would really mean hanging around until the trees were actually removed. A few cars were honking their […]
Lots of you watched Location Location Location last night. But did you know that it was Twitter that saved the couple who wanted to move to West Hampstead? In June 2013, Kirstie and Phil were in West Hampstead scouting for a 3-bed flat with a garden for Tam & Krish, a couple with a young […]
The “Save the Trees” petition that’s trying to prevent Ballymore chopping down the trees at West Hampstead Square has gained some momentum, but is it all a futile exercise? Maygrove Road is now partially closed for three months, but the council and developers have agreed to ease some of the restrictions after a public outcry […]
It was pushed back a few days, but the partial closure of Maygrove Road for three months has now begun. The recriminations over the lack of notice for residents and councillors continue however. We reported last week the sudden annoucement of this lengthy road closure. So many people were up in arms about the lack […]
As all bright schoolchildren know, King Canute didn’t believe his regal powers could stop the tide. In fact, he got his feet wet precisely to prove this point to his obsequious courtiers. Still, to this day “Canute-like” is used to describe people who battle on against an inevitability. This must be what the local campaigners […]
West Hampstead library was full last night as a pleasing number of less familiar faces joined the usual suspects to discuss the final draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan (download the plan here). The plan, two years in the making, is out for consultation until the end of February, and locals’ input is literally shaping […]
It’s been a while coming – we first reported this back in 2012 and again in 2013 – but West Hampstead now has free WiFi, having miraculously shot to the front of Camden’s queue. We were originally slated to be in “phase 3”, but we join parts of Bloomsbury, Holborn, and Kilburn in being first […]
At very short notice, Maygrove Road is to be partially closed for three months from Thursday. A lot of people are unhappy about the communication process. Tonight, there’s a big public meeting to discuss the final draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan before it disappears into the Camden consultation process. This is your last major […]
Zest at JW3 has garnered positive reviews from all quarters, but had yet to be put to the stringent test of #whampreview. Last Thursday, six of us squeezed into the packed restaurant in the lower ground floor of Finchley Road’s enormous new Jewish cultural centre to deliver the only verdict that really matters. Booking is […]
While I was stuck on a train waiting for the driver to cut a tree that had fallen onto the line using a rusty saw (I kid you not), it seems that a mini-hurricane hit West Hampstead. Twitter was flooded with #weather tweets with descriptions of high winds and intense rain. The plastic barriers outside […]
[updated 7.45pm] A stretch of Maygrove Road is set to be closed for three months from Thursday [originally was to be Monday] as part of the redevelopment of Handrail House. Local groups are unhappy that they were alerted to this only after residents received a letter yesterday informing them. The road closure and attendant parking bay […]
The West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Plan is almost ready (it’s only the second such plan in London to reach this stage). The final draft is out for consultation now (i.e., the team wants your comments), then there’ll be a final revision before it goes first to Camden council for approval and then to a referendum […]
One of the Conservative Party’s West Hampstead candidates in May’s local council elections came up with some controversial quotes in an interview with the CNJ. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera discussed 2015’s Hampsted & Kilburn election in some detail, including another surprising quote from a different Conservative candidate. The Odeon cinema has been sold… but fear not, […]
In 1991, local filmmaker Conrad Blakemore shot a short film for Channel 4. The Watchmaker was a snapshot of a day in the life of Mill Lane business C. Bowler Watchmaker and Jeweller. Norman Clifford Bowler’s shop at 54 Mill Lane was postbox red and inside was an assorted jumble of watch parts. Mr Bowler […]
Aqua Pharmacy on Mill Lane will be relocating – the other Mill Lane pharmacy isn’t happy. Jazz Cycles and Escott’s upholsterers on Mill Lane both closed, while Alison Davidson opticians opened. Headmasters – another West End Lane hairdressers – opened. Mamako opened where Spiga had been. Tom went to investigate (it took a while). There […]
The police seem to have an uneasy relationship with Twitter. While accounts such as @MPSInTheSky attract legions of followers and brilliantly balance updates on activity with behind-the-scenes insights, the borough level accounts are a bit more hit and miss. Brent’s account is fairly active, for example, but Camden seems to have chosen to tread a […]
South Hampstead High School has been operating out of temporary classrooms within the cricket club grounds for the past year. The school, which owns the cricket club land, has been renovating its Maresfield Gardens site, and had hoped to move back in for the start of the 2014/15 academic year in September. However, according to […]
You missed Christmas for a start! Happy New Year and all that. If you didn’t get a chance to read our various reviews of 2013, then I suggest you focus on this one (which links to all the others). Oh yes, and West Hampstead Life‘s changed. Hope you like it. It’s still in testing phase […]
160 degrees Fahrenheit is the name of a new smokehouse bar/restaurant opening soon in West Hampstead. David Moore, who owns Michelin-starred Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied, is taking the Me Love Sushi site. The site is owned by Tragus, which operates brands including Strada and Café Rouge. The rent was advertised at £80,000 a year, […]
A brilliant documentary about the brutalist gem that is the Alexandra & Ainsworth estate. Sit back, get a cup of tea and enjoy One Below the Queen. (I came across this on the Dirty Modern Scoundrel blog)
Congratulations to Corinne Gladstone and Nicky Coleman, who can now add the letters TOTY and POTY to their signatures. Quiet in the back row. Here are the top 10 tweets of the year in descending order of greatness, as voted for by you. Corinne’s won comfortably in the end, with a whopping 29% of the […]
What happened between the all the spectacular sunrises and sunsets in West Hampstead in 2013? January Local MP Glenda Jackson formally announced she wouldn’t stand for re-election in 2015. Catch up on all the political stirrings of the year. February A big burst water main closed West End Lane for a week. it was the […]
The prediction by our property sales pundit Darryl Jenkins of local estate agent Benham & Reeves was that house prices should rise by 5-10% in West Hampstead this year. He described this as being bullish. In fact he was bang on – according to Zoopla, property prices in the area have risen 7.5% this year. […]
Back in January, local MP Glenda Jackson confirmed what she’d told me back in 2010 – namely that she wouldn’t stand for re-election. Thus the tightest three-way seat in the country would have three new candidates. Chris Philp, who was beaten into second place, finally secured the Tory nomination for the safe seat of Croydon […]
“Why did no-one try and fight it?” I guarantee that when the tower blocks that will form West Hampstead Square start to go up in 2014, at least one person will express horror and shock that such a thing was allowed to go ahead uncontested. Of course people did contest it – or at least […]
It’s that time folks… Forget the Oscars, the Grammys, BAFTAs, Bookers, Pulitzers and Nobels. There is only one award worth winning in West Hampstead – Tweet of the Year. This year we have two categories: Tweet of the Year and Photo of the Year. All entries are anonymous – I’ll reveal all the nominees’ names […]
It seems that nothing gets locals quite as excited as what shops and services are opening and closing in West Hampstead. Some of the biggest stories of 2013 revolved around supermarkets: Waitrose trying to move in, Tesco failing to keep its shelves stocked, and the under-the-radar news that Marks & Spencer is Ballymore’s anchor commercial […]
Thieves struck at both St James’ and Emmanuel Churches (odd coincidence, or same person), stealing wallets and purses during Christmas concerts. Two more shopping days before Christmas – we put the West Hampstead Christmas shopping guide on Pinterest too. Ed Miliband paid a flying visit to Kilburn to talk about fixed-odds betting terminals. Aldred Road’s […]
by Simon Inglis Whampers on the Fortune Green side of town will be aware that the coming of Christmas means only one thing. Lighting up time in Aldred Road. Children coo. Taxi drivers make detours. Cholmley Gardens bathes in reflected glory. But how has this happened? ‘The short answer’, writes an Aldred Road resident, ‘is […]
“Shake my sleeve” said Alan, sticking out a hand covered in oily blue plastic gloves. Alan Livingstone is one of those people you immediately like. He’s 16 – quite cherubic – and an apprentice mechanic at West Hampstead Motors. It was the 64th garage he tried for a position. Apprenticeships are hard to come by, […]
Ballymore announced, with minimal fanfare, that Marks & Spencer will be its anchor commercial tenant in West Hampstead Square. In a Buzzfeed moment, we looked at The 12 Best Christmas Presents You Can Buy in West Hampstead. Is the latest planning application for Gondar Gardens the final card to be played in this long-running game? […]
Could we be entering the endgame in the Gondar Gardens saga? The developer, Linden Wates, has submitted its third planning application for the site. This attempts to address the very specific points that the national planning inspector raised in turning down Linden Wates appeal over its second plan, which was rejected by Camden. These focus […]
Here’s a very useful history of the Gondar Gardens reservoir site, provided by GARA – the local residents association. 1874 Reservoir constructed. 1889 Tennis courts on the reservoir roof (no-one knew about slow worms then!). 100 years pass… 1989 Roof substantially repaired. 2002 Reservoir de-commissioned. GARA formed. 2004 Thames Water plans for a six-storey block […]
Quick round-up for you of local Christmas carols: Saturday 14th Friends of Kilburn Grange 2-4pm, in Kilburn Grange Park by the Adventure Playground Sunday 15th St James’ Church, Sherriff Road, 4.30pm St Luke’s Church, Kidderpore Avenue, 6pm Tuesday 17th Emmanuel Church, West End Green, 7.30pm Wednesday 18th Hampstead Cemetery, Carols by Candlelight 5pm and 6.30pm […]
This afternoon the Friends of Kilburn Grange Park are celebrating the park’s 100th winter with carols from 2pm-4pm by the adventure playground. You can hotfoot it from there to Kilburn Square’s Christmas event, which runs from 3.30pm-5pm
Need a break from all the planning and politics? Want to get back to those heady days of food and meet-up? Have I got a meat treat for you. Next Tuesday, the 17th, Adam’s Grill – they of the flashing sign by the tube station – are offering #whampers some free tasters. Yes, free. They […]
The Liddell Road saga continues. Now the local Lib Dem councillors have requested a “call in” of Camden’s decision to go ahead with the expansion of Kingsgate School into Liddell Road, which would mean the end of the light industrial estate there now, and the building of 120 private flats and some commercial office space. […]
If you’ve wandered onto Fortune Green of late, you may have noticed a couple of wood carvings. The Friends of Fortune Green website has more on both these sculptures. The fox took 100 hours to complete and is carved out of oak. The owl – somewhat amazingly – is carved entirely using chainsaws. Make sure […]
This Saturday, it’s Kilburn’s turn for Christmas fun. The Kilburn Square festivities run from 3.30pm-5pm, and there’ll be carol singing and the switching on of the Christmas lights. It’s all happening outside WH Smiths on Kilburn High Road. According to the organisers, this year there’ll be a special tree where everyone can place their own […]
Tomorrow evening, the West Hampstead Business Association holds its reLaunch event. An early disclaimer: West Hampstead Life is involved in the WHBA and has been helping the existing committee think through this revamp. Why now? ¦ Launch event ¦ Aims ¦ Should I join? ¦ Cost ¦ More info The WHBA was set up in […]
If you read the Twitter conversation from last week about the Liddell Road development, you’ll have seen that Cllr Theo Blackwell, Camden’s cabinet member for finance, offered to go into more detail about the council’s decision to give the go ahead to the expansion of Kingsgate School before the larger redevlopment plan has gone to […]
Camden gave the go-ahead to primary school buildings in Liddell Road, despite a dispute about the number of jobs that could be gained or lost through redevelopment. In a Twitter conversation later than night, councillors agreed they would look into this, though of course the decision still stands. Several local buildings (and two parks) feature […]
There was a lively Twitter conversation during and after last night’s Camden cabinet meeting, at which the fate of Liddell Road was decided. If you weren’t following along, here’s the bulk of it – rearranged to make a bit more sense than the pure chronological output. It’s also a good record of the promises made […]
This evening, Camden Council’s cabinet met to discuss a wide range of topics. HS2 was by far the most high profile. But tucked away in the agenda – in fact so well hidden that you’d have to have inside knowledge to find it – were details about the “Liddell Road scheme”. I’ll explain what this […]
Emmanuel School is by far the most controversial local building to be shortlisted in the Camden Design Awards. This council sponsored celebration of high quality design seeks to reward schemes that: are inclusive, sustainable and fit for purpose demonstrate high quality in design, materials and construction respond sensitively to their context and reinforce a sense […]
There’s a new manager at Fortune Green Tesco Express – a Mr Goodwin. Mark Stonebanks, chair of the Friends of Fortune Green, bumped into him. In light of last week’s Twitter conversation between Robert Webb and a few other locals about the state of that particular branch, Mark took his e-mail address and then sent […]
Boris Johnson came to West Hampstead to talk to local businesses. Read the full story. Robert Webb led a tirade against Tesco for the shocking stock levels in its Fortune Green branch. West End Green’s Christmas tree is bigger than usual, but the high street ones remain somewhat, er, vertically challenged (or “tasteful” as Cllr […]
by Nathan Davis With all the talk recently around house prices, it’s worth remembering how many people do rent in West Hampstead. It’s always been a popular place for first or second jobbers, and increasingly for people who love living here but simply can’t afford to buy. A big rental market means lots of estate […]
After this weekend’s excitement of the West Hampstead Christmas market and the Beckford School winter fair, next weekend it’s the turn of Mill Lane’s Emmanuel School. The school’s Christmas fair runs from 2-5pm on Saturday December 7th. Alongside the usual primary school Christmas fair excitement, everyone gets a raffle ticket on entry and prizes include […]
Boris Johnson is either an ambitious and gifted politician or an incompetent buffoon. Whichever side of the divide you sit on, he is, indisputably, the Mayor of London and the blondest man you’re likely to see this side of Scandinavia. This Thursday he made a relatively low-key and very short notice visit to West Hampstead […]
It feels more autumnal than wintry today, but the West Hampstead Christmas market is in full swing, with stalls on West End Green, and businesses down the road supporting. More details here. It ends at 4pm. photo via Anna-Kate Keays
West Hampstead being the sort of switched on digital community it is, it seems only right that we’re among the very first to test a new mapping/sentiment tool. A who with the what now? The idea is that you can pinpoint places in West Hampstead on a map – either on your smartphone or tablet […]
A fire on Friday night damaged a West End Lane property, but no-one was hurt. The relaunching West Hampstead Business Association announced that Boris Johnson will be coming to meet local business owners this Thursday afternoon. A standpipe blew in Fairhazel Gardens, causing a spectacular fountain. Photo via Don Williams We looked back at Doris […]
On Saturday November 30th, West End Green once again hosts the local Christmas market from 10am to 4pm. This is the fourth year of the popular craft/gift market and business is expected to be brisk. Stallholders range from local favourites such as Bake-a-boo, Achillea Flowers and La Secret Boutique, to craft stores such as Nudi […]
Next Saturday, Beckford School in Dornfell Street holds its Winter Fair from 2-4pm. I’m told that this year’s promises to be bigger and better than ever. There’s a Santa’s grotto, craft stalls, football skills workshops, face painting, loads of games, great prizes to be won in the raffle and silent auction, and plenty of festive […]
“This is the 328 to Chelsea, World’s End”. We’ve all heard the announcement, but how many of you have ridden the bus all the way to the end of the world? It’s just over an hour from West End Lane but a good start to this 12 mile walk that takes in two rivers, the […]
Around 10.15 last night, a fire broke out in a house near the corner of West End Lane and Messina Avenue, right by the northbound Woodchurch Road bus stop. Photo via Simon Ashman The property has had scaffolding up for a while. photo via Laura Douglas According to one local, who spoke to the fire […]
Yesterday, TfL announced it would be starting “Night Tube” services in 2015 on Friday and Saturday nights. Not all lines will benefit, but the Jubilee is one that will (the Bakerloo and Metropolitan lines miss out). Will night tube passengers behave with the same levels of decorum as those who populate the buses in the […]
It’s felt like a long time coming, but from December 8th First Capital Connect will be running more trains from West Hampstead Thameslink. Specifically, weekday off-peak and Saturday services will increase frequency by 50%. These two extra trains an hour in each direction are Bedford to Brighton (including Gatwick Airport) trains that didn’t use to […]
Local ward councillor Don Williams tweeted a spectacular photo this afternoon of a burst main on Fairhazel Gardens. This has, unsurprisingly, affected the water supply of surrounding streets. Lets hope Thames Water is quick on the case before Fairhazel starts to attract the tourists in search of West Hampstead’s own Old Faithful! Water is already […]
Long-time local resident and Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing died on Sunday. She was 94. Here she is being told she’s won the Nobel Prize in 2007 (I love that an artichoke figures prominently). West Hampstead wasn’t just her home, it also featured in her writing. Jim “Carson” Carter has joined Emma “Oscar-winner” Thompson in […]
Iverson Road in “The Smallest Show on Earth” (1957) The ever-excellent Tetramesh posted this video of clips from movies and TV shows filmed in NW6. There are some real gems in and among. On Location in NW6 by tetramesh
Long-time West Hampstead resident Doris Lessing, who died yesterday morning, was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2007, when she was 88. This lovely video shows the moment she found out she’d won – being told by reporters who’d gathered outside her West Hampstead home. The artichoke that features heavily is a classic “Only in West […]
by Keith Moffitt Many words will be written over the next few days about Nobel prize-winning and West Hampstead-dwelling Doris Lessing, but I’d like to mention a short story of hers with a very strong West Hampstead connection. “The New Café” is one of the short stories in the collection “London Observed”, published in 1992 […]
Behind the new apartments at 1 Mill Lane lies land that has been given to the public as a conservation area. Camden wants to keep the site as a wildlife area with limited public access. Although it was initially going to be called the Mill Lane nature reserve, the access will be from Minster Road, […]
If you’re coming to #whampgather this Thursday, you’re in for a treat. It promises to be the biggest and best yet. [if you have a ticket and realise you can’t make it, do please let me know]. Regular whampgatherers know that the evening falls into two sections. Before the Raffle, when we exert considerable pressure […]
The first reports on Twitter were of a trespasser on the tracks, causing delays to the Metropolitan Line and then the Jubilee Line, and then services out of Marylebone, which all indicated it was around this part of London. Add in police helicopters over Kilburn and it seemed clear that something major had happened. Around […]
Last week, an intrepid group of locals, aka “Team Pizza”, checked out the latest addition to the neighbourhood, Poco Pizza. Eugene tells the story. Poco Pizza recently opened in West Hampstead on the site of Paya. Confusingly, the management hasn’t changed and the Paya sign still sits above the window, while a wrap-around sheet advertises […]
Last week, Camden council voted on the latest set of plans for the Abbey Area regeneration (that’s the council development around the Abbey Road/Belsize Road junction. James King, who’ll be standing for the Lib Dems in that ward in next year’s local elections, went along and has reported back. There is also extensive documentation for […]
Camden launched a big crackdown on fly-tipping and littering but it’s still not clear why the regular rubbish and recycling service is so bad. This Wednesday, grill Camden about a range of local issues – including the rubbish problem. Revised proposals for 159 Iverson Road have cut the number of flats by 10 after Camden […]
November 10, 2012. A 23 year-old American postgrad student at the University of Westminster is planning her evening out in Camden Town. It’s her first semester but already the small-town girl from Vermont has embraced big city living and has an eclectic bunch of friends. In south London, a young couple and their two-year old […]
The planned development of the Iverson Tyres site is back on the agenda. Camden’s planners advised developer Stephen McGregor that the previous proposals, which I discussed back in July, would be unlikely to get permission. His architects went back to the drawing board taking into account the comments from Camden and from locals who came […]
The saga of the trees on and around the West Hampstead Square site drags on. The campaigners continue to pester Camden to slap preservation orders on those trees growing by the Overground line that are off the Ballymore site, but on Network Rail land. Camden is resisting, partly because, as I understand it, it wouldn’t […]
Whether it’s due to all the local twitter and website activity, or whether our councillors have managed to put the squeeze on Camden, we finally have some action from the council on the fly-tipping blight. But what about the problems being caused by the normal rubbish and recycling collection (or lack of it)? Here’s what […]
Every few months, each ward in Camden holds the sexily-titled “Area Action Group”. It’s hard to imagine a less-suitable title. I think we should borrow from the Americans here and use the more appealing “Town Hall meeting” idea… but I digress. The AAGs are a chance to catch up on the latest issues in the […]
Local resident Emma Thompson has joined the debate on saving (some of) the trees at West Hampstead Square. Will Ballymore reply to the double Oscar winner? There was some damage and disruption in West Hampstead last Monday morning as the St Jude storm hit London. Camden responds to the rubbish crisis in West Hampstead, and […]
It’s been quiet of late on the Ballymore building site at West Hampstead Square. This has meant a stay of execution for the trees that have caused so much heated debate over the past couple of months. Emma Thompson at the 2011 charity cricket matchPhoto via @bubela Now, one of West Hampstead’s most famous residents […]
We’ve discussed the rubbish problems recently; here’s what Cllr Phil Jones, Camden cabinet member for the environment, wrote in response to WHAT‘s recent enquiries about the problems both with recycling and fly-tipping. He cited three issues and mentioned a new initiative starting next week to help tackle the fly-tipping: The introduction of the wheelie bins […]
A little gem of a silent video here from British Pathé showing a parade on Kilburn High Road of Queen Victoria’s Rifles in 1931 as they march past the Mayor of Hampstead. A No.8 bus to Willesden is clearly visible.
The library has been hosting an exhibition celebrating the 40th anniversary of local campaign group WHAT. So, what is WHAT and what has it ever done for us? Plenty, it turns out. WHAT stands for West Hampstead Amenity and Transport, though it hasn’t always! It’s a local pressure group that addresses “local transport, open space, […]
After a three year hiatus, the biggest fireworks in north London are back. Alexandra Palace will once again host a spectacular display this Saturday November 2nd. Bonfire Night isn’t the same without a really good firework display and now West Hampstead residents can go to Ally Pally on the Saturday and Roundwood Park in Brent […]
After days of bleak warnings from the Met Office, clearly determined to exorcise the ghosts of 1987, all of London was braced for a big storm in the early hours of Monday. The night before was very quiet Weather in West Hampstead currently eerily calm; if only there was a handy saying to describe such […]
The Mario’s block redevelopment plans could go traditional or contemporary. Have a look at the pictures and read more about the proposals. Camden threw out the proposal to turn the empty units in Alfred Court on Fortune Green Road into a private school. West Hampstead’s rubbish problem isn’t getting any better – how can Camden […]
Last week’s exhibition on the proposals for 153-163 Broadhurst Gardens, a.k.a. “The Mario’s block”, attracted an exceptionally high turnout. Locals are being offered a say in the type of development they prefer – though concerns about housing density and size of commercial units may be of more concern than the “modern or traditional” design question […]
The lack of a convincing transport plan meant that Camden threw out the proposals to turn the empty ground floor units of Alfred Court into a branch of Abercorn private school (that’s the modern block of flats that looks over the park). Camden cited five reasons for refusal, of which four are related to the […]
Kebab newcomer Adam’s Grill opened yesterday. Dan went along to road test it. Having finally been for a jog-walk-jog, I deserved a kebab, and with Adam’s ‘flashing sign’ Grill opening tonight, this was a perfect opportunity. With a friend in tow, we shuffled past the group of nervous owners standing by the door and immediately […]
As London property prices go through the roof, and West Hampstead seems to be experiencing a bubble within a bubble, it’s easy to forget that rental prices are creeping up too. With so many people unable to buy, renting is the only option and people are prepared to/being forced to pay substantial sums to live […]
Over the past few months, rubbish has been the overriding issue in West Hampstead. First, there were teething problems with Camden’s new recycling and rubbish collection system. @camdentalking just watched your bin lorry ignore some rubbish! Picked up some bags but not rest. No wonder @WHampstead reports bin problems— Daniel W (@damawa42) August 27, 2013 […]
Those of you living in West Hampstead and Fortune Green wards will have had a leaflet through your doors this past week. This is the latest chance (and one of the last) to give input to the Neighbourhood Development Forum, which is now on the sixth draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan. Only one more […]
The third Gondar Gardens proposal from Linden Wates isn’t radically different from the previous ones – but it may just be different enough to get the green light. Whampreview gave its verdict on Bellaluna. Thumbs up or thumbs down? The redevelopment of the Mario’s block on Broadhurst Gardens could still be either traditional or modern […]
[updated Oct 26th 7pm] Many professions are so steeped in their own language that they find it almost impossible to communicate in plain English, even when asked. Thus it was that I found myself talking to architects about the revised plans for Gondar Gardens and having to endure lots of explanation about “verticality” and “rhythm”, […]
This morning I was sent a scan of an unfinished drawing of Iverson Road. It was found in the Kilburn High Road offices of MP Moran – the plumbing supplies merchant – and on the back it reads “18th March 1940. Unfinished due to police interference.” This was of course less than a year into […]
It’s been around since last December, but we’d never actually reviewed Bellaluna. Somehow the brown sign hadn’t lured me in and although I know predecessor J’s had a devout following, my own experiences there had never been spectacular. It was, therefore, with mild trepidation that our group of six ventured into the brightly lit restaurant […]
Update Oct 16th: 3.30pm: Whampgather has sold out. There is no waiting list, but depending on cancellations nearer the time I hope to be able to release a few more tickets. So keep your eyes peeled on Twitter. It’s been a strange year – there’s only been one whampgather. Back in March, 160 people squeezed […]
