Planning & development
Is West Hampstead due an £8 million Liddell Road windfall?
Liddell Road – a school, some office space and apartments. It was a controversial scheme when it went through planning a few years ago, with Camden acting as developer and approver. There was much talk of how the numbers added up and why there was to be virtually no affordable housing. Three years on, some […]
Raising the roof on the student housing block
The new owner of the student housing block on Blackburn Road, has put in a planning application to add 41 additional rooms (studios) to the block buy adding extra floors on top. The development already has 347 units and has already been given planning permission to add an extension to the internal courtyard and a […]
A walk up West End Lane
Following our recent walk down the Kilburn High Road, we took a similar walk up West End Lane. Joining us was John Saynor, chair of WHAT (West Hampstead Amenity and Transport), which takes a keen interest in these matters too. We didn’t really focus on the litter situation, because – dare I say it – […]
Luxury retirement development ‘can’t afford’ to pay for affordable housing
West Hampstead is facing yet another large-scale property development. It’s the third proposal to redevelop the site at the former Gondar Gardens reservoir. The history of the previous proposals have been well documented on these pages, but what really caught our eye about this one was that it offers no affordable housing either on-site or as […]
Deliveroo offers locals new food options, but at what cost?
West Hampstead residents are hardworking and hungry, which goes some way to explain the platoon of Deliveroo bikes we see around the neighbourhood and congregating around West End Green. We are about to see a lot more of them. Hong Kong, Dubai … West Hampstead In its quest for world domination, Deliveroo has been […]
Expansion of the Farmers’ market; too much too soon?
London Farmers’ Markets has applied to Camden Council to expand the operating hours of the market that currently pops up on Iverson Road every Saturday. The existing market is popular, so this initially seems like a good idea and LFM has made it very easy for locals to show their support. However, residents who’ve looked […]
What have you missed since March 26th?
Hello. Today’s final “What have you missed…” comes from both Mark and Jonathan. Why? Sadly, this is the end. WHL has been going for nine years, but all good things etc. etc. We explain all (including what’s happening to the mailing list – don’t worry, we’re not selling your data!) We’ll both be at a […]
Local elections 2018: The candidates
The local elections are on May 3rd. This is when you get the chance (and “you” includes EU citizens) to vote for three councillors for the ward you live in. All the ward councillors who are elected form Camden council (or Brent council for those of you the other side of the Kilburn High Road). […]
Could departing councillor Phil Rosenberg be back sooner than expected?
It’s getting hard to miss but the local elections are coming soon. West Hampstead ward looks set to see three new faces as none of the existing councillors are standing again – or rather we know two are not and one hasn’t returned any of our messages. In 2014, Labour took a clean sweep of […]
Tom enjoys some good kombunations at Ham
Finally it was my time to sample Ham, the new upmarket restaurant on West End Lane, which arrived to plenty of interest, and with a chef with a reputation. Ham kindly invited me to try it out and the welcome from David and the team was very warm. We gazed around at the interior, with […]
George Rose: Death in the Caribbean
Actor George Rose travelled an unusual path from Bicester to Broadway. He lived in West Hampstead for the best part of a decade while he learned his craft from great actors and directors such as Tyrone Guthrie, Laurence Olivier, Peter Brook and John Gielgud. And after a very successful career on the stage, he died […]
The artist and the punks of West Hampstead
In April 1977, Tony Drayton moved to London from Cumbernauld, a new town in Scotland between Glasgow and Edinburgh. From 1976 to 1979, Tony was the editor of the early punk zine, Ripped and Torn. He lived in London, Paris, and Amsterdam and had a very varied career, including fire eating. In the summer of […]
Bringing West Hampstead insight to national property statistics
Sponsored post Every week newspaper headlines vary between ‘house prices rise’ or ‘house prices fall’ – but which headline is accurate? We thought we’d delve behind the headlines for this month’s West Hampstead Life column; we’ll be sharing some interesting stats and sprinkling them with some local insight to bring them to life. First-time buyers […]
West Hampstead property price rises set to outpace London average
Sponsored post It can be easy to generalise when talking about the London property market. However, London has often been described as a collection of villages, each with its own unique style, atmosphere and charms. For this reason, when discussing the London property market, it’s important not to look at the capital as the sum […]
Positive sentiment in West Hampstead property market for 2018
Sponsored post As we move into 2018, there are signs that the property market in West Hampstead is improving. Despite what others may say, there is evidence of a market out there for those looking to sell their home. With changes to stamp duty in the autumn statement and the hesitation caused by Brexit beginning […]
Overground redevelopment (just about) on track
It’s been a year since the redevelopment of the Overground station started in earnest and it’s taking a while. Inevitable, as TfL chose (wisely) to keep the station open during the works, even though that also means higher cost. For those of us using the station, it’s been impossible to miss the arrival of the […]
No step closer to step-free access for West Hampstead tube station
Many local organisations have been pushing for step-free access to West Hampstead tube station over the past few years – even if opinion diverges on what the solution should be. It was therefore disappointing, as local residents association WHGARA pointed out recently, that West Hampstead was not included in the recent batch of stations to […]
West Hampstead passengers top 20 million a year
As long-suffering commuters in (and through) West Hampstead are aware, it’s feels ever more crowded at our stations – especially the tube station. But do the numbers back up that perception? We crunched the numbers, and we were surprised at the results. The line up to "tap" on at WH underground. A temporary 1 tap […]
An Insight with: Ellias from David’s Deli
One of the pleasures of writing West Hampstead Life is writing these Insights during which we get to know some familiar West Hampstead faces a bit better, behind the facade even. This month’s is no exception as we caught up with Ellias from David’s Deli. We all know him as Ellias, in fact his full […]
Five Mother’s Day presents from West Hampstead
Seaching for a present for your mother (or the mother of your kids, or whoever you want to express your gratitude to)? We have been searching the snowy streets of West Hampstead for inspiration (and bagged you a couple of discounts along the way!) First stop, a WHL favourite, Achillea Flowers on Mill Lane. It […]
An Insight on Lately: Gordon Stevenson tells all
Regular readers will know that West Hampstead nightclub Lately has closed after almost 40 years. We met up with owner Gordon Stevenson. What brought you to West Hampstead? “Buying Lately, that’s what! I opened it 38 years ago after I was offered the club by a friend. Previously it was a called Vincent’s but had […]
Council tax is going up by 4.99% and here’s why
Last night Camden accepted the recommendation that council tax bills will rise, a decision that will be ratified at full Council on the 26th. For the second year running, it will rise by 4.99%, an increase comprised of a 2.99% council-tax increase and an ‘Adult Social Care’ precept of 2%’. Average Camden band D council tax […]
Labour leader visits West Hampstead
Cllr Georgia Gould, the relatively new leader of Camden Council, was out and about in West Hampstead this week. She’s visiting each ward across the borough specifically to meet the groups that make Camden tick. She was in our ‘hood with Cllr Phil Rosenberg visiting the Sherriff Centre, which impressed her. “It’s unbelievable. I’ve never […]
Bouquets for Tulip as she surges to comfortable win
Tulip Siddiq MP romped home with a clear victory in Hampstead & Kilburn, getting 34,646 votes and more than half of all votes. That was a margin of 15,560 over her Conservative opponent Claire-Louise Leyland. There was a swing to Labour of 14.6%, which transformed Tulip’s slim margin of 1,138 seats in 2015. Far from being a […]