Today, police released three CCTV images from the night of November 10th. That was the Saturday of the car crash that killed Desreen Brooks and severely injured Amy Werner.
Police believe these are all vital witnesses in their attempt to find out exactly what happened at about 8.30pm that night.
The first is a moped rider who was heading southbound on West End Lane before doing a u-turn and riding in the direction of Finchley Road. It could be a fast food delivery moped, so if you’re a local business that uses delivery people, do look closely to see if you know this person.
Second, police want to speak to the driver of this silver BMW that stopped opposite the Overground station.
Finally, police also wish to speak to this man waiting outside the Overground station. He looks like he’s checking his phone.
Anyone with information should call the Road Death Investigation Unit on 0208 842 1817.
This morning I saw a tweet saying “Small house fire on Maygrove Road”. Shortly after, the London Fire Brigade tweeted “20 firefighters are tackling a house blaze on Maygrove Road”. Not such a small fire after all.
After an hour, the fire at No.39 was out. According to the fire brigade, part of second floor flat, a staircase between the first and second floors and a ground floor hallway were damaged in the blaze. Fire crews rescued a woman and a child. The woman suffered burns and smoke inhalation and the child suffered smoke inhalation. A further two men were led to safety by fire officers wearing breathing apparatus. All were taken to hospital.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
This comes two weeks after an elderly woman died in a fire in West End Court on the corner of Priory Road and Greencroft Gardens.
Cordon tape from the West End Court fire Photo via Jon Foster
Yesterday was topped and tailed by two road traffic accidents at either end of West End Lane.
In the morning there was a collision involving a police car at the junction with Dynham Road (right by where the fatal car accident was last month).
Photo via Tim Blackwell
Photo via Chris Padfield
(I’m intrigued as to how that van parked in the driveway behind in the meantime)
According to local resident Yiannis Assiotis, the police car was heading north up West End Lane with its sirens on when it hit the Toyota, which appears to have been turning out of Dynham Road. The police officers got out of the car and helped the driver of the other car out from the passenger seat as the driver’s door was blocked by the police car. Yiannis reported that everyone seemed to be in one piece.
The VW you can see next to the bus was apparently already parked there. One reader, reported that when he walked past at 7am, it seemed to have been abandoned having hit the wall and badly dented the left front wing. Had the police car had to swerve to avoid it?
Camden police’s twitter account simply told me “A police car was involved in a minor collision with another vehicle… There were no injuries”
At around 6pm, a man appears to have been knocked down at the zebra crossing by Hidden Treasure at the northern end of West End Lane. Locals reported that it was just over an hour before an ambulance turned up although the man was being looked after by police officers and firemen. He was eventually taken away in an ambulance.
This time, @MPSCamden told me “officers attended an RTC [road traffic collision]… one male was taken to hospital with minor injuries.” I don’t know whether anyone has been charged.
Photo via Joseph Knight
If I hear more on either story I’ll be sure to keep you posted
I have been writing this column for eight months and have been blown away by the local appreciation and passion for film. North-west London is a genuine oddity in cinema terms. How many other neighbourhoods (outside of the West End) can boast seven cinemas (five independent) all within walking distance of each other?
I also wanted to take the opportunity to thank the 60 of you who came to our first #whampfilm events for Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises. It was very much appreciated and we plan to run similar events in early 2013. We’re also starting a monthly film club night at the Tricycle. However, as you all know, the first rule of film club is that you can’t talk about film club, so I’ll stop talking. More on that later!
There is a slight change in format for this week’s listings. Along with the Film of the Week, US musical comedy Pitch Perfect is the only other new release in the area, so I’ve taken the opportunity to compile my personal list of the films that I thought were outstanding in 2012 – please let me know your favourites as well (either in the comments below or via Twitter @NxNW6).
Have a great Christmas one and all and keep loving cinema. Mark
Film of the Week
Life of Pi (2012, adventure drama, 127 mins, PG)
The first Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger) film for three years tackles the much loved Yann Martel novel. The 3D rendering is apparently excellent and this is very likely to become a staple of the awards season.
Everyman Maida Vale 2D
Everyman Hampstead 3D
Finchley Road Vue 2D & 3D
Swiss Cottage Odeon 3D
Films of the Year (in no particular order)
Films that just missed the cut: Damsels in Distress, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Shame, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Dredd.
And, for balance, here are my worst five: Battleship, John Carter, Rock of Ages, Wrath of the Titans and The Lorax.
Listings back to normal next week!
COMING SOON Dec 26 – Jack Reacher, Midnight’s Children, Safety not Guaranteed. Jan 1 – The Impossible, Quartet, Playing for Keeps, Texas Chainsaw 3D Jan 11 – Les Miserables, Gangster Squad, Jiro Dreams of Sushi All times correct at time of publication. *new release.
Douglas Hutchison, the man attacked on Goldhurst Terrace on November 29th, died in hospital. He was better known to many as “Professor Whitestick”.
PC Ruth Marshall will be leaving the West Hampstead Safer Neighbourhood Team in the New Year.
The dispersal zone that covered the Lymington Road/Lithos Road area was wound up in November, apparently without any consultation with relevant groups.
What did Tom make of new West End Lane restaurant Hana?
La Brocca and Cycle Surgery were both broken into and West End Lane Books had an attempted break in on Thursday night. La Brocca also hosted a carol concert on Saturday with four tubas – it raised £265 for a homeless charity.
The latest release of census data revealed all sorts of facts about Camden, including the number of Jedis in the borough.
Cyclist Bradley Wiggins, the “kid from Kilburn”, won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Cllr Theo Blackwell responded to Cllr Gillian Risso-Gill’s accusation that Camden is taking the easy option when it comes to finding new commercial tenants.
A new exhibition – Film in Space – opened at the Camden Arts Centre
Check out all the Hobbit options, plus some Christmas movie offerings via @NxNW6
Coming up Monday: Santa’s dropping in to Blue Daisy in the afternoon. Monday is also the end-of-year special at Good Ship Comedy. Wednesday: Jacky Hyams will speak at the “a.m. club” at the library on “Bombsites & Lollipops“
Many of us generally, if not obsessively, like to shop at local independent places if we can. Often we can’t, or convenience (or price) dictates we go elsewhere. We may simply not care.
However, a study in the US has actually quantified the economic benefits to a neighbourhood of giving your trade to the locals rather than the chains. The principle may not be too surprising, but the data is definitely interesting.
A group called Civic Economics has been crunching the numbers for 10 US towns and cities over a decade. These are generally significantly larger urban areas than West Hampstead mind you. Nevertheless, the findings are always more or less the same: money spent at independent outlets is more likely to stay local than that spent at a chain.
In Louisville, Kentucky, researchers found independent stores recirculate 55.2% of revenues compared to 13.6% for big retailers. In other words they put four times as much back into the local area, relatively speaking. This is not the same as saying they recirculate four times the amount of money, but it does imply that the more consumers choose to shop local, the greater the benefit for the local economy. Studying restaurants revealed similar, though less dramatic, findings. In Louisville, independent restaurants put just over twice as much of their revenue back into the local economy as the chains. I note from Wikipedia that Louisville is the headquarters of both Papa John’s and the world’s largest fast food company by units, Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell!
Louisville’s answer to West End Lane Books
(Louisville’s Independent Business Alliance (a co-sponsor of the study) cites a bunch of reasons for spending local. Number one is “To keep it weird”, and the organisation’s website is in fact keeplouisvilleweird.com)
Across the 10 cities studied, spending at local businesses generated on average 3.7 times more local economic benefit than spending at chains. Naturally, money staying in the local economy fuels that economy.
“The extra dollars in the local economy produce more jobs for residents, extra tax revenues for local governments, more investment in commercial and residential districts, and enhanced support for local nonprofits. In short, these businesses create better places.” Louisville study
The study is not without holes – it’s sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, which has an agenda to promote local retailers. It doesn’t look at very many chain operators (Barnes & Noble, Target, Home Depot and Office Max are the only four), and it’s the same ones in each city. Nor does it look at the price differential between chains and independents. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting guide to the value of shopping local.
Perhaps the best stat to come out of the Louisville study is that a market shift of just 10% from chains to independents would, based on these numbers in this city, generate an additional $416 million for the local economy off total retail sales of $10 billion. Whether that’s enough to get Papa John’s and Pizza Hut employees to buy independent pizza anytime soon remains to be seen!
The very sad news broke this morning that the man who was attacked at the end of last month in Goldhurst Terrace has died in hospital.
Douglas Hutchison, 60, who suffered from severe visual impairment, was better known to many by his pseudonym Professor Whitestick. His blog and Twitter account were widely read and his views on the arts held in high regard.
He and I had chatted on Twitter a few times, largely about accessibility issues at West Hampstead’s stations. He was always engaging. I hadn’t realised he lived so close by.
Tributes came in on Twitter, including one from the Royal Academy and another from the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Tim Sommer, 18, of no fixed abode, was arrested for the attack in the immediate aftermath. He was originally charged with attempted murder and remanded in custody to reappear in court in February. I understand that the death of Mr Hutchison means that Mr Sommer is likely to be rearrested for murder.
Last night around 4.30pm, smoke was spotted seemingly coming out of the ground outside Sainsbury’s on West End Lane in West Hampstead.
About the same time, a few businesses and residents across the road reported a power cut. Perhaps unsurprisingly it turned out the two were related. Apparently there was a small electrical fire in the cabling that runs under the street (some reports said TV cable), and this was causing smoke to rise quite dramatically from West End Lane.
The fire brigade arrived pretty quickly – not exactly a long way for them – and the fire was extinguished, but it was quite some hours before power was restored to parts of West End Lane.
The Office for National Statistics released its first set of data today from the 2011 census for England & Wales. I waded through the spreadsheets to find some of the more striking figures relating to the London Borough of Camden and tweeted some of them. It’s too early for ward-level analysis yet.
Storified by West Hampstead · Tue, Dec 11 2012 05:51:29
Population
#whampcensus Camden’s population 220,338 49m/51f, that’s up 18k from the (revised) 2001 populationWest Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has the 8th densest (steady…) population in the country at 101.1 persons/ha. (Islington is the densest 138.7) *cough*West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has Inner London’s 2nd highest absolute number of people 65+ living alone.West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has highest % of flats in converted houses in the country (7th for purpose-built)West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden 6th highest level of private rented accomm. (top 9 are all in Inner London), 3rd lowest ownership (excl. Isle of Scilly)West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has the lowest % of people living "in a household" in Inner London (96.4% vs. avg 98.4%)West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has an average household size of 2.2, but an average number of bedrooms per household of 2.1West Hampstead
#whampcensus worth thinking about today: 3,406 households in Camden don’t have central heating. That’s 3.5%, above inner London average 3.2%West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has 5th highest % of single mother households as % of single parent households (K&C is #1)West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has Inner London’s 3rd and UK’s 4th highest number of registered same-sex civil partnershipsWest Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has country’s (and London’s) 6th highest % of single person (never married) households 42.9%West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden ranks 10th for % of people born outside the EUWest Hampstead
@WHampstead #whampcensus Camden ranked 6th highest nationally in % of households with no carEllen
Ethnicity
#whampcensus Camden has 5th highest % "any other white" popn in country (at local authority level). Brent the 2nd lowest "White British"West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has country’s 4th highest % White Irish population; Brent is No1 unsurprisingly. 3.2 and 4.0% of total popn respectivelyWest Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden ranks 2nd (behind the often anomalous City of London) for "Irish and British only" identity, and 4th for "Irish only"West Hampstead
#whampcensus 44 people in Camden identify as Cornish only.West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden ranks 4th for mixed-ethnicity partnerships (this would include eg. 1 x White Irish and one 1 x White British I assume)West Hampstead
Employment & Education
#whampcensus Camden people work long hours – we rank 6th for % of people working 49+ hrs a week, 5th if you just take womenWest Hampstead
#whampcensus is it surprising that Camden ranks 343rd (out of 348) for % of economically active popn. who are employed part time?West Hampstead
#whampcensus 62 people in Camden work in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing. Who knew!West Hampstead
#whampcensus Those 62 people working in Ag & Fish are split exactly 50/50 male/female.West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden ranks 3rd however for Professional, Scientific and Technical activities (behind City of London and Islington)West Hampstead
Camden also ranks 2nd for "other" (which includes actors).Oddly, Forest Heath comes top, perhaps due to the 2 USAF bases there?West Hampstead
#whampcensus 2,232 people work in "real estate activities". It is believed 2,231 one of them are based within 100 yards of West End LaneWest Hampstead
#whampcensus Unemployment rate in Camden was 4.5% (vs. inner london average of 5.6%).West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden 2nd lowest proportion of people working in manufacturing (behind the City of London, where they just manufacture money)West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden ranks 9th for % of single parents not in employment (51.3% of all single parent households)West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has 5th highest % graduate population in country. Over half of 16+ popn. have at least an undergraduate degree.West Hampstead
Religion
CORRECTION: #whampcensus Camden had the highest % of people not stating a religion (and came 180th for "no religion").West Hampstead
#whampcensus Camden has the 3rd lowest % Christian popn. in England and Wales at 34% (Tower Hamlets 27.1, Leicester 32.4% are lower)West Hampstead
@WHampstead I’m one of the 0.4% Sikhs locally. The rest are all my relatives #takingover #whampcensusSimi
#whampcensus Camden is in the ONS’s lowest bracket for Christian % popn (0-45.9%), and has 5th highest Jewish % popn. (4.5%)West Hampstead
#whampcensus 704 Jedis in CamdenWest Hampstead
#whampcensus One person in Camden belongs to the Church of All Religion. Hedging their bets there a bit.West Hampstead
#whampcensus 54,759 Camdeners put "no religion", just 269 actually wrote atheist, and 264 agnostic, 2 wrote "Free Thinker", 18 "Heavy Metal"West Hampstead
#whampcensus Amused that Heavy Metal followers outnumber Scientologists in Camden. OK – enough religion now.West Hampstead
#whampcensus 45,276 didn’t fill in the religion box at allWest Hampstead
The We are Camden website seems to have struggled to gain traction since it launched some 18 months ago. The idea was to provide a community forum on a ward basis, but posts are sporadic at best. It’s slightly surprising that the venture has lasted this long, at a time of cuts.
Perhaps one way of drawing people to the site is to make it more interactive. So, on Friday, Councillor Mike Katz (Kilburn ward) will be doing a live webchat for an hour from midday om how Kilburn can be improved. You can ask him questions directly then, or mail Nick.Kimber@camden.gov.uk with questions in advance.
Cllr. Mike Katz
If you can’t make the webcast live, it will be up on the site for a while.
It was a bad week for First Capital Connect with some horrendous delays that forced several commuter trains to terminate at West Hampstead. From this week, there are timetable changes. There’s also a “Meet the Director” online forum at 1pm on Friday 14th December.
Meanwhile, locals who live along the train line are in for sleepless nights this week as foliage is cleared from the embankments.
West Hampstead largely avoided the snow that lightly covered other parts of London, but there was a brief moment of winter wonderland on West End Lane.
West Hampstead Farmers’ Market recevied planning permission after Camden received a staggering 284 letters in support (and 4 against). Meanwhile, estate agents battle to be your preferred Bag for Life, with Paramount, Chelsea Square and Alexanders all getting in on the act.
The Christmas market was a success on Saturday as it went from empty to full.
Read how new correspondent @ZENW6 got on at the Yi Dao clinic on Mill Lane with a Tui Na massage.
House prices in West Hampstead are up, so why are all players in the property market so stressed?
West Hampstead featured twice on the BBC this week. First Wired was on the One Show (watch here), and then Flowerstalk was on This Week. And if all that wasn’t enough, a rom-com was being filmed at The Private Space.
Developers Linden Wates are to appeal their second Gondar Gardens proposal, even though their first proposal has been given the all clear.
Byron Hamburger joint is opening in the O2 where Fine Burger Co. was.
Amy Werner, the American student badly injured in the car crash a month ago, finally flew back to the US this week. She has also taken her first steps and continues to recover.
Coming Up All week: a Winter Print exhibition at Kingsgate Studios. Wednesday: The Movers & Shapers Xmas Party (6-9pm) Thursday: #whampxmasdrinks downstairs at The Gallery – just turn up! Friday: live webchat with Kilburn councillor Mike Katz
Tweet of the Week One of the survivors of Tuesday’s FCC debacle gets the nod this week
Is Camden council doing enough to help new businesses in West Hampstead? Local Lib Dem councillor Gillian Risso-Gill thinks not, and had a hefty swipe at the council in a letter to the Ham & High this week to say just that:
“Empty retail and business units have been allowed to stay empty for years, enquiries are rebuffed, premises are not marketed and then put up for auction.”
I have heard stories like this from local businesses – indeed there was one last month that happened on Twitter:
Cllr Risso-Gill also writes: “There is a woeful lack of available business premises in the area and units and sites are still being allowed to change from commercial to residential use.” This is also true, although one prominent example, Handrail House on Maygrove Road, has apparently been empty for some time as the landlord simply can’t find businesses to occupy it. From a residents’ perspective, it is important to remember that the local economy is not just about shops and restaurants, but business services and (light) industry too. What are the conditions they need to operate profitably?
Gillian Risso-Gill at the opening of the first Farmers’ Market
Many of you will be aware that Rock Mens’ Salon has moved from its premises in the death-row strip of shops from 187-199 West End Lane. John, the owner, was able to move fast and take the Broadhurst Gardens site that had been the Millennium Café. Yet he was also able to strike a deal with Network Rail, which still owns those premises, and open the new coffee shop Wired thereby taking advantage of the empty space. Yet, the car hire premises next door remain empty and the leases on all the units there expire in the spring. It is far from clear that building work on that site will start then however, so will the sites remain empty? Cllr Risso-Gill again:
I have asked the council for help to secure temporary tenants in the retail units currently being vacated on the 187-199 West End Lane site, to prevent the area becoming blighted prior to development, but resources are not available.
Of course, Camden’s resources are stretched under the current budgetary regime, yet there is an argument that lack of attention here is depriving the council of revenue from business rates. Lib Dem Risso-Gill finishes her letter with a direct attack on the Labour-led council:
We have a Labour administration that cannot be bothered to manage its assets to generate income and… takes the easy option of mothballing and then selling off every available site [while] the local business community and entrepreneurial spirit that could boost the local economy and create jobs, is being neglected.
Camden’s finance chief Cllr Theo Blackwell responded on Twitter:
What do you think? Should this be a priority at a time when public services are being cut back? Is the money that would come from renting out small premises sufficient to justify the extra cost?
Let me refresh your memory. Linden Wates recently won an appeal to build very low-impact homes on the resevoir site in Gondar Gardens. In a considered review of the application, the Planning Inspector believed that any negative impact on the open space would be offset by the benefits of this development.
GARA – the local residents association – which has long campaigned against developing this site, was naturally disappointed.
It seemed as if that was the end of the story. But there was a rumbling subplot. After Camden had initially rejected this plan, the developer submitted a second plan. This was arguably less controversial than the first – it was a street-frontage plan rather than one that would develop the green space itself. Camden rejected this one too.
Now, despite having won the first appeal, the developer is appealing against this second decision too. This has thrown everyone for a loop. What is Linden Wates objective? They can’t build both developments, and surely if the first one had passed first time they’d have moved forward with it.
Street-view of second plan – now being appealed
Either they think the first scheme is less profitable than the second, and having won the first appeal are confident in the second. Or perhaps they hope that a successful appeal with this second plan would give them the leeway to propose an even more ambitious third scheme.
Strikes me that this is a waste of public money – if a developer has a plan approved for one site through appeal to the national inspector, that should be the end of it for at least the amount of time that planning permission lasts.
Fortune Green is on the up. QEII status beckons. Which could mean some funding and additional planning protection. The Friends of Fortune Green are excited.
Phase one of the major improvements to the green took place two years ago: resurfacing paths, expanding the dog-free area, improving the entrance by the bus stop and new planting. Phase two will include excavating the remains of a WW2 air raid shelter (in the quadrant near the playground) and returfing that area, adding new noticeboards, creating a small children’s landscaped area and a running/exercise trail starting at the green, winding through the surrounding streets and finishing back on the Green. These improvements will involve fencing off part of the park over the winter.
All this has led Camden to nominate Fortune Green as a “QEII field”, all part of the Jubilee celebrations. Fields in Trust (formerly the National Playing Fields Association), a charity dedicated to protecting and improving outdoor space for sport, play and recreation, has set up the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge to add protection to community recreational facilities.
Consultation is imminent, but naturally the FoFG are strongly in favour.
Abercorn School is a three-site private school based in St John’s Wood and Marylebone that takes children from 2 1/2 to 13. Each site takes a different age group.
Now, the school is seeking to open a school for 7-13 year-olds in the vacant unit of Alfred Court (also known locally as the Sager Building) on Fortune Green Road. It’s always been an oddity that this unit hasn’t been sold, but I don’t think many people would have predicted a school to try and move in.
Alfred Court from across Fortune Green
Photo via CZWG architects
The school would need to apply for a change of use from Camden and it’s likely that residents in the area will have questions about the implications for traffic, parking, and noise.
The High Mistress (which sounds more a title you’d find at Hogwarts rather than Grange Hill) Andrea Greystoke has already been in touch with the Neighbourhood Development Forum, and there will be a public exhibition on the site on December 17th and 18th that locals will be able to attend.
Turn on BBC1 tonight for early evening magazine programme The One Show to see West End Lane’s very own Wired make an appearance.
A One Show researcher contacted me yesterday trying to track down a number for Wired (hint: you need a website guys!), and the crew and a reporter turned up this morning at 9 o’clock to chat to co-owner Tom about whether the recent adverse publicity surrounding Starbucks has had any impact on business.
Watch (or iPlayer) the show from 7pm tonight to find out what Tom had to say about independent coffee shops.
The Neighbourhood Development Plan published its draft core policies, which were discussed at a meeting last Thursday.
There was a violent assault on Goldhurst Terrace on Thursday.
A woman died on Sunday morning in a fire in a flat in West End Court on the corner of Priory Road and Greencroft Gardens.
Fire station cuts will affect Camden, but West Hampstead may be safe.
There’s a new tree on West End Green . Meanwhile another tree nearby was cut down after it was found to be diseased.
Amy Werner, injured in the car accident a few weeks ago, is still recovering in hospital. Her parents hope they’ll be able to fly her home on Wednesday.
A “romantic drama” was aired, featuring some prominent local inhabitants.
The problems with Virgin broadband reared their ugly head again.
An independent school is thinking of moving into the vacant units in the Sager building (the newish block of flats on Fortune Green Road).
Coming up Tuesday: West Hampstead Business Association social at The Gallery Wednesday: West End Lane Books hosts Horologicon author Mark Forsyth Also on Wednesday, Camden decides whether to proceed with the borough-wide 20mph scheme. Saturday: West Hampstead Christmas market And don’t forget #whampxmasdrinks on December 13th at The Gallery
A little over a year ago proposals came forward to allow more contraflow cycling in South Hampstead. Some people thought this was madness, but it went ahead anyway.
One thing that seemed clear was that for it to work safely, the signage both in terms of road signs and on-road markings, would have to be exemplary.
With this in mind, Camden Cyclists, a lobby group, set out to explore the streets in immense detail and document their findings in order to suggest improvements.
Their full report is incredibly detailed but as with so many things, this is where its value lies. I hope Camden reads it carefully as some of the recommendations could help prevent road accidents and they are by and large easy to implement.
Perhaps a quick recap of where cyclists can now cycle on one-way streets would be helpful.
Camden Cyclists’ map of contraflows (accepted and rejected)
Click for larger version
Priory Road and Fairhazel Gardens are now both two-way cycling throughout. Fairhazel Gardens is now fully two-directional for cyclists (some sections were changed a few years ago). Greencroft Gardens has been made two-way for cyclists as has Messina Avenue, which gives a link through to Kilburn High Road.
Looking back up Greencroft Gardens from Fairhazel Gardens
“The contraflow facility is useful, but does require some confidence to use.
Note the contraflow cycle logo half-way up the road –
this is barely visible/legible to road users.” Photo: Camden Cyclists
Looking west down Greencroft Gardens towards Fairhazel Gardens
The ‘No Entry’ on the road is misleading and the ‘No Entry’ sign on the left
is hidden in a tree; the sign on the right is unhelpfully placed.
An entry lane should be marked and the little cycle logo could be bigger! Photo: Camden Cyclists
Camden Cyclists are still pushing for some additions to the contraflow system.
Compayne Gardens, which is two-way, is preferred by cyclists and is marked with cycle logos. But it fails as an eastbound route because it joins the one way Canfield Gardens before reaching the junction with Finchley Road. We very much regret that LB Camden has so far been unable to provide this link.
These contraflow routes are called “light”, which means they don’t require marked contraflow lanes but use signs and road markings. The Camden Cyclists page explains that last year the Dept. for Transport allowed the use of No Entry signs with “Except Cycles” subplates. “Other relaxations in regulations now allow contraflow cycling without lanes provided that traffic speeds and volumes are low.”
Camden Cyclists’ overall conclusion is that the scheme generally works well: “For the most part, the signage at the end of the roads is of a high standard.” The group does, of course, have some suggestions for improving legibility, especially so drivers are aware of the scheme. You can see all of the recommendations on its website.
It was a relatively small group that assembled in the creche room of Emmanuel Church last night. Thankfully a heater was blasting away (the church is apparently investing in underfloor heating at some point – very fancy), keeping the cold at bay.
Under discussion was the second draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP), and I was pleasantly surprised that progress through the agenda points was relatively brisk.
In light of the overwhelming vote from WHGARA residents to be part of the NDP area, it was quickly decided that the boundary would match the West Hampstead and Fortune Green ward boundaries. Having cleared this hurdle, the application for formal recognition of the NDP can be submitted to Camden. There is unlikely to be any objection from Camden – planning officers have been involved with the process from the outset – so once accepted there will then be a six-week consultation process. This is all before the plan itself is finalised.
James Earl, chair of the Neighbourhood Development Forum, threw the discussion open to the floor (all 9 of us) regarding the core policies (recapped below) for comment.
Building height One topic dominated the discussion. At the moment, the draft plan has blanks for the proposed maximum building height inside and outside the intensification area (roughly the area around the three stations).
John Eastwood, from WHGARA, put forward the idea that the maximum height should be the same across both wards, with no differentiation for the intensification area. He mooted four or five stories as the limit. This would seem to be too low to be enforceable. West End Lane already has plenty of five storey buildings and given the housing demands we face, it’s impossible to imagine that a sympathetically designed six-storey building wouldn’t be looked at favourably.
A couple of us also pointed out that developments such as the student block on Blackburn Road and indeed the Ballymore 187-199 West End Lane proposals were using the fact that the ground slopes away from the road to increase building height with less impact on the roofline. In other words, site context is an important component of determining maximum heights.
The sloping land means the Ballymore 12-storey tower block won’t have quite as much impact as it would on West End Lane
I know that there are readers of this site who look more favourably on high rise than others. The NDF’s survey on this did, however, show a sizeable majority of residents are opposed to high-rise. Finding the right balance between housing need and height will take some careful wording of the plan. The view was put forward that the “errors of planning” that led to Ballymore’s 12-storey block, or the much older Ellerton building on Mill Lane, should not be taken as a new benchmark height for the area.
There is a secondary point here in that the NDP also takes a stance on the type of housing that is needed – specifically recommending a housing mix that includes more 3- and 4-bed flats. For developers to deliver that sort of housing profitably, they will need to build high. The plan needs to ensure it’s not pushing contradictory agendas that would allow developers to exploit loopholes.
The issue of uniformity across the ward is a more interesting debate – again, I can’t see that this would be workable. However, there is a sense among some in the south that the north of the area will feel very little of the direct impact of the growth in population and housing density, even though the rhetoric is one of a larger community that spans the two wards. It is too late to change the growth area, but those in the northern reaches may need to accept that there will be development across the wards that requires an increase in housing density along some of the side streets as well as around the stations and railway tracks. Otherwise the sense of divide between the south and north of West Hampstead is only going to intensify.
Affordable business premises The council beats the housing drum very loudly, but economic development is also a vital part of a successful community. However, it feels as if West Hampstead is losing jobs rather than creating them – especially if the Liddell Road school is built, which will mean the loss of several businesses on that industrial estate.
One of the NDP’s draft core policies is that development should also be focused on providing new jobs and attracting new businesses. Existing businesses, and the land they occupy, should be protected and encouraged. Sounds very laudable but, as Brigid Shaughnessy pointed out in the meeting, the council has no provision for “affordable business” in the same way it does for “affordable housing.” This struck everyone as rather a good point. Planning officers can encourage developers of mixed-use developments to have smaller retail or office units, which encourages independent businesses but there’s not a lot it can do about the rents charged, even if it can offer rates holidays. It seems like a point worth exploring – if a development needs to have a certain share of affordable housing to be approved by Camden, then why not also insist on a share of affordable business premises. These would clearly need some covenants to ensure that they didn’t just mean that a national chain could operate with an even bigger profit margin.
Any other business Aside from these two issues, a few other topics came up. Basement excavations was one (apparently there are eight happening in Kylemore Road alone), although it’s not clear what sway the NDP might have here as the issue seems to be one of Camden enforcement.
Clarity is also needed on what exactly Camden’s West Hampstead Interchange Planning Framework is going to involve. This catchy sounding concept popped up out of nowhere recently, but no-one seems to have a sense of what it is trying to achieve, how it will fit in with the NDP, or indeed whether it’s necessary in the first place given all the other planning frameworks that apply to the area.
Recap of core policies (draft)
New development should be focused on providing a range of housing and housing types, including social and affordable housing and 3-4 bedroom homes for families. The vast majority of new housing and development should be located in the ‘West Hampstead growth area’.
Outside the growth area, new development should be on a much smaller scale.
New buildings in the growth area should be no higher than xx storeys; outside this area new buildings should be no higher than xx storeys.
New developments should promote high quality design which fit in with their surroundings, especially in terms of height, appearance and design.
Conservation areas should promote high design standards and have policies which are strongly enforced.
Development in the Area should also be focused on providing new jobs and attracting new businesses to the Area. Existing businesses, and the land they occupy, should be protected and encouraged.
There is an urgent need for ongoing improvements to public transport in the Area, particularly the three rail stations.
Future development should protect, preserve and enhance existing green/open space and provide new green/open space in new developments.
Provide as much space as possible for pedestrians and promote ease of movement through the Area.
Protect the existing public services and community facilities in the Area and provide new services/facilities as the population of the Area grows.
Provide an environment that is suitable for a mixed community, including young people, old people, families and those from a range of social backgrounds.
In all developments, there should be a presumption in favour of preserving the look, feel and views of the Area.
Following heavy twitter activity about a major police incident on Goldhurst Terrace yesterday afternoon, it transpires that an 18-year-old German man has been arrested in connection with an unprovoked assault on a 60-year-old man who was found unconscious and is still in a critical condition in hospital. The German may have mental health problems, apparently. He grabbed the pram that is now cordoned off at Kings Gardens and walked up Acol Road in order to avoid being spotted, but was then arrested at Kings Gardens.
There are police cordons around parts of Kings Gardens as well as on Acol Road where the nursery is closed off. Aberdare Gardens, Priory Road and Woodchurch Road were also cordoned off at times and police are still preventing some Goldhurst Terrace residents from entering their homes.
Swiss Cottage ward councillor Don Williams tweeted this photo of Goldhurst Terrace earlier today
Anyone with information or who witnessed the assault is asked to call Camden Police on 101; if you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Many of you will remember an article back in July about artist Martin Robertson who was interested in finding out what we thought symbolised West Hampstead.
Many of you gave your thoughts on this and Martin went away to work on his interpretation.
Lots of West Hampstead landmarks there – bonus points for spotting the Czech chef, and the #whamp hashtag!
You can order the black & white screenprint or the colour versions directly from Martin.
Navigating between the three West Hampstead stations is already challenging, with narrow pavements, crowds of people and at least one road to cross whichever change you’re making.
Now imagine that you’re not so good at walking – or can’t walk at all. That minor hassle becomes a major hassle. Or would be if it was even worth attempting given the lack of step-free access to the platform.
The Thameslink station does now have proper step-free access (though god help you if there’s one of those pesky short-notice platform changes). The Overground station doesn’t have a lift at the moment, but will get one, perhaps in 2014, having successfully been awarded £1m by the Department for Transport.
Which leaves us with the Jubilee Line station – arguably the most useful of all for day-to-day travel in London.
No-go area for wheelchair users
Lib Dem London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon recently asked the Mayor:
Do you agree that West Hampstead station, which sits on both the Jubilee and London Overground lines, is a good candidate for being made step free?
Boris provided a written reply (I doubt he wrote it himself, there isn’t a single classical reference in there), of which here is an abridged version:
Regrettably there is no funding to undertake works at the Tube station. Aside from the funding question, the Underground station would not be an easy location at which to install step-free facilities. This is because the small ticket hall sits on a road bridge above the tracks carrying the Jubilee, Metropolitan and Chiltern lines. The station is also surrounded by various separately owned properties and there is no space for a lift.
Customers in the West Hampstead area who require a step-free route to central London or need to access the Tube network can use Thameslink services to a number of stations in zone 1 including King’s Cross St Pancras, Farringdon, Blackfriars and London Bridge, all of which are now fully accessible.
Local resident and wheelchair user Shannon Murray certainly doesn’t mince her words in response:
Regrettably they don’t have the funding to undertake the works, well regrettably I don’t have the ability to undertake walking. I can’t use Boris bikes nor can I use the buses or navigate most pavements independently. It’s easy for politicians and decision makers to distance themselves from the implications of access issues because they don’t really impact their lives.
It is a valid point that there are engineering challenges with the Jubilee Line station and these would push the costs of installing a lift even higher. But it is beyond the wit of man to find some innovative solution to this challenge? I fear that step-free access across the Underground network will never become a reality but, at a major interchange like West Hampstead, dismissing the idea so readily feels like a missed opportunity.
It starts at 10am and there’ll be stalls on the green. In previous years these have been a mixture of local crafts, some food (hot and cold), and a couple of community groups. It’s not a German-style market, which I know has disappointed a few people in the past.
The market in 2010
This year there is also a full programme of indoor events in Emmanuel Church, with a focus on events for kids, but with enough to keep adults occupied too. Many of these aren’t necessarily traditional Christmas activities although there’s the opportunity to make wreaths, and there’ll be a choir singing in the afternoon. But there’s also zumba, karate and yoga. These have been arranged by the Community Association for West Hampstead and the Friends of Fortune Green.
The market is still looking for volunteers to help on the day. If you’d like to be part of it, please call Jody Graham on 07765 214867.
Alexanders Estate Agents is the main sponsor this year, and it’s interesting to note that the other sponsors are a diverse bunch of services, only one of which appears to be located in West Hampstead. It would be good to see more local businesses getting behind the Christmas market, which might help elevate it from the village fête feel it has had the past couple of years to more of a destination market that might attract people from further afield.
Full programme 10-12 Make Wreaths & Bird Feeders 11–12 Intros to Knitting 11.30–12.00 Street Dance by children 11–1 Art Project for families 12-12.30 Zumba 12.30-1 Karate for kids, 12-3 Slap-London Face Painting 1.00-1.15 Children’s Indian Dancing 1.15–2.00 Storytelling for families 2–3 West Hampstead Choir 2-4 Art Project for Families 3-3.30 Performing Arts by kids 3:30–4:00 Yoga for Adults
West Hampstead police station may be for the chop, but is our fire station safe from the latest round of cuts? The most recent proposal to close stations in London puts Belsize station on the chopping block, while West Hampstead is neither slated for any changes, nor has the security of being on the protected list.
West Hampstead fire station – 111 years old Photo via @Tetramesh
In October, a leaked document appeared to show that 17 stations were going to be closed in response to the Mayor’s call for the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to find £65 million in savings over two years. The 17 stations included Belsize. This certainly isn’t set in stone, but is believed to be the preferred option. To understand what this means for response times, I’m going to have to show the workings.
The sexily titled Operational efficiency work in progress Fifth London Safety Plan Supporting document No.17 Pre-consultation draft is a 44–page discussion of London’s fire station needs published by the LFB. It’s actually very readable and has loads of London-wide statistics. For stats at the borough level, I recommend reading LFB in Camden 2012/13, which shows even more clearly that the number of incidents is falling (it also shows that Camden has the second highest number of false alarms in London). You can even monitor fires at the ward level, and month by month if you really want to dig into the data.
Aside from the financial savings, is there any evidence that the LFB has scope to cut back services? In terms of number of call-outs and looking across London, then yes.
The brigade attends 35% fewer incidents than 10 years ago; some stations have seen the number of call-outs drop by two-thirds;
24 fire stations attend two incidents or fewer a day;
False alarms make up almost half of all the calls attended;
Total number of fires (27,000 in 2011) is lower than at any time in the last 40 years;
Fewer people are dying in fires: 56 in 2011 compared to nearly 80 a year between 1991-2001;
Even the busiest fire engine (Soho) is occupied for less than 17% of the time;
The average firefighter attends 195 incidents a year; of which 101 will be false alarms and only 8 will be the more significant incidents. Some firefighters attend 10 or fewer fires a year
The document points out that although the risk of fast-spreading fires and of domestic deaths and injuries has greatly reduced, it has been replaced by what it terms “new risk”, which is now a very prominent aspect of the Brigade’s work. These new risks (by which I think it means more large-scale incidents) mean that the LFB is much more complex than the old model of stations with one or two fire engines (“appliances” in fire brigade parlance). London hosts a raft of specialist teams such as urban search and rescue teams and high volume pumps.
Of course, one of the reasons that the numbers of fires and fire-related deaths is falling is that fire officers spend more time in the community, making visits to houses and schools. If one thinks of fire crews more like all-round police officers, who have both a community role and an emergency response role, then it is clear that simply looking at the number of times the sirens are wailing through the streets will not paint the whole picture of fire safety in the capital.
What does it cost? Here are the figures across London:
“We spend around £270m on station-based emergency response. Of that, £229m is spent on firefighters’ salaries and allowances; £21m is spent on the upkeep and running of fire stations; and £20m is spent on equipment, including fire engines.”
Salaries are clearly the big component here, though the document points out that consolidating fire stations can also create substantial savings without reducing coverage. Which brings us to the issue of response times.
Fire! Fire! London-wide response time targets are:
Average arrival time for the 1st appliance: 6 minutes
Average arrival time for the 2nd appliance: 8 minutes
95% of incidents must have a 1st appliance arrival time of 12 minutes or less
Camden’s four fire stations perform well against these. In fact, response times are among the fastest in London at just over 4 minutes 40 seconds on average for the first appliance and 6 minutes for the second. There isn’t much doubt that arriving quickly is important when it comes to a serious incident. However, the report says that there are complexities in balancing the desire for speed with the the fact that demand is extremely low in some parts of London.
To determine whether there could be a better and more cost-effective configuration, modelling was carried out based on finding £25m and £50m in savings. Several configurations for each were modelled. The report goes into a lot of detail on this, so do read it if you’re interested.
The option that was leaked back in October is shown below (you’ll need to click for the full-size version):
In terms of the impact on Camden, the two £25m options published both propose closing Belsize and adding an extra pump at Euston. In this scenario, average borough response times drop for the first appliance but are the same or faster for the second vehicle. All are still within the London-wide targets.
In the first of the £50m saving options, Belsize closes, Kentish Town loses an appliance, while Euston and West Hampstead remain unchanged. Appliance one now arrives in 6’00” and Appliance 2 at 7’03”. A marked increase in response time.
The second of the £50m options actually mirrors the £25m options, at least in Camden; i.e., Belsize closes, Euston gets an extra pump, and Kentish Town and West Hampstead remain unchanged. Other changes outside the borough mean response times for both appliances are now effectively the same at 5’57” and 6’00” respectively.
These are all just proposals, although Belsize gets closed in all of them.
There’s a new momentum on Mill Lane. This motley collection of independent shops has tried before to unite behind some self-promotion but these efforts have largely come to nothing. Now, the West Hampstead street that’s often seen as West End Lane’s poor relation has some impetus behind it thanks partly to the arrival of Monsters of Art and the youthful enthusiasm of co-owner Abby Wells.
Several of the businesses on Mill Lane held a preliminary meeting this month to discuss how to boost the street’s profile. Since then, Abby has met with Kate Goodman from Camden Council (Kate ran the place shaping initiative that many of you will remember from earlier in the year), and more of the businesses have piled in with ideas.
What’s the problem?
Mill Lane has a few related challenges to overcome: it suffers from relatively low footfall; the popular businesses are spread out along the street so there’s no focal point; it has one of the highest vacancy rates in the borough (18% in June 2010); and many people, especially those new to the area or passing through, simply don’t know that there are shops down there. Glance down the road from Fortune Green Road and you would be forgiven for thinking it was a predominantly residential street. Yet, as the star prize at whampgather proved, there are enough businesses on the street to create an amazing hamper of goodies. From The Tiffin Tin to The Alliance, Mill Lane has plenty of gems.
Isn’t this the council’s job?
Camden’s West Hampstead placeshaping document, published earlier this year, recognises the pressures facing Mill Lane and sets out ways in which the council could help. It explains that the council cannot fund direct business support, and that its role now is to act “as an enabler to small businesses through signposting them to national and regional growth support organisations.” This also includes pointing retailers to information and providing support to trader groups.
There are some specific actions in the placeshaping plan that refer to Mill Lane.
Facilitate engagement with local landowners and landlords to consider how the private sector can help to support a thriving shopping area and reduce the vacancy rate in Mill Lane.
Investigate opportunities to carry out further public realm improvement works to the northern part of the town centre and Mill Lane.
Lobby TfL to include Mill Lane neighbourhood centre shops on the Legible London signs, to help increase footfall to the area.
This may sound a bit like throwing a life jacket into the ocean, but it’s better than nothing and if it helps the businesses coalesce into one group that can form a consensus on what would most benefit the area then that alone is a big step in the right direction.
The relatively new West Hampstead Business Association could have a role here. However, a separate Mill Lane group that collaborated with the WHBA might be more effective than the WHBA acting as an umbrella group for all local businesses, given the different needs of West End Lane and Mill Lane.
The latest draft of the Neighbourhood Development plan also singles out Mill Lane as in need of its own section. Specifically, it suggests the following six policies should be applied to developments in Mill Lane:
A presumption in favour of preserving the look of shop-fronts.
A presumption in favour of rejecting proposals to convert retail space into residential use.
Encourage a more diverse range of shops and businesses.
Improve pavements, signage and traffic calming; remove street clutter.
Co-ordinate the developments on the north side of Mill Lane where they back onto properties on
Hillfield Road.
An urgent need to level the pavements on the north side of Mill Lane.
All this tell us that the problems of Mill Lane are widely recognised. But at a time of limited (read: non-existent) public resources to help tackle them, the onus falls on the existing businesses to overcome these obstacles. Which brings us back to the latest wave of energy washing over the street.
At the November meeting there was broad agreement that public awareness of Mill Lane’s offering was too low, and that the lack of a cohesive feel to the retail units hindered the appeal of the street as a shopping destination. Beyond that, the more ambitious challenge was to do something economically viable with the empty shops
Raising awareness
The immediate solution proposed was to get the council to implement better signage (which would partly fall under the Legible London signage action above), at the West End Lane end of Mill Lane, on West End Green, and outside West Hampstead tube station. Since that meeting, Kate Goodman has said that extra signage to the north of West End Lane will be installed, but played down the idea that there’d be tube station signage too.
The idea of preparing a small brochure to hand out has also been raised, although it’s not clear who would fund this. Camden have broadly supported this idea though, and may be able to help with some of the distribution logistics. Prod from Mill Lane Barbers, whose enthusiasm is also hard to beat, has suggested a caricature poster capturing the essence of the Lane and the businesses on it as well.
One idea that’s likely to prove popular is a late-night Christmas shopping event. It may even be possible to get some footprints laid on the pavement to draw people in from West End Green. Those businesses at the West Hampstead Christmas Market on December 8th could also help promote the street more generally, and there’s talk of having a board at the market showing the press coverage that some of them have received over the past couple of years.
One Lane
The shops also saw that Christmas would be a good opportunity to work on the look and feel of Mill Lane and try and make it a more unified shopping district. Something as simple as having the same Christmas lights in as many of the shops as possible could achieve this – these could be officially switched on at the Christmas shopping event.
An idea that I particularly like is that businesses up and down Mill Lane ‘donate’ parts of their property, (e.g., a back door, shutter, or any outdoor area), to professional artists who will then jointly produce a piece of street art. This concept has worked brilliantly in Middlesex Street E1. It has the potential both to improve the look of Mill Lane and attract visitors.
Breathing life into empty premises
Maximising the use of the empty (or almost empty) shops on the street with pop-up projects (galleries, retail space etc.) was a popular idea. This would help animate Mill Lane, and provide more of a continuous stretch of retail operations along the street. One idea was to collaborate with artists who might rent units for a short period for gallery and/or workshop space. Kate Goodman was in favour of the pop-up shop idea, and apparently there are nine empty shops on Mill Lane that could possibly by used. She is going to find out who owns/manages these properties and forward on their details – a good example of where the council can support these initiatives.
Both the pop-up idea and the street art idea certainly tie in with my own belief that Mill Lane would be well served by becoming an explicit artisan/art quarter. In the immediate term, the local business owners recognised that coordinating so many things popping up is a lot of work and perhaps would be too time consuming for them to tackle (after all they do still have their own businesses to run). A stop-gap measure would be to use the shop fronts as art installations, or hang something in empty shop windows.
Mill Lane needs a bit of love, so why not have a wander along there this weekend and refresh your memory as to what’s available. From carpets to cupcakes, you might be surprised at the shops and services you find.
We’re inching nearer to a final Neighbourhood Development Plan. There’s a meeting this Thursday to discuss the second draft plan.
At the time of writing the draft, the issue of the southern boundary had not been resolved. Since then, however, the results of the WHGARA (West Hamsptead Gardens Area Residents Association) vote on the matter have been released and 75% of people were in favour of being part of the plan area rather than sitting outside it. This is almost certain to mean that the area covered will exactly match the ward boundaries of West Hampstead and Fortune Green.
156 West End Lane – one of the sites up for development
The draft plan is very much a work in progress, and still has some gaps. Nevertheless, two things are worth looking at even at this early stage. The first is the overall scope of the plan, the second is the introduction of the core policies.
Scope
If you read the write-up of the public meeting back at the end of October, you’ll know that Neighbourhood Development Plans can vary enormously in scope from all-encompassing town plans to single-issue plans. The West Hampstead & Fortune Green plan certainly drifts closer to the first idea. Broadly, it seeks to influence building development (location, form, use of Section 106 money), business and economic development (retail mix, high street feel), street environment (roads, parking, cycling, pedestrians), public transport, environment (green space, trees), community, and public services (schools, healthcare). Some of these area are easier to influence than others – some lie firmly within Camden’s remit, other are the purview of larger bodies such as TfL or City Hall. But it would be hard to argue that the plan lacks ambition.
Policies
The draft plan outlines 12 core policies. Many of these are not especially controversial and only the hard core members of the “flatten everything to build more houses” brigade are likely to object to limitations on building height, or a presumption that green space is a good thing.
It is worth reiterating the message of policies 1 and 2 – namely that the bulk of dense housing development should be in the designated growth area (that is broadly the area between and around the stations and railway tracks), while the rest of West Hampstead is allowed to retain its current feel. Whether this will lead to two very distinctive town centres developing – one to the south and one to the north end of West End Lane – and whether this is desirable is up for debate. I can well imagine the good burghers of Fortune Green grumbling about how busy it is around the interchange while they enjoy the peace and quiet of the leafy suburbs the rest of the time.
New development should be focused on providing a range of housing and housing types, including social and affordable housing and 3-4 bedroom homes for families. The vast majority of new housing and development should be located in the ‘West Hampstead growth area’.
Outside the growth area, new development should be on a much smaller scale.
New buildings in the growth area should be no higher than xx storeys; outside this area new buildings should be no higher than xx storeys.
New developments should promote high quality design which fit in with their surroundings, especially in terms of height, appearance and design.
Conservation areas should promote high design standards and have policies which are strongly enforced.
Development in the Area should also be focused on providing new jobs and attracting new businesses to the Area. Existing businesses, and the land they occupy, should be protected and encouraged.
There is an urgent need for ongoing improvements to public transport in the Area, particularly the three rail stations.
Future development should protect, preserve and enhance existing green/open space and provide new green/open space in new developments.
Provide as much space as possible for pedestrians and promote ease of movement through the Area.
Protect the existing public services and community facilities in the Area and provide new services/facilities as the population of the Area grows.
Provide an environment that is suitable for a mixed community, including young people, old people, families and those from a range of social backgrounds.
In all developments, there should be a presumption in favour of preserving the look, feel and views of the Area.
The next meeting of the Neighbourhood Development Forum is at 7.30pm at Emmanuel Church on Thursday. It’s open to all, so why not come along and find out more.
The West Hampstead Christmas market is looking for volunteers to help on the day. Please contact Jody on 07765 214867
A new tree was planted on West End Green in honour of the Jubilee, sponsored by Chelsea Square
West End Lane flooded after Thursday night’s heavy rain, but the water was quickly pumped away.
West Hampstead’s newest coffee shop, Wired (where Rock Men’s Salon was – Rock has moved round the corner) garnered a flurry of good reviews in its first week.
The limited edition screen print of West Hampstead is now available to buy.
Coming up The Neighbourhood Development Forum convenes on Thursday to discuss the second draft plan. Advance notice of Sidings festive songs on Wednesday Dec 12.
Last Monday a small but select group of locals stood around in the bright sunshine to watch a tree being planted. This is the first tree in West End Green for more than 100 years – the previous one, in the middle of the park, commemorates the coronation of Edward VII in 1902.
Cllr Flick Rea and Chelsea Square’s Ray Jacobs
Councillor Flick Rea had the idea that it would be nice to mark the Diamond Jubilee with a tree, while Chelsea Square – the estate agents on the west side of West End Lane just by the Green – had expressed an interest in doing something for the community. Camden has no tree budget at the moment, but will provide the staff to carry out the planting if someone else stumps [sorry] up the money for the tree itself.
The tree is a Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’. If you don’t know what that is, then here’s a picture of what it will look like when it’s in full leaf. It’s rather attractive I think.
I spoke today with Rich Werner, father of Vermont student Amy who was so badly hurt in the car accident on West End Lane a couple of weeks back.
Rich sounded more upbeat and the news that many of you have been asking about is that Amy continues to make good progress. She still has a long way to go. She’s breathing unaided now, and she can move her arm – seemingly in response to stimulus.
An American PA at the hospital very kindly arranged for two Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday night for Amy’s parents, and there was even a special Thanksgiving meal made for Amy, who is still receiving fluids only.
Her progress, and reasonably stable condition mean that she could be heading back to the US on Friday. This would be in an air ambulance and she would be transferred directly to Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston – part of Harvard Medical School.
As you can imagine, the Werners are excited at the prospect of going home, so fingers crossed that Amy’s recovery continues. They asked me once again to pass on their thanks to all the local people who’ve been sending messages of support and keeping Amy in their thoughts.
West Hampstead police station looks certain to lose its front counter, but the murmurings that the whole station is under threat are getting louder.
The Metropolitan Police has engaged in a strange consultation process regarding front counter closures. It can, at best, be described as cursory. A cynic might even interpret it as underhand. “Priority stakeholders” were the only people due to be consulted. Andrew Dismore, the London Assembly Member for Barnet & Camden, is one of these people but, for some reason, it took the borough police a week to find his e-mail address to inform him of the consultation. By that time there were only four days left for him to respond. Even if he had received it in time, it still seems a staggeringly short period of consultation. And why was it so hard for the police to find the e-mail address of an elected representative? (Here’s a hint for them next time).
Andrew Dismore
We all know that public services are being cut back far and wide, and the Met is certainly not exempt. The consultation document (which is a strange two-pager that’s heavy on rationale but light on solutions) explains that the force’s budget need to drop by an eye-watering half a billion pounds by 2015. That isn’t just a lot of money, it’s also a huge chunk of 2011/12’s £2.7 billion budget.
There are 136 police front counters across London, although the consultation paper says that more than a quarter have less than one visitor per hour. Fewer than 50 crimes a night are reported at front counters between 11pm and 7am, and 23 of the 24-hour stations see less than one crime reported every three nights. “They are now primarily staffed by police officers, simply waiting for the public to come to them,” says the paper.
The Met is keen to point out that “This is not about reducing our service but expanding, adapting and changing it for a more modern approach.” I do wonder why it’s not possible for those police officers drumming their fingers on the front desk to perhaps be doing something else while they wait, and maybe someone has to ring a doorbell to be let in, so there’s a drop-in service, but the desk doesn’t have to actually be manned permanently. Surely multi-tasking is possible. (I don’t believe for a minute that police officers aren’t already doing something while they sit and wait).
At Mayor’s Question Time this week, Boris came under sustained fire from Assembly Members, notably Labour’s Dismore and the Lib Dems’ Caroline Pidgeon, who said that 1 in 4 rapes were reported at front counters and was it really reasonable to expect people to report these and other serious crimes in coffee shops. For the consensus is that this is Boris’s big idea: relocate police counters to more accessible locations such as shopping centres. This good ITV news report even moots our very own O2 centre as a possible location as well as showing the Mayor’s response to the questions – he accuses Dismore of “fetishising bricks and mortar”, and says that coffee shops are indeed one avenue that might be pursued.
The grand plan foresees the number of locations where the public can contact the police in person rise from 136 today to up to 270 locations in 2015. In total, 65 front counters will be replaced by more than 200 “Contact Points”, of which seven will be in Camden.
Hampstead police station has already been slated for closure and despite a vocal campaign up in NW3 it’s hard to see that it will be reprieved. Although the consultation document doesn’t expressly mention West Hampstead (in fact the only station named is Holborn which will be the borough’s only 24/7 station), Camden police told Dismore directly:
“The proposals under consultation for Camden are for Holborn front counter to remain open 24 hours and for Kentish Town to be open 40 hour per week. Albany Street, Hampstead and West Hampstead front counters will close and we are looking to create 7 Contact Points across the borough to provide alternative access to policing services.”
That seems pretty clear. It would make our nearest public access station Kentish Town, which is hardly convenient. What is still not clear is whether the whole of West Hampstead police station would close, including the 999 response units. As we all know, West Hampstead also has stables for the mounted police, although this division sits outside the borough structure. According to a letter from Camden’s conservative leader Andrew Mennear in the CNJ back in October, the mounted police would stay while the rest of the police station would close and West Hampstead’s police force would be off to Kentish Town. Even the latest draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan mentions the police station site as a possible development space.
I’m led to understand by Andrew Dismore’s office that the (seemingly blindingly obvious) idea of turning the small Safer Neighbourhood Team base by the tube station into a front counter is not being considered. So where will locals be able to report crime (or hand in lost property)? The O2 shopping centre strikes me as the most obvious place. The SNT already runs stalls there from time to time, and there is designated community space upstairs. It’s hard to think of anywhere on West End Lane unless there could be co-sharing with the library, or with whatever comes to pass at 156 West End Lane (aka the Travis Perkins building). Mill Lane has more vacant spaces, but none of these solutions are to house a response team. Still, we all know that there’s never any traffic between here and Kentish Tow… oh, yes. Right.
Making savings of £500m is always going to lead to some difficult decisions, but efficiency and cost-effectiveness are surely only part of the equation when it comes to providing emergency service cover. In the meantime, Dismore’s changed his Twitter avatar to one that reads 999SOS – a Labour initiative in City Hall and across London to coordinate objections to the scale and speed of cuts to the police and fire services.
How would you feel about the demise of the front counter at West Hampstead? How about the loss of the whole police station?
As we piled into Feng Sushi in West Hampstead a couple of weeks ago I think it’s fair to say we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. Sure, we’d all had sushi before; some of us had even eaten from Feng’s menu. But I don’t think anyone had sat down to quite such a feast of unusual treats before.
Silla Bjerrum, founder and MD of Feng Sushi, was an excellent host. She talked us through much of the seasonal menu, and showed that running the company doesn’t mean she’s lost the art of wielding a sushi knife as she prepared some extra fresh dishes for us.
The elongated space worked surprisingly well for our group – we’d taken over the restaurant for the night, so there was no need to keep the volume of chatter down for other diners!
The calm before the sashimi storm
The menu kicked off with Crispy Tofu with Yuzu Dip. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the world’s biggest fan of tofu. I had actually been treated to this dish a few weeks earlier so I knew what to expect. This made it even more enjoyable to watch people who were looking sceptically at the cubed tofu fritters transform their expression as soon as they popped one into their mouth. This is one of those dishes that turns your preconceptions on their head. Good start.
Silla then introduced us to some gleaming fresh mackerel. Most people who have an interest in sustainable food have probably had it drilled into us by the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls of this world that we should be eating more mackerel. There are lots of them in British waters and they are delicious. Turns out that in the fast-changing world of fish stocks and classification, there are now some parts of the coastline where mackerel are already being overfished and thus the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has withdrawn its highly desirable certificate. Silla, however, maintains good relationships with fishermen and fish farmers around the country and is confident that she’s found a source of mackerel from further north that meet the sustainable criteria – even if the MSC is playing catch-up.
We got to try the mackerel that had been cut up before our eyes and that had been briefly steeped in some pickling liquor (raw mackerel untreated apparently isn’t that great). This was incredibly fresh (obviously) and that certainly added a depth of flavour that you don’t normally get with fish that’s seen the inside of a freezer, as much of it does, even with sushi.
More courses followed: some delicious autumnal mushroom fritters, sea bass maki, and more mackerel – this time served on a bowl of rice as donburi. Another of my favourites.
Before the katsu curry, Silla brought out a loin of tuna, which she also skilfully prepared for us. This is one expensive piece of fish – the portion she had on her chopping board was worth £80 wholesale. Once it was turned from loin into sashimi we all got to enjoy yet another bonus course!
The plum wine served with dessert was good (“Where’s the bottle?” a certain local restaurant reviewer was heard to cry), though having had 25% off drinks all evening, I’m not sure many of us needed any additional alcohol.
Overall, this was a really excellent night. It was the first time we’d taken over a whole restaurant before, and the first time we’d had demonstrations as part of the evening. It was resounding success. Thanks to everyone who came and a huge thanks to Silla and her team for making us so welcome!
Camden is imposing a 150% council tax on second homes left empty for more than two years.
The tenth #whampgather was a great night: 160 locals at The Alliance and £600 raised for The Winch in the raffle. Thanks to all who came. Only two people successfully solved the treasure hunt – congratulations to Carla and Lucy, and an honourable mention for Eugene.
A haberdashery will be opening at 47 Mill Lane – date to be confirmed.
Dutch & Dutch have been instructed to help the West End Lane post office relocate. The postmaster is closing it to “pursue other business interests”, although it will close only when a new post office is open nearby. The new post office could be incorporated into an existing shop or café.
The Kilburn History blog recalled the day in 1917 when a Zeppelin flew over the area.
60/62 Mill Lane – the former home of the West Hampstead Community Association – has a change of use planning application in for conversion to A2 use (financial/professional).
Paramount Properties collected more than 100 coats for Hands On London from locals. Great effort.
Coming up Chelsea Square is planting a tree on West End Green at 11am on Monday. Later on Monday (6pm) Richard Osman and Alexander Armstrong will be doing a Pointless book signing at West End Lane Books. The Irish Film Festival starts on Wednesday with screenings at The Tricycle, look out for more this week.
Tweet of the Week Several strong contenders this week, but decided I had to go with a #whampgather related tweet from none other than Lauren:
Since Tuesday, I’ve spoken to Ben Dutton and twice to Rich Werner. Ben is the husband of Desreen Brooks who died in Saturday’s accident on West End Lane in West Hampstead. Rich is the father of Amy who was badly injured in the same crash and remains in hospital. Rich and his wife Gina flew over immediately from their home in Dover, Vermont together with Amy’s grandmother.
It would be an understatement to say that both were gracious under incredibly difficult circumstances. I think – I hope – it helped that these weren’t interviews for an article; they’d already been through that a few times on Tuesday. They were calling because they had heard, via the police’s family liaison officer, of the strength of feeling expressed in the comments left on this website, and of local people’s desire to help in any way they could.
Terrible incidents like this generally bring out the best in people – a desire to do something, anything, to show they care; to show to those affected that this isn’t just another statistic. How that goodwill manifests itself almost becomes irrelevant, people just want to show support. For the families going through the hell that is a sudden bereavement or horrendous injuries to a loved one, their focus can be only on coping with what is happening at the time.
How incredible then, for both Ben and Rich to want to take the time to express their thanks to the locals who have shown them such kindness. Ben was very clear that any help people could give should go towards supporting Amy’s family, who are a long way from home. He and his son have a lot of family and friends close by – he was just realising how many – and are being well looked after, he said. He told me that he and Desreen had planned a day out on Saturday, and he fully intended to go ahead with that because he wanted to keep a sense of normality for their son.
Ben was also very clear that they would still be frequent visitors to West Hampstead – their best friends live here, indeed that’s who they were visiting last Saturday night. His positive attitude, and determination that their son would know what an amazing woman his mother was, was extremely moving.
When I spoke to Rich on Tuesday, Amy was in theatre. We talked briefly about where they were staying and whether there was anything we could do to make that more comfortable for them, but he said they were in good shape for now. However, they recognise that they could well be here for a while and that a longer-term option might be necessary. We spoke again yesterday. On Tuesday it sounded like he was making an effort to be calm; yesterday there was a genuinely more positive tone. Tuesday’s operation had gone well, and the surgeon had been positive about Amy’s progess. She is still in a serious condition but the medical staff are keeping her stable before the next operation, which has been pushed back a couple of days. Amy’s grandmother will fly back to the US today.
Amy and her mother in May 2011
“I can’t express enough how great everyone has been,” said Rich. “It’s been overwhelming. If we close our eyes for a few minutes, it’s like we’re back in Dover.” To feel so cared for that you could be at home, when you are in fact 3,500 miles away is testament to the quality of care they are receiving at St Mary’s. They’ve been to the site of the crash and seen the cards and flowers people have left for both Amy and Desreen.
He specifically asked me to thank two people who’d left comments on the blog. First, one of the doctors who’d been passing and stopped to help. In the chaos that followed the collision, a plastic bag containing a vintage ukulele that belonged to his grandfather and was being taken to be restored went missing. The doctor has posted about this, understandably nervous that it would seem self-serving in the wake of such a tragedy but explaining that it had huge sentimental value. I didn’t think it was self-serving – here was a guy who’d stopped to help victims of a road accicent, bit harsh to think anything other than good of him. Rich saw it the same way and told me to say that he was sorry that this good samaritan had lost the instrument and to thank him for all he’d done for both victims.
He also asked me to thank someone who simply signed off as “J”, with no other way of contacting them. J had sat with Amy and put a blanket over her while they waited for the ambulance. I don’t have kids, but I can still just about imagine that thought that your child is lying in the road and you are an ocean away but someone, some kind person, is holding their hand and keeping them warm. If you read this J, then know that Rich and Gina are immensely grateful.
As for what we can do to help, well, right now, very little. It’s not the answer lots of you are looking for I know. Feeling impotent at a time like this is frustrating, but it’s nothing to what the people immediately affected are going through. Rich and I agreed to speak again in a few days’ time when they have a clearer idea of what their needs might be. Then I’ll be badgering you all for contacts in the property business, or whatever it is we need. Until then, let’s let them focus on being there for Amy.
Today, the police released the name of the woman who was killed in the tragic road accident in West Hampstead on Saturday night.
Desreen Brooks, 33, was with her husband and two-year-old son at the time. As the car mounted the pavement her husband Ben Dutton pushed their son out of the way and jumped clear. Sadly his wife was not able to get out of the way. Despite the best efforts of doctors who were passing and stopped, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Desreen Brooks and Ben Dutton
American postgrad student Amy Werner, 23, was also caught up in the accident as she headed to Camden to meet up with classmates, and remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition. Her parents have flown over from Vermont to be with her.
The 83-year-old driver was taken to hospital but his injuries have been described as “not life threatening”.
Local residents have left many comments of support for both families – this accident has shaken the community, partly I think because it was so random and for those who live in the immediate area it was so dramatic. Lots of readers have asked how we might help, and I can tell you that the Family Liaison Officer is making the families aware of this level of support and if there is anything practically that we can do then I shall let you all know. Clearly both families have enough to deal with at the moment so it may be a little while before our help is needed.
The cause of the crash is still not known. Police are appealing for witnesses and anyone with any information should call 0208 842 1817.
There was a tragic road accident on West End Lane on Saturday night. The cause is still unclear.
The farmers’ market needs planning permission – your comments can help ensure it gets it.
Students living in the new block on Blackburn Road will have to shell out at least £199 a week, but get their own cinema.
There’s a Treasure Hunt running up until Thursday’s whampgather. Solve the clues and join in!
We got the full story on the Gondar Gardens development.
The new development at 163 Iverson Road shows no signs of starting yet – and the architects have no update.
Camden is consulting on the potential disposal of some “small sites” in the area.
With so many developments, it seemed like time for a map!
After a smash & grab robbery at Brent Cross, there was another on Kilburn High Road.
There was an attempted robbery of Nam’s Heel Bar during Wednesday evening’s rush hour – nothing was taken.
Hampstead & Kilburn is on the Conservatives’ list of the first 10 constituencies for which to choose a candidate. Meanwhile, the Sunday Times threw Georgia Gould’s name out there as a possible Labour candidate.
Whampsushi at Feng Sushi was a hit, with some great food, chat and some demonstations from MD Silla Bjerrum.
Almost two years ago, Camden launched its 15-year(!) community investment programme. A large part of this is flogging assets in order to invest in other services. In some cases this involves quite major closures, such as at 156 West End Lane, aka the Travis Perkins building. In other instances it means looking at small plots of land that the council happens to own and deciding whether or not to sell them off.
These “small sites” have already netted Camden £2 million, money which has gone into council homes.
Dennington Park Road Dennington House (between Inglewood and Dennington Park Roads) is in fact more Dennington Car Park at the moment as the land behind the house is used for garages and car parking spaces accessed from Inglewood Road.
According to Camden, “This site could contribute towards the investment needed in existing council homes in West Hampstead ward, which is £4.9m over the next five years. If the Council does decide to sell the site council tenants and leaseholders living in Dennington House who currently rent one of the garages or car spaces will be offered alternative parking in the local area. There will also be further consultation about any proposed change of use, or new development on the site, when the planning application is made.
Dynham Road There is a communal paved space between 27 and 33 Dynham Road. The sale of this property would go towards investment needed in existing council homes in Kilburn ward, which is £13.2m over the next five years.
Kilburn Vale estate The site is the garages and forecourt in front of Sycamore Court. Again, any funds raised would go into Kilburn ward housing and tenants using the car parking area would be offered alternatives.
If you feel strongly for or against the disposal of these sites, you can let Camden know.
Just after 8.30pm on Saturday, the 83-year-old driver of an old Mercedes on West End Lane lost control, mounted the curb, hit two female pedestrians, some traffic lights and a wall. One of the women died. Desreen Brooks, 33, was a mother from south London. The other woman is 23 year-old Amy Werner, an American postgraduate student at University of Westminster, originally from Vermont in New England. She is in a serious condition and her parents Richard and Regina Werner have flown over to be with her. The driver was hospitalised though his injuries are not believed to be serious. Eye-witnesses and local residents reported distressing scenes of medical teams attempting resuscitation, and a lot of damage.
It is still too early to know exactly how this happened. The accident occurred between the junctions with Dynham Road and Cleve Road in West Hampstead. The car was apparently heading south when it lost control. It is unclear how fast it was travelling – apparently knocking over traffic lights is not much of an indication as they are not deeply embedded. However, the car continued into the wall, knocking down one pillar entirely and causing the top of another to fall off. The car carried on a bit further, knocking down another bollard before finally coming to a stop. I do not know where exactly the pedestrians were. According to the Brent & Kilburn Times, no arrests have been made although that’s not apparently what a local vicar told his congregation – perhaps also pre-emptively saying it was a case of reckless driving.
According to a local resident, “The sound of the crash was horrific, with people rushing up Dynham Road and West End Lane to see what had happened. I did not hear any tires screeching – just the crash. Ambulance crews were there in minutes. There was steam and dust everywhere at the scene. The immediate scenes of panic were shocking to see and hear. The car had come to rest head-on to the wall on Dynham Road at the junction of West End Lane. The driver was trapped in the car but seemed to be OK. Fire crews had to cut him out.”
According to the Evening Standard’s report, there was also a young child of 4 or 5 in the car, though it is not clear whether there were any other passengers.
The car was removed just before 3am Sunday.
I’m told there is a CCTV camera outside St James’ Mansions, so there may be some footage from that to help police. The lack of screeching tires, the age of the car and the driver and the extent of the damage done might lead one to suspect brake failure more than dangerous driving. Whatever the cause, it’s a tragedy that one local described as “the worst accident I’ve seen on West End Lane in all my 18 years living in West Hampstead”.
Witnesses or anyone with information is urged to call investigation unit on (0208) 842 1817. Many of you have asked what we can do to help the families of the victims. In the short-term, the Family Liaison Officer is aware of this goodwill and will contact me if there is anything either family needs that we can help with.
The top of the right pillar is gone and the entire left pillar collapsed
Google Street View of what it used to look like
The traffic lights are now lying by the side of the adjacent wall
Crane over West Hampstead (c) dancoffeyphotography.com
I thought it would be useful to keep track of all the major development plans in West Hampstead in map form. This is a beta version, I’m working on a more sophisticated one.
This map includes everything I’m aware of, from early-stage discussions to developments that are almost complete. If you know of anything that should be on here, please let me know (new builds only, not rennovations/house extensions etc.)
Blue: under construction Green: planning permission granted Red: at planning application/late-discussion stage Pink: no imminent action / less significant
Not that it’s exactly been “illegal” since it opened. The market has been allowed to operate without planning permission for a short period of time, but now the application is in with Camden and if you are broadly in favour of us having a farmers’ market in West Hampstead every Saturday then it would be a good idea to go to the comments section of the planning application website and say so.
I’m not entirely sure why the application itself is not searchable on Camden’s website, but it’s pretty straightforward so if you like the market, let Camden know you want to keep it.
Here’s a charming short film shot entirely in West Hampstead. It’s based on a true story in director Nick Jones’ family, updated to the present day. It’s well worth watching.
…at least you’d hope not if you’re a student in West Hampstead next year.
You’ll have seen the large building going up on Blackburn Road over the past few months. Rising nine storeys at his highest point (furthest away from the tube lines and West End Lane), I’m sure most of you know that it’s going to house some 350 students starting in September 2013.
Students – especially en masse – can be a contentious populace. They lower the average age and lend an area a lively, more fashionable feel. Yet, they can also be noisy, messy, and do not always contribute positively to their neighbourhood. Those of us who’ve lived away from home as students can probably see ourselves reflected in both sides of the coin.
This particular bunch of students might consider themselves lucky to live in West Hampstead, as many of us do. Or they might feel it’s too far out of central London and lacks the range of nightlife and student-friendly cafés and restaurants they might get in town.
What’s fairly certain is that they’ll be relatively well off. The company’s website is a bit sparse on details, but this site (clearly targeting the international market) has a lot more info and having read it, I’m not so sure that these students will be filling up the Bridge Café. Unless egg and chips is all they can afford having paid for the relative luxury of their shared flat.
Rents in the new block start at £199 a week. That’s to live in a cluster flat, sharing communal facilities with 5-8 other students. It includes all bills, TV, WiFi etc.. That still seems like quite a lot for students, although a very quick trawl of the competition, both private operators such as Urbanest and universities’ own halls of residence, suggests that although it’s high-end, it’s not ridiculous.
The Blackburn Road development will also include a private gym, meeting rooms, an in-house cinema (!!), quiet rooms, common room and laundry facilities. There’ll be a concierge team, a 24 hour helpline, CCTV and secure electronic access. If you’re feeling flush you can pay more for in-room cleaning, laundry service, and “other technology upgrades”, which definitely either means you get a pet robot or faster WiFi.
I’m certainly not saying it’s bad value for the quality of housing, but I do wonder which students will be able to afford it. Let me mention again: it has an in-house cinema! Hopefully some of these new whampers will venture out into the big bad world – maybe even to Kilburn! My guess is that we’ll be welcoming a lot more international students with iMacs and credit cards than scruffy 19 year-olds from the provinces with beaten-up laptops and a £10 overdraft on their Lloyds-TSB student account.
The proposal to redevelop the garden centre site on Iverson Road into flats was given the green light back in the early summer but for some reason I never actually wrote about it.
I did discuss the plans back in January, after they had been watered down slightly from an initially very ambitious “aeroplane wing” style development.
The block will, when complete, consist of 33 flat and 3 houses. Even with the revisions, it’s not to everyone’s taste. The architects though are (naturally enough) proud of their response to what is a slightly unusually shaped site.
“Dexter Moren Associates have responded to this challenging Y-shaped site by creating two distinctive architectural treatments for the front and rear of the scheme. The southern wing adjacent to the railway tracks is raised on stilts to create a series of ‘tree houses’ and to distance the apartments from the trains. This allows the greenery from the embankment to flow under, into the heart of the development. The ‘tree houses’ are topped with a folded wing shaped metal roof that acts as a protective skin from the trains and creates a striking and dynamic roof form. The main frontage along Iverson Road is designed to respond to the streetscape with boxed balconies, roof terraces and a living green wall.”
It will also be very handy for the farmers’ market.
News came in late last night that the Planning Inspector (that’s a national, not a Camden position) had upheld the appeal by Linden Wates. This was after Camden rejected Linden Wates’ original 2011 proposal to develop the reservoir site into 16 houses, largely submerged beneath ground level [full planning application].
The planning inspector’s decision draws a line under this contentious development – GARA (the Gondar and Agamemnon Residents Association), which was the driving force behind the “no” campaign, has acknowledged that there is virtually no chance of any counter-appeal and, to its credit, is now looking to the future.
The inspector’s report is long, but worth reading if you’re interested in such things. It’s a thoughtful and detailed consideration of the merits and drawbacks of the proposal, and explicitly recognises the challenges of balancing housing need and ecological merit, design and environmental impact, and planning policies that do – in their details – sometimes clash. Naturally, the conclusion won’t please everyone, and it’s certainly a shame that a gated community will result.
Here are the key sections:
Para 6. The appeal is allowed and planning permission is granted for the redevelopment of the existing reservoir structure to provide 16 residential units, associated parking, refuse storage and landscaping, and use of the surrounding land and rear of the site for open space (nature reserve) at Reservoir site, Gondar Gardens, London NW6 1QG in accordance with the terms of the application, Ref: 2011/0395/P, dated 24 January 2011, and the plans submitted with it, subject to the conditions included in the schedule at the end of this decision. Para 7. I consider there are 5 main issues in this case. They are: (i) the effect of the proposed development on the character and appearance of the site and its surrounding area; (ii) the ecological impact of the proposal; (iii) the structural condition of the redundant reservoir; (iv) the form and content of the proposal in relation to: – the provision of affordable housing, – the density and mix of the proposed dwellings, and – the design of the scheme within its townscape context; and, if necessary; (v) whether the project justifies the obligations cited above taking account of the contents of Regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Regulations 2010. Character and appearance Para 15. …The reservoir structure constituted previously developed land within the terms of the definition now included in Annex 2 of the NPPF. The area surrounding the reservoir falls within its curtilage and, as a result of the definition, it too forms previously developed land. Although the presumption in favour of the redevelopment of previously developed land in preference to the development of greenfield land is not now as pervasive, it is nevertheless retained in paragraph 17 of the NPPF as one of the core planning principles. My predecessor referred in this context to the urgent need to find more sites for housing development, but, in accordance with the principle, the preference for redevelopment has to be tempered if the site concerned is of high environmental value. Para 16. I am in no doubt that such value can be derived from both the ecological value of a site within its own terms, and/or from the contribution which it might make to amenity in the broadest sense – including residential amenity. In this context my colleague referred to the extensive views into the site from the surrounding houses. Although taken individually these are private views, they amount collectively to a considerable public asset and a ‘green lung’ providing local amenity. I agree with this description and assessment. Having further discussed the ecological interest of the land, he recommended the land should remain in the Schedule to the UDP as private open space (as well as being designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest – SINC). Para 17. This protection is now expressed in Policy CS15 of the Camden Core Strategy 2010. The plan recognises that open space can fall into 2 categories: that which is open to the public (and which can provide for sport and recreation), and private open space – to which there is no or limited public access (such as, for example, railway embankments). The appeal site falls into the latter category and the first purpose of the policy is that such spaces will be protected. Para 21. I saw on my visit that, although from the higher level windows in the Gondar Gardens and Sarre Road houses the proposed development would be clearly visible, this effect would be counter-balanced by the enhanced breadth of the prospect as a whole at this level. I recognise the presence of the proposed development would vary from the many windows overlooking the land, but taking all these matters into account, I conclude in relation to this main issue that the proposed development would have a limited adverse effect on the character and appearance of the site and its surrounding area. It would thus conflict to a degree with the purpose of paragraph (a) in the first component of Policy CS15.
click for larger view
Ecology Para 24. The site was the subject of 30 ecological surveys in 2008-10, but was found to include only a low number of slow worms. There was agreement between the parties that the reservoir roof itself would not constitute a particularly attractive location for the species, but the south and east sides of the land are considered highly suitable. It was acknowledged at the inquiry that slow worms would readily travel between the site and adjacent gardens where they would be likely to find suitable features for hibernating, foraging and basking opportunities. Para 28. …Subject to the implementation of an appropriate scheme and the regulation of access, I am unconvinced that the slow worms would be adversely affected by the scheme as a whole – rather the reverse. Para 32. …On the basis of the evidence I have received in this case, for example, the surrounding domestic gardens appear to make a greater contribution to the nature conservation interest of the area than the reservoir roof – even though the former do not fall within the SINC and the latter does. Para 33. …I consider the ecological interest of the site as a whole would be enhanced and improved and that in this respect the limited harm identified under the first main issue [character and apperance] would be outweighed. Affordable housing Para 45. I see little prospect that market housing on the land could ever be used to generate on-site affordable housing. I therefore conclude in relation to this issue that the appellant is justified in seeking to take advantage (by making a payment-in-lieu) of the exception included in Policy DP3 and paragraph 3.74 of The London Plan.
On the issue of the reservoir structure itself, the inspector says he considers “the debate over the condition of the structure to have been peripheral to the determination of the appeal.”
Much of the Section 106 agreements had already been settled, but it’s interesting to see the total sum the developers will have to stump up. This is in addition to the payment of £6.8 million in lieu of affordable housing, which the inspector agreed was not feasible on the site (it will now go towards housing elsewhere in the borough). And also in addition to the costs of looking after those slow worms!
£62,720 community facilities contribution £261,184 education contribution £68,610 public open space contribution £38,777 highways contribution
In an e-mail to GARA memebers, chairman David Yass, who campaigned vigorously against the development, said “This comes as a huge disappointment”, while another member summed it up with “gutted.” GARA has undoubtedly helped improve the plan, and helped secure some significant conditions that should help minimise the impact of the development on local residents and wildlife, during and after construction.
J’s – the pizza and breakfast place on West End Lane has closed.
I learned that TS Eliot lived briefly in Compayne Gardens.
Find out what locals think of the neighbourhood (misty eyed or hungry for change?) These views will help inform the Neighbourhood Development Plan. There was a meeting about the plan a couple of weeks ago, with a progress update and lots of questions.
Coming up: Monday: Fireworks at Roundwood Park (the only large display in the area) There’s a wild mushroom & game menu at La Brocca next Friday-Sunday A murder mystery play at Kingsgate Community Centre starts on Friday
Tweet of the Week Was it love at first sight, or first 1,000th sight?
Last month Camden held a development forum public meeting to discuss the revised proposals for 65-67 Maygrove Road, commonly known as “Handrail House”.
The developer had withdrawn its previous application for the 1930s Handrail House office building because, it seemed, it was hard to make it economically viable while still having a chance of getting planning permission and the developers and Camden could not agree on the level of affordable housing. Since then, it has been able to acquire the residential building (No.67) next door the offices, and that extra space had made this a feasible project, although the precise level of affordable housing has not been settled on. As with the original plan, the proposals include imrpovements to the Sidings Community Centre facilities and sports pitch.
Handrail House and No.67 border the Peace Park
The new proposal is not just broader in scope, it’s also slightly higher, with a set-back top-floor. This makes a five storey residential terrace fronting Maygrove Road. The building would be set back from street by 4m with an evergreen hedge to the footpath along Maygrove Road. To the rear a terraced communal garden would act as a boundary between the Peace Park and the development. The architects are trying to recreate a terrace-feel with the ground floor different to the upper floors “to create variety”. The family units would have private roof terraces, while the communal garden would be for ground and lower ground floor units. Height, as always, is a contentious issue. The developers pointed out that the building will be the same height as 59 Maygrove Road (which locals objected to), although less “bulky”.
The grey building is No.59
Maygrove Road frontage
Artist’s impression
At the meeting, Gavin Sexton of Camden’s planning team laid out the considerations that would have to be taken into account if a planning application is submitted. These are: loss of employment floorspace, permanent housing as a priority use, affordable housing, sesign & impact on open space, amenity, transport, sustainable design and construction/energy, and basement development. His full presentation is at the end of this article.
Paul Eden from Regal Homes, the developer, outlined the contributions to the local community, including upgrading the community centre and Peace Park. Here you can see some of their proposals, the sports pitch is off to the right of this diagram, and the main building you see top-right is Sidings Community Centre.
Whether these investments are primarily because the developers are community minded, or whether they think that getting the Sidings estate on board with the overall plan is going to make life a lot easier, these are still good investments.
Andrew Barnett from Hopkins Architects gave an overview of his firm (which designed the Olympic velodrome and the Wellcome Trust HQ in Euston), before discussing the site in more detail [see below for full presentation]. He explained that Numbers 65 and 67 are not considered of architectural merit and are rather an odd combination with dual frontage onto Maygrove Road and the Peace Park.
There were plenty of questions, a short selection of which are outlined below.
Someone asked about the loss of business use, and there was a supplementary comment about the need for small workshops. Handrail House has been vacant for more than year despite, apparently, the best efforts of the previous owner to lease the space as both offices and workshops. Camden’s own planning policies allow for re-use of sites where there is no demand, and thus the developers see no requirement to incorporate business space. In addition, the office tenant in No.67 has already relocated to a modern office in Finchley Road. Revised marketing evidence and a planning statement would be submitted with the new application. Camden polices supports the provision of new houses.
Another question was around the proposal for yellow bricks and timber in an area that is red-brick dominated. The architect said that they hadn’t made up their minds yet and that there are many types of bricks used in the area. The use of timber, he explained, is for sustainability reasons and to address energy efficiency and improve insulation. It is also elegant and would contribute to the appearance of the building. Modern window frames (not uPVC) which would be openable for natural ventilation would be incorporated.
There was a question about basement excavation and whether the development was car free. The proposal does include a basement, which would include the 10 disabled parking spaces, bicycle storage, plant equipment and the lower floors of duplex accommodation.
Expect a proposal to become a formal planning application in the next couple of months, at which point there’ll be a full consultation process.
Earlier in the summer, Camden held a consultation about parking in the borough, specifically around the Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). The findings have been published, so what changes should we expect in West Hampstead and neighbouring areas?
The scope of the consultation was to “gauge opinion on issues relating to the size, days and hours of control of controlled parking zones (CPZs) as well as on the maximum hours of stay in pay and display bays.” It was not a consultation exercise asking for views about specific proposed changes, which will be dealt separately, it was more to test the water.
First up, size. Most respondents generally thought the CPZs were the right size so there are no plans to review this further.
Residents in zone CA-P, which covers a large part of West Hampstead and Fortune Green, generally believed the weekday hours were too short and there was some interest in extending/introducing Saturday and Sunday controls, particularly in CA-P(c) )(the north-western reaches of Fortune Green
Opinion was equally split on whether the existing pay and display arrangements were suitable borough-wide. Camden’s conclusion is that there is scope to look at specific arrangements in some areas with a view to simplifying arrangements, such as changing bays with a 3-hour maximum stay to 2 or 4 hours).
Any changes to parking arrangements in Fortune Green would not happen until 2013/14.
Tomorrow there’s going to be another market opposite the farmers’ market.
This is a small craft market selling greetings cards, including Christmas cards, designed by a local artist, designer watches and bracelets from Australia, as well as vintage jewellery. Will be interesting to see whether the farmers’ market shoppers will be drawn across the road or not.
There was a great turnout last Monday for the West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum meeting, chaired by WHAT. There were slides, there were speeches, there was a bit of heckling – but was there any fruitful outcome?
This was a chance for the NDF to present its progress to the public, and for the public to get a better understanding from not just the NDF but also Camden and Urban Design London, a training and networking organisation, about what all this might mean. There was plenty of time for questions, and plenty of questions were asked!
I’m not going to recap the genesis of the NDF, as I’ve covered it at length before. The group has spent the past few months trying to find out what locals think about the area, and how they’d like to see it develop. It is perhaps worth reiterating that the resulting plans from NDFs cannot be anti-development per se.
There has been a survey into people’s views on architecture in the area, and a much more involved survey of locals’ thoughts, which is worth looking at to get a sense of the mood of the population.
All these findings, together with issues highlighted at meetings such as this one, will go into the draft plan. James Earl, chairman, wouldn’t be drawn on when that first plan might be ready – but we’re talking months rather than weeks down the track. Even then, there are plenty of hurdles to jump through, not least a referendum in which everyone living in the affected area can vote. A majority is needed for the plan to become a proper planning document.
The presentation from Urban Design London‘s Paul Lavelle was, for me, the most interesting of the night (it’s at the end of this article). Paul explained how NDPs could work. They are very new and although there are many plans being drafted throughout the country, none has yet come to fruition. He showed a few case studies of those that were relatively advanced to demonstrate their variety in scope. Some plans are effectively mini local plans, that cover everything a council would consider. Others are single-issue plans designed with one objective in mind.
It will be interesting to see where the scope of the West Hampstead & Fortune Green plan ends up. The major issues that people raise are the interchange area between the three stations (the streetscape, the development plans, and the physical interchange of people), and the preservation of West Hampstead’s “village feel”, along with the desire for more green spaces. Architecture also looms large in people’s consciousness. So, the plan could decide to focus very heavily on architecture and far less on service provision, for example. Perhaps at its heart this idea comes down to whether it’s a plan focusing on issues, or on sites. Or, ambitiously, both.
The final speaker was Virginia Berridge, chair of WHAT, who made a couple of excellent points. The first was that the plan had to look ahead – this is a plan that may well not be ready in time to tackle the immediate wave of development proposals for the area. She pointed out that demographic projections suggested that the area would see an increase in the proportion of over-65s and in the number of parents with teenage children. Ensuring that these groups were adequately catered for could, therefore, be a key part of a plan. This might take the form of guiding how Section 106 money (the money developers pay to the council to help offset the cost of more residents) was spent – e.g., on sheltered housing or youth centres.
Virginia also raised the question of whether West Hampstead wanted to be a “posh suburb” or a “mixed community”, and that the answer to this question might also guide the direction the plan took.
With that the floor was open. I won’t attempt to capture all the questions / statements that came up. Many of them were issues that have been voiced before and won’t be resolved by a plan like this. Perhaps the most predictable, and understandable, reaction was from those who questioned whether such a plan would have any impact whatsoever. “Wouldn’t Camden just carry on doing what it wanted”, was the gist of a few people’s arguments. Certainly, some of those who’ve been around the block a few times are somewhat cynical about what this plan could achieve.
James took the angle that it was better to be positive and try and have some influence than just sit back and say that everything was Camden’s fault. Not surprisngly, the councillors present (most of the WH and FG councillors seemed to be there), agreed. Flick Rea even saying that this if we didn’t take this step now we might look back in 10 years time and wonder why on earth we didn’t as West Hamsptead changed irrevocably around us.
Sue Measures, who runs Sidings Community Centre, and who’s certainly been involved in enough of these initiatives to be cynical, also argued passionately that this was an opportunity to build a “shared social vision”. I forget now whether it was Sue at a later point, or someone else, who said that we should “protect what made people come here in the first place”, which seems to me a good sentiment that does not have to be at odds with the inevitable intensification that the area is undergoing.
The issue of the borders came up (raised partly by me), notably the southern border, which is the contentious one. To briefly recap: the NDF is proposing that the southern West Hampstead ward boundary should be the southern boundary of the plan area. WHGARA, the residents assocation for the streets south of the tube line and west of West End Lane, which are within West Hampstead ward, has been saying that its members will have to vote on whether they want to be included or not. This vote was supposed to take place earlier this month, but didn’t. I had originally understood that Camden strongly encouraged NDFs to bring the residents associations on board. At the meeting however, the representative from Camden planning told us that the borders were up to residents to decide. So, it’s not entirely clear to me why a residents association gets to decide on this, unless it can genuinely claim to represent a majority of households within its area.
James pointed out, when he wasn’t being heckled, that no two people he’d spoken to could agree on where the southern boundary of the plan should lie. I can well believe that. My view is that the members of the forum should forget the ward boundaries, which do change over time, and simply agree on what to them seems a logical boundary based on the input they’ve received from all relevant groups. For me, the ward boundary is peculiarly arbitrary – based I assume on balancing ward populations rather than on any sense of where people identify with or any particular planning considerations.
The southern border of West Hampstead ward
In what became a slightly farcical attempt to gauge the mood of the room, we were first asked whether we felt that this area south-west of the tube lines was part of West Hampstead – overwhelmingly people thought it was – and then whether we thought it should be part of the local plan – a slightly smaller majority thought it should be.
Given that the interchange is perhaps the number one planning issue in the area it seems perverse for the area of the plan to be centred so far north. Those living immediately to the south (yes, that includes me), will be at least if not more affected by changes here as the good people of Fortune Green. We already know that the “area for intensification” is not “West Hampstead” as we tend to think of it, but specifically the land along the railway lines. This area has, to be blunt, been sacrificed by Camden to preserve the red brick houses and land to the north. Not that people living outside the plan area are disenfranchised in terms of having their say when planning applications are made that would still affect them, but they would not be given a vote in the referendum on the plan.
What now? The NDF will press ahead with the application to Camden to recognise the Forum and the area (with an agreed boundary), and then start drafting the plan. Hopefully, to echo several voices in the room last week, quibbles over boundaries do not delay the overall process.
Didi Johnson talks about La Secret Boutique and its one-year anniversary event
Located in the heart of West Hampstead at 202 West End Lane (secretly hidden downstairs in Lovefood café), La Secret Boutique is a new ladies fashion boutique that believes in a different shopping experience. [update: La Boutique Secret (as it’s now called) has relocated to 132 West End Lane, nearer to the tube station]
La Secret Boutique offers its customers a unique opportunity to shop, receive individual styling advice and get updates on new trends, all in a relaxed and laid back atmosphere. The motto is to offer something for every woman while keeping prices affordable for every pocket.
Keren, the owner and buyer, has years of experience in retail and fashion. She handpicks all the items in the boutique and brings fresh items once a week so it’s never boring. Most of the items are from Italy, France and the UK. They are carefully selected by Keren to fit her standards regarding fabric, quality and fitting. She tries to find the right balance between trendy and practical, while keeping her customers’ demands in mind.
La Secret Boutique offers its customers a diverse range of casual wear, dresses, office wear, nightwear, jewellery, bags, scarves and much more. Since all the items are handpicked and come in small quantities, you can be sure that you will rarely see them on someone else and that’s what makes the boutique so special.
This November, the Boutique is celebrating 1 year of activity and invites you all to a fun late night shopping event with your local community!
Chilly isn’t it? Expect you’re digging out that winter coat from the back of the wardrobe to keep you nice and warm as you trudge from your centrally heated house to the hot tube to your heated office and back. Because for those minutes that you’re outside, it’s cold and you want to be warm. Makes sense.
Now imagine that it’s just as cold but you don’t have a centrally heated home, in fact you don’t have a home at all. Nor do you have an office. You’re pretty much outside most of the time. But you want to be warm. Makes sense.
Hands On London is trying to help. For the second year in a row, it’s organising Wrap Up London. The idea is that you donate a winter coat for homeless people and those living in poverty. Maybe you have a coat that’s no longer in fashion, maybe it’s not as smart as when you bought it, maybe you simply have too many coats in your wardrobe, or perhaps your son or daughter has grown out of the coat you bought them a couple of years ago. So give it to someone who really needs it.
Hands On London’s second annual coat collection campaign will take place from Monday 5th – Friday 9th November. It aims to collect and distribute 10,000 coats to London’s most vulnerable people via more than 80 different shelters and charities.
There are a few ways you can give your coat: at major tube stations next week between 7 and 11am (see website for full details), or, more conveniently for some, you can drop it in to Paramount estate agents on West End Lane during its office hours (Mon-Thu 9-7, Fri 9-6.30, Sat 10-3) right through to November 14th. Help keep someone warm this winter.
On Twitter and in the comments section, there were plenty of people wanting to express their point of view, so I thought I’d collate them for you here:
Are West Hampstead locals “misty-eyed” about the past, or driving for progressive change?
Depends who you ask. A few months ago, the Neighbourhood Development Forum ran a survey1 to gauge people’s views on development in West Hampstead. It is interesting to see what common themes emerged, and where there were areas of discord. Interesting, and relevant, because it is responses to these surveys that will help inform the development plan that the Forum will draft.
First up, the tickbox questions (just the most interesting ones). Two answers stand out: the relative popularity of today’s mix of chains and independent shops (which shows a healthy streak of realism among whampers), and the fairly even split between housing, employment and shops when it comes to development priorities in the area. There seems to be an understanding of the need for housing, as long as it doesn’t involve high-rise.
Do you think West Hampstead has a “village feel”?
Yes: 85%
No: 15%
Do you think West Hampstead has the right balance of shops, restaurants and cafés?
Yes: 42%
No: 58%
Which are the most valuable on the high street?
Independent shops: 56%
Chains: 1%
Both: 43%
Do you think that West Hampstead has the right balance between old and new buildings?
Yes: 75%
No: 25%
What do you think should have the greatest priority in developing our area?
Housing: 36%
Employment: 31%
Shops: 31%
Are you willing to accept more high-rise buildings to increase the amount of housing in the area?
Yes: 25%
No: 75%
Why is housing such a big deal? The housing crisis is fairly well understood,but behind all the statistics are real people such as the person who wrote this in the survey:
I am renting. In the future I will likely move out of London as I can’t afford to buy here. Local and city-wide population is growing. More well designed mid-rises make sense! If you look at the area – it is dominated by beautiful mid-high density housing – the Edwardian mansion flats. Lets have our version of these now. That might be high rise but well done tower blocks, it might be something along the lines of modern mansion flats but on new pieces of land. There is a reasonable block on Kingdon road like this. New housing would not spoil the village atmosphere.
The qualitative research is also enlightening. There’s a lot of emphasis on preserving green space, but the reactions to housing are mixed with some dead against, some seeking infill, and others who argue that change is a good thing, even if that means high-rises. The divide is perhaps strongest between those who are against all development (which is like trying to stop the tide), and those who have a more realistic outlook to how development should proceed:
Organically in conjunction with local residents, but with an emphasis on progress and not a misty-eyed past.
Overall, responses to the six open-ended questions ranged from the insightful to the banal to the hilarious. And one person just wasn’t sure about anything at all. Some people listed the types of shops they wanted, others used the opportunity to rant at the council.
Someone very kindly said that they really liked what I did for the community, while someone else alluded to the “prejudices and hobby-horses of self-appointed busybodies and bloggers”, which I guess refers at least in part to me, though I’m not quite sure which prejudices I’m guilty of spreading.
I’ve included an edited selection of answers below to try and give you a sense of the issues raised. These aren’t all the responses, and even those that are included have sometimes been edited for brevity, clarity and to avoid too much repetition. Nor have I included answers that reference things that have since happened, such as the farmers’ market.
As always, your comments overall would be interesting to hear. I’ll be writing more in the next day or so about the progress of the NDF and the recent public meeting about it.
Q1. What would you like to see included in a Neighbourhood Development Plan for Fortune Green & West Hampstead?
More parks and green space (e.g. pocket parks, access to the land with trees along the railway lines along the O2 Centre) or improving existing spaces. More employment space (to support the weekday economy). Small rise office/workshop/studios.
Education re: litter, manners and neighbourliness.
New buildings are a good thing, as they reflect the changing nature of the area. They need to be sympathetic and well designed though.
Ideally, plan for building more houses owned by co-operatives / Peabody [Peabody Trust] etc../ shared ownership / as well as standard private buyers.
More trees and grass.
Width restriction for large articulated lorries that use west end lane like a motorway.
Building in keeping in colour of visible materials. Buildings not to exceed current height in area. New buildings not to encroach on busy pavements that are narrow. Not to obscure light and pedestrian space near train stations. Not to increase density any MORE – turning the village into urban sprawl.
Better community facilities such as a hall for meetings that does not cost a lot.
Maintaining and improving the area as a good place to do business, improve quality of life for residents but also ensure the area plays its part in providing more housing for the borough and London as a whole. In particular this means a progressive approach to promoting good-quality developments (including ‘high rise’ buildings); a more mainstream high street with a better mix of shops, restaurants and other business space – accessible by car as well as public transport;
The provision of allotments – ideally on Gondar Gardens reservoir site.
More shops – mostly idependent but a Boots would be great.
Restictions on refurbishment of Victorian houses including the introduction of new basements, loft extensions and paving over front gardens. Prioritize the building of affordable housing on existing brownfield sites. Stopping people selling off their back gardens to developers. Retaining Gondar Gardens reservoir as a protected open space.
More flexible short–term parking to allow small local shopkeepers to be more successful. Daytime parking restrictions affect shops but not restaurants whose main business is in the evenings. Traffic controls through West Hampstead to slow down traffic and to encourage them to consider pedestrians. (20mph?) More play facilities for over 5s. Better street cleaning. Our side streets are filthy and much of it comes from overflowing bins outside properties. (Enforcement?).
Reduction in street signage.
High quality modern design and architecture should be promoted but should be in sympathy with neighbouring buildings. The promotion of public transport and pedestrian movement is important.
A coherent plan for street trees.
Allow more people to convert their front gardens to driveways. Create more parking spaces. Develop underground car parks. Reduce the parking limitation zones. Make it easier for people to drive to our area to support our shops without fear of parking limits or fines.
A small pond.
A limit to the height of buildings. A higher proportion of social housing than is usually offered currently by developers. Linked Section 106 agreements which would contribute towards extra school places.
Space/units for small businesses and start-ups. there are no spaces like this anywhere this side of London. especially for people who want to create/make; carpenters, mechanics, crafts etc. building plans for housing around West Hampstead are too large. If you accommodate these people, where do you think they will park cars – even if its just for unloading/taxis, etc. west end lane will be grid-locked. school: another school on the c11 route is not a good idea. have any of you ever tried to get on a c11 when children need to get to school? bigger bus and more of them pls.
More youth clubs, or whatever the modern equivalent is.
Not sure.
Q2. What are the things you like about the area?
Good transport links. Proximity to central London
The location – and community feel.
The trees. The cafés (even though there isn’t one that is truly great). The green. How you can walk down the street at 9pm any night and it feels relaxed, with people sitting outside, it feels safe and it feels authentic… The sense that it could change and new, interesting, friendly shops/cafés/bars/art places or anything could open at anytime.
The openness with few high rise buildings, the safety, the numerous facilities for children.
Village feel, transport, not pretentious, good mix of people.
The traditional architecture.
I like the fact that there is a good balance between long, mid and short term locals and age groups. It provides a balanced feel to the area and maintains the village-y feel without it becoming too cliquey.
I like the village feel which is rapidly disappearing. It used to be an area of artisans and that feeling has gone.
The self-contained village feel – the wonderful local police – good community relations – huge effort made by existing residents to welcome new residents. The little bits of green space – the good rail connections. The family homes and the fact that families and young children still come to this area to make a home and keep it vibrant. Our good schools.
The transport facilities. The village feel of Mill Lane, independent shops, diversity of people in the area.
I love the feel of West Hampstead (apart from the West End Lane ‘parking lot’).
People used to be friendly and neighbours used to know one another. This has changed with property being rented and the resulting moving population. West Hampstead still has a village atmosphere but, parking is a problem here. Travel is excellent with the new and attractive station.
It has a quieter feel, not busy like Kilburn.
Q3. What are the things you like about your street?
It’s a main road with continuous traffic and a bus route, frequently snarled up with jams so there is not much to like.
People are friendly and helpful.
The trees The mansion blocks – high density housing done well! The synagogue building (though I’ve never been inside – would like to). Its proximity to West End Lane, but relative quiet. The style of houses. Its safety – I can walk along it and feel safe mostly.
It is very quiet and I can nearly always find a parking space.
I don’t as I live on Fortune Green Road and it’s like a motorway for huge lorries. I suppose I love the large trees the most as they so beautiful.
The cemetery, Nautilus.
A lot of people I have known for 45 years +
It is changing for the better.
I like a) the attractive and symmetric architecture and the relative absence of front dormers; b) the lack of people parking in their front gardens.
In my humble opinion one of the most attractive streets in London – and I love that it is a street you would be hard pushed to find outside of the capital!
The people. I hate the narrow, old and tatty pavements. There should NOT be any trees on Weech Road. Fortune Green is moments away and provides ample trees. The pavements are too narrow. REMOVE the trees. They’re not wanted and not needed.
Having a park and a Tescos!
Q4. What things would like to protect in your area?
Parks and open spaces. Independent shops. Employment.small businesses
Trees. A few years ago new trees were planted. Unfortunately they were the wrong type and some have now been replaced others have disappeared and the spaced filled with a concrete slab.
The independent shops/cafés/bars that are left… The trees / the green. Cafés and bars that allow people to sit on the street. The public transport.
Trees, fewer pointless duplicate lampposts.
Architecture and the property frontage, stopping estate agents signs, extend conservation areas. Improve and maintain green spaces including West End Green and Kilburn Grange.
Green spaces, such as they are.
The 2 red old BT phone boxes by fortune green and have them freshly painted.
The look and feel of the streets. Not allowing houses to lose their original design integrity.
Change is part of growth and development. Parks and open spaces should be protected.
More police.
I’m happy for some development but a more open discussion about the costs and benefits.
The tree lined roads. No more housing.
The park and all nearby beautiful architecture. Replace the cheap shoddy lamps with traditional lighting fitting for the Hampstead area, Repair/replace all pavements. This is not trivial. It makes walking for the elderly more dangerous. It also makes it dangerous for walking with babies in a pushchair. The uneven surfaces cause people to trip and hurt themselves.
Views. There are too many big trees. I’d like to see them pruned more strongly, and more often. I’m talking both Council street trees and huge trees at the bottoms of virtually all adjoining gardens in Parsifal Road. (It’s a problem now we’re in the West End Green conservation area.). And light, again the trees’ fault. I’d pass a law saying no tree branch should ever obscure the light from a street lamp.
Not sure.
Q5. How do you think the area should develop in the future?
It would be good if the area could be developed to encourage settling rather than transience by strengthening the sense of community, identity and belonging. There will always be movement but the loss of family homes in favour of studios/bedsits, cafés/ low quality food outlets replacing shops selling quality products is turning the area into a dormitory town with a clone high street.
West Hampstead is great, but shows its heritage. It needs to develop infrastructure and shops/restaurants: – a couple more pubs (better quality than the current dives) – why not a Wetherspoons? – decent sit-down ociali/thai restaurants – a proper fish and chip shop more central than Nautilus.
More houses / flats (not just for buy to let). I am renting. In the future I will likely move out of London as I can’t afford to buy here. Local and city-wide population is growing. More well designed mid–rises make sense! If you look at the area – it is dominated by beautiful mid-high density housing – the Edwardian mansion flats. Lets have our version of these now. That might be high rise but well done tower blocks, it might be something along the lines of modern mansion flats but on new pieces of land. There is a reasonable block on Kingdon road like this. New housing would not spoil the village atmosphere.
It should be more cycling friendly.
I think there should be a focus on developing small businesses within the area, both so that the immediate community is better served and feels less need to go outside of the area and also so that people from other areas are encouraged to visit and spend their money. Currently parking is a problem for visitors though and any removal of resident’s parking to facilitate visitor parking would be unwelcome as it would cause issues for the residents.
Tricky, it feels fairly dense already.
I think the area should look to develop and preserve its past and not rush into putting in more and more dwellings in every spare space. I’m not unaware of the problems of housing generally. However, if we increase dwellings and developments in the future, I believe we are building in social problems for the future.
A big notice board in the high street to keep everyone up to date.
Stop cramming thousands around the station. Have a thought for quality of life and safely of those using station.
It should evolve from the present with the emphasis on small scale housing renewal.
Better use needs to be made of the commercial areas we have in the area – parts of Fortune Green, Mill Lane and Broadhurst Gardens are having a difficult time sustaining local businesses.
Mixed developments including housing, shops, bars and public spaces. Better interchange between stations.
Very very slowly and not at all until all the isuess with schoosls, water, transport, cars, noise, power and healthcare have been resolved with the council.
Stop too many expensive private housing projects, introduce rent controls for private landlords, stop the selling off of the few remaining council owned properties and make the location accessible to ordinary people – we are being overwhelmed by rich people from the City who have no commitment to the area or social services.
There should be sensitive development to ensure that intensification of accommodation does not exacerbate problems with rubbish, parking and noise. The existing style of building should be maintained.
Give more prominence to the needs of children and young people who are not well provided for.
Organically in conjunction with local residents, but with an emphasis on progress and not a misty-eyed past.
I don’t think West Hampstead should be a museum. It has to make a contribution towards providing additonal housing but the focus should be on affordable housing not on pied–à–terres for the rich. I would like something about improving the traffic flow through the areas around the West Hampstead stations and would support a major development there provided the quality was appropriate.
I think we need to put housing on the agenda as it is only if more housing is built that prices will come down relatively and young people will have a chance to get their feet on the housing ladder.
The interchange area should be a gateway to the area that we could be proud of. That area provides an opportunity for high quality, high density housing which could take West Hampstead as a whole up a level. Planners should be relaxed about the possible amalgamation of retail units to attract more A1 multiples.
Yes, new housing but not so high to overwhelm present buildings. More space for short term parking for shops and more space for pedestrians. Awareness on how much sign/street furniture there is in the main streets.
Put railings in front of the West Hampstead Thameslink, People come off the train mobile in hand and walk straight out in front of cars and cyclist.
Less crime (robberies).
More emphasis on people’s gardens, some are left trashy.
Less cars – the pollution, dirt and smell from them is very off-putting and very un-villagey.
The area, especially along the high street has started to look run down over the past 4 years. Investment needs to be concentrated into reviving the high streets of West End Lane and Mill lane and creating a vibrant community for shopping, socialising and relaxing.
Q6. Where should new development in the area be located?
Wherever there is space. Its a pity that one-fifth of West Hampstead ward is currently a car park (O2 Centre). Maybe development could be built over the railway lines so they are all underground!
The area around the stations should be tidied up and redeveloped with commercial units. The triangular area between the railway lines should be conservatively redeveloped.
I don’t know if i’m honest, i’m not a town planner / have access to all the data. Depends what the new development is too but: Possibly… by the transport hubs. In South Hampstead as walking up to the tube seems less busy than down West End Lane. The overground there is dead, but its a great line. Wherever there is land that is not being loved. Not just new – how about using properties that are empty? There are a lot of them. Iverson road? Back of Homebase?
There are patches of poorly maintained housing, especially in Sumatra Road that could be redeveloped in an appealing way.
In Cricklewood!
I don’t know where or if any new development should be permitted.
Around the train tracks and on Blackburn Road perhaps, but I really don’t know where they will find the space for new development…
In car park of O2 centre or possibly in Barnet where they have more space.
Where there is poorly used space such as along Maygrove Road.
The areas around the railway lines are obviously underutilized and should be the focus of sensible development. The whole of Blackburn road could be better utilized with a redevelopment incorporating both residential and commercial facilities. I don’t think there should be too many restrictions in terms of redevelopment. The example of the new Emmanuel school and residential development on Fortune Green are good examples of what can be achieved on existing sites.
It shouldn’t. Unless rundown properties need to be pulled down. You have to be realistic when the best thing is no more major development otherwise the area becomes soulless and loses appeal.
That manky area near the station.
Somewhere in London that has the space and infrastructure.
Renovation and conversion of old buildings should be prioritised instead of new build. One exception is that I would love to see the Sagar Building [Alfred Court on Fortune Green] demolished as it has ruined everyone’s view and looks like a prison. It could be replaced with an attractive building that was in tune with the surroundings.
I think encouragement, possibly financial, could be given to home-owners under-occupying their own property to release part of their homes for letting/conversion.
The reservoir is the last remaining undeveloped green site and would be an ideal place for open space for children but has sat empty for years. There was a small play area there in the early 80s which was closed down. If agreement is given to residential development there then the planning gain needs to be better open space facilities for local people. Please no more gated communities.
The development area should be constrained to the interchange.
High quality architecture should be welcomed all over the area.
Spaced evenly – everywhere. Society develops. That’s life!
Not sure.
1There were 180 responses from people spread across the area, with a slight bias to the northern half. Some basic demographic questions helped assess how representative the sample was, and it turned out to be moderately in line with the data from the 2001 census 2001, although with a strong bias towards responses from owner-occupiers, older people and long-term residents, who probably are largely the same group.
Each dot marks approximate address of a respondent. The border is that of West Hampstead and Fortune Green wards
There’s been a spate of thefts from cars in the area recently – keep valuables out of sight (or out of the car).
Rock Mens Salon will shortly be moving to Broadhurst Gardens, where the Millennium Cafe was.
There is apparently a proposal in the offing to develop the site next to (on the WEL side) the student accommodation block being built on Blackburn Road.
Coming up Monday – Anna Chen and Charles Shaar Murray perform at Brioche at 7.30pm (free) Thursday – Meeting for all Mill Lane business owners 1 Nov 6.30pm at The Alliance to discuss how to make the most of Camden’s placeshaping initiative on Mill Lane.
Whampgather on Nov 15th – it’s always worth going on the waiting list if you fancy coming along. At previous whampgathers, quite a lot of waiting list people have got last minute tickets.
It’s not a new idea, it was actually being mooted back in 2004. Nor is Camden the first place to make such a move. Neighbouring borough Islington has just implemented such a scheme.
It’s predominantly a safety issue, and some of the borough’s side streets already have a 20mph limit after the last Camden administration voted to expand the go-slow zone. The new rules would not apply to roads in the borough run by TfL (such as Finchley Road), although there could be some lobbying to have the limit applied borough-wide.
Cllr Phil Jones, cabinet member for sustainability, explained the thinking behind the proposal to the Ham & High: “Introducing a 20mph borough-wide limit in Camden would prevent road casualties and make our streets safer for all. We want to give greater confidence to the pedestrians and cyclists who use our roads and encourage more people to switch to sustainable forms of transport.”
There’s a school of thought that says it’s unusual to travel at more than 20mph anyway on Camden’s generally congested roads – at least during the daytime – so would imposing a limit have any impact on accidents? As a couple of people mention in this BBC report, drivers are having accidents and close shaves with cyclists at 20mph already. However, in the CNJ, the council cites TfL statistics that there has been a more than 20 percent fall in accidents in Belsize Park, which has been under a 20mph zone since 2006.
Naturally, not everyone is keen. Keith Peat, the regional co-ordinating manager for campaigning non-profit group, the Association of British Drivers, was reported in the CNJ as saying the move was “counter productive”. He continued, “In congested areas, 20mph zones often have drivers more focused on the speedometer so they don’t get a fine than, say, keeping an eye out if a child runs across their path.”
Away from the busier southern reaches of the borough, however, there are plenty of stretches of road where 20mph is more than feasible (even if it sometimes feels as if West End Lane is at a permanent standstill), so perhaps it is around West Hampstead and Hampstead that the greatest impact might be felt, rather than in Camden Town or Kings Cross.
Enforcement, of course, is a crucial part of such a scheme’s success. Cllr Jones explains the ‘big picture’ approach he’s taking: “This is not about introducing more road humps,” he stresses, “it is about beginning to change the culture on our roads in favour of lower speeds. We will continue with small local schemes where they are supported by residents, but this is a more comprehensive proposal that would be implemented without major traffic calming measures.”
Swiss Cottage councillor Andrew Marshall wrote to the Camden New Journal with his views on the issue (he’s in favour). He recognises that not everyone will share his perspective: “The fact that 20mph zones are always going to be contentious with some should not be an excuse for inaction by the council.”
There’ll be a consultation of course, and no doubt strong views on both sides of the argument. What do you think? Is a 20mph limit enforceable on the busier roads? Will it actually have an impact on accidents?
There’s been clamouring for a sushi event in West Hampstead for about as long as I can remember. Finally it’s happening.
On November 7th we’re taking over Feng Sushi, West Hampstead’s newest addition to the sushi scene.
We’ll be giving their autumn menu a roadtest, with a set price menu comprising:
All this for £30/head (approx 30% saving)
Drinks will be 25% off on the night too. It’s an excellent deal!
Silla Bjerrum, the woman behind Feng Sushi, will be there to talk to us a bit about the food and philosophy behind Feng as well; so it’s a great chance to ask her any questions about sustainable fishing or sushi, both of which she’s passionate about.
I’m really excited about this one – I think it’ll be a great night. Signing up is simple – get a ticket below (max 2pp), and you’re done. There’s no drawing names out of a hat for this one. Once you’re in, you’re in. You’ll pay on the night for food, drinks and service.
Camden is offering up to £25,000 to council tenants willing to downsize (this may also mean moving out of the borough).
Apparently, bailiffs seized Elephant Walk on West End Lane Thursday.
Full coverage of the Boundary Commission’s review of Hampstead & Kilburn constituency.
Does saving the Queensbury in Willesden, mean accepting the new library development?
Whampgather on Nov 15th has sold out but there is a waiting list.
Kilburn ward’s Safer Neighbourhood Team’s latest priorities were set: anti-social behaviour in Kingsgate Road estate & Webheath/Grange Park, along with tackling car crime.
If you want to join the West Hampstead Safer Neighbourhood panel then contact @WHlocalplod.
Belsize was named on a leaked list of fire stations to be closed.
Schultz Estates on Broadhurst Gardens is moving to Highgate.
Phone scams are rife again – with some West Hampstead people targeted. Never hand over your credit card at the door, or give your pin over the phone (even by entering the digits on the keypad).
Coming up Monday – the public meeting about the Neighbourhood Development Plan. Do come along and express your view. Sunday: Help out on Fortune Green (there’s cake). Sunday: a set of church bells will be blessed at St Mary’s – they’ll be the only set in West Hampstead. Very early warning of Christmas drinks on December 13th at The Gallery – no tickets, no booking, just turn up.
Tweet of the Week Because all #whampers are “Number one super guy”
Tomorrow night, St James’ Hall in Sherriff Rd (next to the church) hosts what is apparently an annual African-Caribbean night.
The fun kicks off at 7.30pm and is in celebration of Black History month. There’ll be delicious national dishes such as curry goat, plantains, and, rum punch.
I am also assured that you will also get a chance to show off how to look good on the dancefloor with some reggae and cheesy disco music. That’s why there’s rum punch.
Tickets are £5 for adults and £3 for children – you can buy them on the door.
I know there’s a Willesden Green contingent among readers, so although this is outside my normal patch (and because The Queensbury featured in the Sunday Lunch periphery round-up), this seemed worth covering. As I’m no expert in all things NW2, I’ve handed this post over to local resident Esther Foreman (@estherforeman), who finds herself in a predicament but has a – perhaps controversial – solution.
“I have woken up every morning for the past eight years and gazed out of my window to look at the tree-covered hills, vales and rooftops of Hendon, Hampstead and Kilburn, dotted with the odd high rise.
The Fairview New Homes development of 110 Walm Lane seeks to completely destroy my world view, quite literally. It proposes to knock down the Queensbury Pub and the Willesden Green Conservative Club, and build 56 high-rise homes. Ten of these would be affordable housing. There would be 700 m2 of communal space and 23 car parking spaces.
Impression of the new flats
(click for the full Design Statement document)
This has put me into a difficult position. Brent needs new homes, badly. The council has set a minimum target of 2,050 new homes by 2016. We have high levels of families living in temporary accommodation, and high levels of homelessness. As someone who has grown up in the area, no longer surrounded by friends and family who have been forced out due to housing shortages and high private rents, I should be welcoming this development with open arms. New homes means new money in the area and each local development is a notch up the community bootstrap and one less fried chicken shop.
However, the cost is high. We will lose the Queensbury Pub, which is the only decent pub in the neighbourhood and provides a great local community meeting point, space for mums and babies during the week, quiz nights and Sunday roasts. This is where I have bumped into Sarah Teather, our local MP, exchanged conversation with celebrities, garnished support for petitions, and argued over the best local curry house with strangers. We held our first Erin Court residents association meeting in there eight years ago. If this goes, where do we go?
I think that the plans for the Willesden Green Library development should be put into the mix here. I actually like the plans for the redevelopment and think the area badly needs a cultural centre and the new housing (92 units altogether) that will come with it. The plans are being blocked by a lot of people who seem to prioritise the car park in the back over the much-needed homes for our sons and daughters .
So here’s what I propose. We have more support for the library centre development as it provides housing, community space, books and so on – and offset this with keeping the Queensbury as is. At the start of the year there were 3,000 families waiting for housing in Brent. People have to live somewhere, and not everyone can afford a Mapsebury Avenue, 6-bedroom house. But once those people move in, they have to have somewhere to meet up in the evening and it’s better for the local economy if they spend their pound in Willesden. If the Queensbury goes, there is no other place for us to do this.
Tonight, Camden council is holding a public meeting about transport issues in the borough. Isabel Dedring, London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, and Councillor Phil Jones, Camden’s Cabinet Member for Sustainability will discuss residents’ ideas for improving transport.
Officers from Camden Council and TfL will also be on hand to answer your questions.
Thanks to WHAT, there is a whole section of the agenda dedicated to West Hampstead. The topics being raised are:
Progress on lift installation at West Hampstead Overground station.
Traffic light changes by TfL without consultation at Fortune Green Road/Finchley Road junction
Pedestrian flows in the area of the three stations at West Hampstead
Safety issues regarding traffic light grouping at junction of Broadhurst Gardens and West End Lane.
Request for purchase of Oyster cards to be made available from West Hampstead Thameslink Station.
The meeting will be held from 6pm to 8.30pm in the Camden Centre in King’s Cross, Bidborough Street, WC1H 9JE. Do go along if you’re interested, or contact Antony Holloway in the transport strategy service if you have any questions on antony.holloway@camden.gov.uk or 020 7974 2087.
It always sounded improbable. How could Fortune Green ward disappear off into the clutches of a Barnet-dominated parliamentary constituency, leaving behind its southern neighbours? There was lobbying from all three parties; there was wailing; I heard a rumour that some Liberal Democrats actually gnashed their teeth. The end result: the Boundary Commission’s revised proposals have kyboshed the idea.
The Commission proposed a Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, comprising two Brent wards and eight Camden wards, that would be similar, but not identical, to the existing Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. The Commission did not include the Camden ward of Fortune Green in this constituency, but rather in a Finchley and Golders Green constituency. It also did not include the Camden ward of Belsize, which it proposed should be included in the Camden and Regent’s Park constituency. Both these wards are in the existing Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. In light of the many representations, such as from Camden Borough Council, that the Commission’s proposals in relation to both Fortune Green and Belsize wards would break existing ties, we have decided that these wards should be in a Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. To satisfy the electorate range, we have decided that two other Camden wards, Gospel Oak and Kentish Town, which the Commission included in its Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, should instead be included in a Camden Town and Regent’s Park constituency. Our proposed Hampstead and Kilburn constituency (which is the same as that proposed by the Conservative Party) comprises wards from two boroughs, as in the Commission’s proposals. Since this constituency would be largely similar to the existing constituency, we have decided that the name should be retained.
In the near term this is all a bit of an irrelevance, but it may not be in the longer term. We all know that the Lib Dems said they wouldn’t back the Conservatives over changes to constituency boundaries as the Tories failed to move forward on an elected House of Lords. In practice, this means that any changes have a Lib Dem’s chance in Tower Hamlets of getting through before the next election. Nevertheless, the revised proposals from the Boundary Commission may carry some weight should the Conservatives win an outright majority next time around (Labour’s already said it would scrap the proposals).
The revised proposal returns Fortune Green to its rightful home as part of Hampstead & Kilburn. There are other changes to the 2011 plans, but the upshot compared to the situation as it stands today is simple: H&K gains Highgate but loses Brondesbury Park. Everything else is as you were. You can view all the revisions across London on this gigantic map.
To recap: Existing wards in H&K: Belsize, Fortune Green, Frognal and Fitzjohns, Hampstead Town, Kilburn, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Brondesbury Park, Kilburn, Queens Park
Proposed revision: Belsize, Fortune Green, Frognal and Fitzjohns, Hampstead Town, Highgate, Kilburn, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead, Kilburn Park, Queens Park
Here’s the 2011 proposal from the Boundary Commission
Here’s the 2012 revision
As I say, this will not happen before the next election (at the very earliest), so it’s a bit premature to start predicting the political ramifications of any such changes.
You may well have had a leaflet through your door recently about quite major changes to the way Camden handles recycling.
The council plans to do away with the always-disappearing blue bags and the never-quite-big-enough-for-all-my-wine-bottles green boxes and replace them next summer with one wheelie bin.
This bin will be the sole receptacle for paper, plastic and glass recycling. Food waste will conut in one place.
Apparently, “experience from other councils that have introduced wheelie bins shows that by providing additional storage capacity the amount of recycling increases.”
This is not hugely surprising – it is, after all, a bit of a faff to have to separate stuff out, especially for those who live in flats who might not have so much room for all the various bags and boxes and bins.
Camden is not rushing into this without checking with you lot though; specifically on the important matter of what size and what colour you want the bin to be. There are also some other data gathering questions about how much you like to recycle, whether it gives you a warm glow, that sort of thing.
If you have not received a letter, but would like to be considered for a wheelie bin, then you should definitely fill in the survey. Camden will then contact you about your request. There are also roadshows where you will be able to see the wheelie bins (it’s like the Olympic torch all over again) and ask questions. There are some brilliant questions already answered in an FAQ document. This tells you, for example, that you can hold on to your existing green box and perhaps keep your tools in it!
The nearest roadshows to us are: Thursday October 25th 2pm-5pm, Kilburn library, 12-22 Kilburn High Road, NW6 5UH Thursday November 1st 10.30am-1pm, Swiss Cottage library, 88 Avenue Road, NW3 3HA Friday November 2nd 11.30am-2pm, West Hampstead library, Dennington Park Road, NW6 1AU.
Meanwhile, click the image below for a full-size reminder of what you can and can’t recycle.
Julian Gordon Mitchell, an artist who’s exhibited at the Royal Academy, will be hosting a series of events at the West Hampstead Community Centre over the next few weeks. The first one is this Friday evening and it’s a workshop.
Step–by-Step Portrait Drawing starts at 8pm, (get there at 7.30). Julian will explain the steps involved in developing a realistic portrait from life. All levels of experience and ability are apparently welcome (this is clearly a man who hasn’t seen me wield a paintbrush).
There are three more events: Sun 11th November – Lecture: “The Entire History of Art” Fri 30th November – Workshop: “Painting a Portrait” Sun 2nd December – Lecture: “Pickled Sharks and all that”
Julian has been lecturing and teaching art in local schools and colleges for many years, and – as an aside – his grandfather is Arthur Croft Mitchell whose painting Interior of a Religious House is currently featured in the Your Paintings section on the BBC website.
The redoubtable Friends of Fortune Green have an Action Day coming up at the end of the month. They say “day”, but really it’s more of an Action Afternoon.
This isn’t action in some vague fist-waving “we really must do something about those damned [insert bête noir here]”. This is proper action (the words “hard” and “labour” have been bandied around).
The FoFG has had action days before, but it’s on a mission to make them better and more regular. This will be the last one of 2012, but after the winter they will take place in the afternoon of the last sunday of the month. Everyone is welcome – not just members. So if you’ve got some green fingers, or want a bit of a workout without paying for gym membership, this could be for you.
The excitement kicks off at 2pm on October 28th, and the goal is to set up the beds (as in flower beds, not that kind of action cowboy) for the winter.
From 2-3pm: – formative pruning of the hedge – some pruning of the perennials – weeding – picking the sycamore seedlings – plus the usual litter picking
That’s an hour of hard graft, but someone’s got to keep the green looking ship shape right? So, why not you? If you can bring your own tools and gloves then please do.
From 3-4pm the type of action is a bit more up to you. The FoFG really want your feedback on the planned children’s landscaped corner. The aim is to revitalise the tired hedging at the corner with Ulysses Road, and the group has worked on this with Beckford School. The team will show you the plans so far, mark out some of the areas, and try and convey some of what they envisage.
As if the reward of a job well done wasn’t enough, there’ll be tea and biscuits and (I have it on a good authority) even a bit of home made cake. Contact fortunegreen@gmail.com if you’d like to join in.
The WHGARA vote on whether to support the proposed southern boundary of the Neighbourhood Development Forum was cancelled. The decision will be made at a public meeting on October 22nd.
Loud explosions heard late last Monday night weren’t fireworks but railway engineering work apparently.
There is a proposal to demolish the Queensbury in Willesden Green and build 56 flats in its place. There is also a petition against the demolition.
Tickets for the tenth whampgather are already being snapped up – there aren’t many left, so get in quick.
The Affordable Art Fair returns to Hampstead Heath at the start of November. And, as a West Hampstead Life reader, you can get 2-for-1 entry (or 50% off if you’re a solo whamper). Nice right?
The Affordable Art Fair (and here I’m quoting from the blurb) “showcases contemporary collections from household names and emerging talent, all priced from £40 to £4,000, set in the scenic surroundings of the Heath. Defined by its informal and relaxed atmosphere, the Affordable Art Fair is the destination for looking, learning and loving contemporary art, with each piece ready to be wrapped up and taken away the same day. However, it’s not all about buying art – the fair offers a fun filled day out for the whole family with a host of activities for all ages including informal talks, artist-led hands on workshops, kids’ activity packs and a free crèche.”
To get your discount, just print out this page and show to the ticket desk on arrival.
Hampstead Heath: Thursday 1 – Sunday 4 November 2012 Opening hours: 11.00am – 6.00pm (Late View Thursday 1, 5.30-9.30pm) Ticket prices: £10–£20 (concessions £8 – £13) Kids under 16 are free to enter with an accompanied adult
I know normally I’m exhorting you to go to Kilburn for comedy on a Monday night, but on October 22nd I suggest you head down a bit later. Why? Because there’s a public meeting that is really worth turning up to if you want to understand and contribute to the shaping of West Hampstead over the years to come.
WHAT (the local action group) in conjunction with the West Hampsead Neighbourhood Development Forum, is holding a public meeting to bring everyone up to speed with how the NDF is evolving and, more crucially, to set the boundaries of the area to be covered.
This is a subject I’ve touched on recently (read the comments on that link to get up to speed with the latest), and nothing has yet been finalised, especially in terms of where the southern boundary of the Neighbourhood Development Plan should be. You might believe, as I do, that as the area around the stations is likely to see the greatest development pressures the people who live both north and south of the train lines should very much be included. However, as things stand, the cutoff point for the plan could well be the tube line itself, so those living within spitting distance of the O2 car park, for example, may have little influence on plans to redevelop it, while people living the best part of a mile to the north may be far more involved.
You don’t need to do any background reading to come along – all will be explained. Help me lower the average age of attendees, find out what’s happening in West Hampstead, and have your say.The “other speakers” mentioned below are from Urban Design, Planning Aid and Camden’s planning department.
The Kilburn History blog has a post about all the record shops that have ever existed in Kilburn and West Hampstead.
If you live in Brent, you can get tickets for England v San Marino on October 12th for £20 (£10 for kids) if you take a utility bill to Wembley Stadium box office.
The Walkabout on Finchley Road has closed.
Photo of the Week Good “health & safety” spot by @RogerSamuelRes here:
The redevelopment of Handrail House has been on the cards for a while. A proposal last year was refused, but the developers are back with revisions and more ambition – at least in terms of scale.
No plans have been submitted to Camden yet, but on Wednesday there was an open meeting at Sidings Community Centre where the architects and developers presented their latest thinking. I wasn’t able to go, but James Earl – chair of the Neighbourhood Development Forum – was present along with local councillors.
Site up for development: click for larger version
It’s a big project, with approximately 100 flats over five storeys and now covering both Handrail House (65 Maygrove Rd) and No.67 Maygrove Road (flats at the moment). Like all other large housing projects in Camden the intention is for it to be car free (as with the Ballymore development, there is an argument as to how viable this really is), with disabled parking only. Camden is pushing for half the units to be affordable housing, and the developers are offering Section 106 money (the contributions developers have to make to the local community) for Sidings Community Centre, to lay astroturf the football pitch there, and install a café in the Peace Park.
The issues raised at the meeting included the removal of business/employment space from the site (there are currently offices at Handrail House), concerns about the design (yellow brick and quite modern), the impact on the Peace Park (several of the flats will over look it), traffic and parking on Maygrove Road, and a general concern as to whether the infrastructure in the area can cope with another 300 people.
As regular readers wil know, West Hampstead has been earmarked for intensification so more people are almost certainly going to be moving to the area – the issue is precisely where and what sort of buildings they’ll be moving into.
All the pictures were on powerpoint rather than display boards, so I’m afraid I don’t have any pics to show you although apparently the architect firm involved is the same one that designed the Olympic velodrome!
Those damn supermarkets crowding out the little guys. Am I right? Well, that’s the received wisdom and it’s held true on West End Lane where the arrival of Tesco and then Sainsbury’s killed off Best One (literally as that was where Sainsbury’s moved into), Atlanta Food & Wine, and one of the newsagents.
So, it’s more than a little strange that Best One is making a comeback. No more than 100 yards from Tesco on Fortune Green Road.
The scooter garage on the corner of Burrard Road, which closed recently, could become a new mini-mart if Camden approves its 6am-midnight alcohol licence.
It’s the most successful film franchise of all time (probably, I have no idea – but it’s got to be a frontrunner, right?). Now Bond is back with Daniel Craig’s third outing as 007.
Skyfall opens in the UK on October 26th and you can get to the 19.30 Imax screening that very night at the Swiss Cottage Odeon with our second #whamppremiere event.
Tickets are £22, which gets you a premier seat (all sold out for this first night screening – so this is your only chance), and a free specially designed “M” vodka cocktail just for us (house wine/bottled beer available).
We have just 30 tickets available. Those of you who came to the Dark Knight screening will be pleased to know we’ve ironed out the kinks in the process. Now you pay us directly, so you don’t have to collect your tickets in advance or pay separately at the bar.
To reserve your space, asap. It’s first come/first served. Maximum 2 tickets per person (do say whether you want 1 or 2). I’ll send you payment details.
I came across an article from Fast Company this morning. It’s about a trend in the US to ask local residents to contribute to civic improvements – so-called “crowdfunding”. A Tampa-based organisation called Citizinvestor has been pushing this.
The recession has left hundreds of parks un-renovated, and hundreds of basketball courts unpaved. Without funds, municipalities have had to delay, or cancel, projects that otherwise would get started…
… For example, the city of Philadelphia is currently asking for $12,875 so it can plant 15,000 trees. But that’s just the start. The plan is for many more, and bigger, projects than that.
Unlike Kickstarter, a crowdfunding scheme for creative projects that also operates in the UK, Citizinvestor lets locals “petition for projects as well as contribute to ones municipalities have put forward.”. There are no rewards for contributing (although contributions are tax-deductible in the US).
It’s an interesting idea and got me wondering whether such a thing would work in an area such as West Hampstead. I suspect it might. But wholehearted adoption would lead to bigger ideological questions. After all, we already pay taxes to both central and local government, and civic space has traditionally been funded by municipal government. Sure, when times are tough I think a lot of people would rather see money spent on nurses, or care for the elderly than on planting new trees or relaying paths in a park, but how likely is it that once an economy rebounds a government would resume responsibility for something its citizens had willingly paid for on top of their existing taxes?
It’s worth noting that the schemes up for funding are already on the government agenda but aren’t a priority. So, this isn’t entirely about people doing it for themselves – the Citizinvestor model has people contributing to projects that have already been approved and will be then be implemented by local government, although the petition element does introduce a populist angle.
The co-founder of Citizinvestor, Jordan Rayner, is quoted in the article as saying “There is a place for a service to make government work more like a vending machine, where I get to choose which parks and pools I want to build.” Good soundbite, but surely that runs the risk that the more affluent the area, the more “parks and pools” get funded. It would add complexity (and grumbling) if the council’s pledge was “we’ll pay for a swimming pool in this deprived area, but those of you in the richer areas have to provide your own”. Here we enter into questions of scale – in London this would surely have to work at a borough-wide level, with an understanding that people in Kilburn ward would be unlikely to cough up for civic improvements in Camden Town, and vice-versa.
We already live in a city where the divide between public space and private space is increasingly blurred; in theory citizen funding would leave no doubt as to who any such projects belonged to. But when does citizen funding bleed into “local business funding”, and in turn “big business funding”. Citizinvestor’s FAQs make no mention of any commercial interest in funding proposals, and it would perhaps be a good starting point to clarify that no branding would be allowed on any project, and no conditions could be imposed by anyone contributing to the cost.
What do you think? Do you think a few thousand locals would stump up a few quid each to tart up West End Green? Not too controversial. What about speed bumps? Cycle lanes? Increasing litter patrols? What constitutes an essential service, and what’s a “nice to have” when belts are being tightened.
I’ve included the How It Works section from the Citizinvestor website, which clarifies the mechanics of the scheme quite well:
Municipalities submit projects to Citizinvestor.com. These are projects that have already been scored, department-approved and only lack one thing – funding. Projects range from building a new park to installing speed bumps or adding a few parking spaces to your neighborhood library. The list of these projects for any city is nearly endless. Currently, these projects sit on a long-list behind other budget priorities, especially now when local government budgets are tighter than ever before.
Citizens invest in the projects they care about most. For the first time ever, we are giving citizens the opportunity to tell government exactly where they want their dollars spent. Citizens can find projects that their local government has posted on Citizinvestor.com and pledge to invest any amount they wish towards the project. Not only can citizens invest in projects from their local governments, but Citizinvestor also gives citizens the opportunity to petition for new projects that local government either hasn’t thought of or hasn’t approved.
Once a project is 100% funded, the project is built! This is key – citizens only pay their portion of the project if other citizens step up to the plate and commit to fund 100% of the stated cost. This is a win/win for everyone! Citizens only have to invest money if there is a guarantee that the project of their choice will be built and governments only have to commit to building a project if they receive 100% of the funding they need. Not a dime changes hands unless everyone is happy. This ensures that there is no risk to citizens for pledging to invest and no risk to governments posting projects to Citizinvestor.com.
The tale of the proposed development of the Gondar Gardens reservoir site is a lengthy one. In essence, a couple of years ago, developers Linden Wates put forward a plan that would have seen the disused site turned into a series of semi-sunken homes, that became known as the Teletubby development. Planning permission was refused, partly due to the presence of slow worms on the site.
While the second proposal was being considered, Linden Wates was appealing the first decision. That appeal opened in May but was adjourned after three days. The inquiry reconvened last week, and the hearing concluded yesterday.
Here’s the assessment of how the appeal has gone from the perspective of the Gondar & Agamemnon Residents Association (GARA):
Back in May, both Camden and GARA gave evidence as to why the refusal should be upheld, and were cross-examined at length. Linden Wates started to give their evidence.
This week, the inquiry reconvened. Linden Wates gave detailed evidence and were cross-examined by Camden’s barrister and GARA’s barrister.
On Thursday, there was a lengthy examination of opposing experts’ views about the state of the reservoir structure and its likelihood of partial or total collapse; and a debate about Linden Wates’ approach to affordable housing (i.e., paying for it to be somewhere else).
Almost all of Friday was spent with Linden Wates’ planning consultant, with arguments about the relative merits of different aspects of planning policy. That might sound interminable but it goes to the heart of the matter – does the protection of being Open Space and a Site of Nature Conservation Interest outweigh the developer’s argument that the structure itself is ‘previously developed land’?
Add in arguments about whether the new National Planning Policy Framework promotes development, or protects land of high environmental value, and you have the opportunity for some lively debate, some of it rivalling any West End theatre production (OK, only in parts).
Also on Friday, local resident Mark Stonebanks made an excellent contribution, challenging LW’s competence in areas of traffic and parking, design, and drainage.
Monday – the final day – started with a visit to houses on all four sides of the site. The inspector seemed to expect the good views from Gondar Gardens and the less good views from Agamemnon Road (obscured by trees); but he appeared surprised at the extent of views from Hillfield and Sarre Roads.
We returned to the inquiry and heard an impassioned, yet controlled statement from Hugh McCormick [Ed: I don’t know who he is]. Linden Wates’ barrister declined to cross-examine. There followed some haggling over conditions / Section 106 matters to be imposed “should the appeal be successful”. Linden Wates and Camden had pre-agreed most of this, and it was GARA that raised some issues although it made very limited headway.
Then it was onto the showpiece summing-up from each barrister. This is a curious affair in which each party submits a written statement (typically 20 close-typed A4 pages) and then proceeds to read the entire document aloud.
GARA’s barrister covered all the key points: ecological value; open space; and traffic, parking and other matters – all of which are supported by both planning policy and real local importance. Camden defended its multiple reasons for refusing planning permission, even to the extent of appearing to promote the second (frontage) scheme in order to demonstrate that alternatives to the appeal scheme could exist.
Linden Wates’ barrister was very professional in putting its case. We expect a decision by the end of November, which is just after the deadline for Linden Wates to appeal against refusal of the second scheme.
October is “Kilburn month” at the Kingsgate Workshops.
As part of a collaboration between the front-of-house volunteers at Camden Arts Centre and the Kingsgate Workshops Trust, Kingsgate Gallery’s exhibition project is focused on the artistic exploration of the Kilburn area and its history, and especially the engagement with the local community.
What’s on? Let me hand over to the organisers to whet your appetite. You can also check out the latest news regarding the exhibition.
As well as the specific events listed below, Asako Taki’s blog project, which started in May 2012, reflects her encounters with the people of Kilburn. Throughout October, Deborah Farr installs a glow-in-the-dark mural in the Iverson Road arches, while the collective Kilburn-Mapping-Project of Cornelia Marland continues to grow within the gallery, through the help of our visitors. Also inside Kingsgate, Suits Meso’s flag-and-sound installation is displayed alongside a performance-wall drawing by Evy Jokhova. Jokhova is also making a short film that follows one day in Kilburn for 50 years using archival documents and footage filmed by herself.
So drop into the gallery Thursday–Sunday from midday to 6pm (it’s free), or come to one of the events.
October 4: Kilburn Grand Tour Opening Night 6pm-9pm
Join us for the opening night of our one month-long creative and artistic exploration of Kilburn. As with any Grand Tour we know our destination, but the journey is not set… From hidden rivers, imagined maps, and constantly-evolving art we need your help to inspire our voyage.
As the project evolves, the gallery space will change, so don’t miss your chance to see what might not be visible a week later. Help us give our project the best possible start and join us for the official kick-off of The Kilburn Grand Tour at the Kingsgate Trust Gallery.
October 6: Blue Flower River Project – Gardening Event 2pm-4pm[Ed: I think this sounds like a brilliant idea]
Join in this celebration and remembrance of the River Westbourne with a gardening twist! Guided by Helene Latey, walk the river path and see the Blue-Flower-River project along the way.
Come back to Kingsgate gallery for refreshments and a short presentation on Green living given by the Camden council Sustainability Team. Also at the gallery, pick up a river map and wildflower seeds and get involved in some guerrilla gardening of your own as you continue the river walk through the Kilburn streets.
October 13: Suit Meso’s Flag Making Workshop 1pm-4pm
Come along and get creative at this flag making workshop. Learn about flags from around the world, draw on your cultural influences and merge symbols and signs to design and make your own personal flag.
Led by artist Suits Meso and tying in to his artistic practice, this workshop will result in the creation of a large scale “Kilburn Flag” constructed from the individual flags produced on the day and to be displayed as part of the Kilburn Grand Tour exhibition.
October 14: River Talk: “The River Westbourne – Kilburn’s Hidden River” 6pm-8pm
Could there be a river running beneath your feet, or even beneath your house? Now’s the time to find out as river historian Stephan Myers, author of Walking on Water, London’s Hidden Rivers Revealed, will reveal Kilburn’s own hidden river in his presentation on the River Westbourne.
Learn the fascinating history of this now underground river, map its location beneath the Kilburn streets and follow its influence and role within the Kilburn landscape all within the art filled atmosphere of the Kingsgate Gallery.
October 19: Evy Jokhova: Kilburn Grand Tour 5pm-6.30pm
Jokhova’s Kilburn Grand Tour opens to the public with a screening of a film compiled from newspaper clippings, personal and borrowed film footage that follows Kilburn on one day in October for the past 50 years. The screening of Kilburn Grand Tour will be accompanied by a public panel discussion between artist Nicola Lane, Kilburn historian Dick Weindling and local residents on what makes Kilburn a ‘home’.
Following on from this Jokhova will create a week-long performance drawing in the gallery space inspired by the contents of the discussion.
October 19: Artist Talk and Walk 7pm-9pm
Live in Kilburn? Long to live in Kilburn? Or just want to get to know Kilburn a bit better? What better way than to come along for our special Artist Talk, and let our artists illuminate (literally) this wonderful area of North-West London for you!
Following the overground trail of the hidden River Westbourne, artists Helene Latey, Deborah Farr and Lara Smithson will take you on an hour-long walk through Kilburn, presenting their artworks along the way; an experience which will make you see your surroundings and community in a whole new light. The walk will end up at Kingsgate Trust Gallery where there will be refreshments, more art and the chance for everyone to contribute to our very own Kilburn-map.
October 26: Closing Party 6pm-9pm
The Kilburn Grand Tour’s closing party will take place on the final Friday of October. Come along for the final chance to see our artists’ completed work, catch-up with our process and celebrate the creative and artistic life and spirit of Kilburn.
If you’re not familiar with the Kingsgate Workshops Trust, it supports a wide range of arts and crafts in studio spaces of variable sizes. The workshops are a converted 19th century warehouse which provides studio space for more than 50 artists and crafts people as well hosting up to 12 public exhibitions a year.
Got this in an e-mail from the people behind Locally Sourced, which, if you don’t know, is a group organising words & music events in Brioche every so often.
Anyway, it’s a blatant advert for a storytelling course, but I thought it sounded a bit different and the tutor seems to have good credentials so I’m passing it on.
“If you want to improve your confidence, public speaking and communication skills, or if you want to tell a story in front of an audience but never dared to do it then this might be the course for you.”
Over five sessions you will learn:
• Basic skills of storytelling. • Some understanding of narrative structure • An appreciation of traditional tales • Experience in telling a story and engaging an audience • A combination of theory & practice in a fun & engaging way
The course will culminate in a Locally Sourced evening with class participants each telling a story to an audience of friends and neighbors. This will take place the evening of 26 November at Brioche café in West Hampstead.
Tutor: Ariella Eshed. Ariella is a theatre director, storyteller and workshop leader based in London. For the past six years she has led courses in storytelling at City Lit in Covent Garden. She has worked for many years with the National Theatre Education Department on their storytelling programme in schools and with other companies and organizations in Israel and the UK. Guest tutor: John Eastman Course dates: Five Wednesday evenings between 24 October-20 November 2012 from 19.30-21.30 and the performance. Where: West Hampstead (location to be confirmed) Cost: £90
Short notice, yes, but I just got confirmation that the second Friends of Fortune Green outdoor film screening will happen this Saturday evening. It’s Stand By Me.
If you came along to Breaking Away earlier in the summer you’ll know how this works. Basically, the film is powered by bicycle. Now, Breaking Away is a film ABOUT cycling, which probably inspired people. Stand By Me isn’t (although I do seem to recall a couple of scenes on bikes?), but people still need to be willing to do a 5-10 minute stint on a bike. It all worked fine last time, and there’s no obligation at all to get on your bike and ride.
The film, if you don’t know it, is a 1980s coming-of-age classic, starrring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix and Corey Feldman (Richard Dreyfus and Kiefer Sutherland are also in it). It’s based on a Stephen King novel and was directed by Rob Reiner. So, basically, it’s a good film. If you’ve already seen it you’ll know it’s well worth watching again and if you haven’t then now’s the perfect time to rectify that.
The screening starts at sundown – which is 7pm, though if you want a good spot I’d get there quite a bit earlier as the bikes do slightly limit the viewing angle. Last time there must have been at least 200 people there, so hopefully there’s a similar turnout this time – and hopefully it’s too cold for the mosquitoes that plagued us all. Bring a picnic blanket, bring a picnic (Nautilus should be open for a sustaining fish & chips takeaway), and bring some friends.
The event is free, but FoFG will be asking for donations to help cover similar future events, so be nice and give a little something for this great community event.
The local Neighbourhood Development Forum (which is now on Twitter by the way), held its latest meeting last week. I just perused the minutes and was intrigued by a paradox of democracy.
Walk with me.
The NDF has to determine the precise boundaries for its local plan. Ward boundaries are not necessarily the solution, but at the moment they’re the easiest option and the NDF covers West Hampstead and Fortune Green wards. This means that, for example, Broadhurst Gardens is not covered because it’s in Swiss Cottage ward.
According to the minutes of September’s NDF meeting, WHGARA – the residents association for the streets between Lowfield Road, West End Lane, Hemstal and Sherriff Roads – has not yet decided whether to support the Forum, but would make its decision on October 9th. I have discussed before the psychological and physical divide felt by some, but not all, residents who live south of the tube line between them and the rest of West Hampstead.
NDF members said they thought it would be hard for WHGARA to express its views on the development of the area, particularly the Interchange, if they excluded themselves from the Forum; WHGARA’s representative said she “thought the Forum was pro-development and didn’t have much support in the south of the West Hampstead area.”
James Earl, the NDF chair, said that if WHGARA decided not to support the Forum, the southern boundary would probably move north to be the railway line.
This raises a couple of issues. First, I’d like to see the evidence of the support or lack of for the Forum in the WHGARA area. My unproven hunch is that most people have probably never heard of it, let alone have a view on it. Second, although I accept that residents assocations generally represent their area, they are not necessarily representative of an area, so to my mind it seems odd that if an RA chooses not to support an initiative, this automatically means that area is excluded.
But this is not the paradox.
Keep walking with me.
Later, the minutes explain that the October 22nd NDF meeting will be open to the public and run in conjunction with WHAT. “Members said it was important to invite and involve more people than ‘the usual suspects’. There was a desire for publicity to be at the new farmers’ market; in shops and local businesses; and at other public events. Suggestions for poster locations also included on trees; doctors’ surgeries; schools; nurseries; community centres; parks; and cafes.”
Excellent – I wholeheartedly approve, and you can be sure I’ll mention it on here too. Now we come to the paradox. You live in the WHGARA area, but have never heard of it- or it’s not your thing perhaps. You’re browing the cauliflowers at the farmers’ market when you notice a flyer for a public meeting about shaping the future of West Hampstead. This sounds more interesting. You toddle along, but then find all too quickly that it will have no bearing on your immediate streetscape because some people you don’t know have decided not to support it.
Moving beyond the usual suspects is surely the right thing to do – the process should be open to as many people as are interested. So why then, is something as important as the boundaries for the whole plan dependent on the powers that be at WHGARA? More bluntly: what sort of majority off what sort of turnout is needed at a WHGARA meeting to determine whether it’s a yay or a nay? Do leave a comment if you know the answer to this question.
I would urge the NDF to stick to its guns and use the two ward boundaries as the basis for the plan. Even though I don’t think it’s perfect, I remain unconvinved that the lack of support of a residents association (should that be the eventual outcome) is enough reason to shrink the size of the area.
And there’s the paradox. Democracy should be about opening up decision making to the people, but it’s also pragmatically about electing decision-makers and abiding by their rules. Yet at this hyperlocal scale, the two seem to have the potential to clash.
A couple of months ago I went to have a look round the show apartment at the Mill Apartments. Back then they were called the Mill Apartments Hampstead, though they have since been rebranded – extremely sensibly – as the Mill Apartments West Hampstead (although the website address hasn’t changed). I saw a 3-bed flat, which was very nice. And very expensive. £815,000 expensive to be precise for this first floor flat. The service charge would be in excess of £2,500 a year and a parking space was an extra £25,000. More hilarious was that if you wanted storage space in the basement “big enough for a bike and a couple of sets of golf clubs”, then you’d have to part with another £10,000. I think I laughed out loud at this point. Sounds like I might not have been the only one.
You might argue that £815,000 for a modern nice 3-bed flat in West Hampstead isn’t out of the ordinary. By the way, lets not kid ourselves here, while pretending these apartments are in Hampstead was presumably verging on some sort of property misdescription, they can hardly be said to be in the heart of West Hampstead either. Shoot-Up Hill is much nearer than West End Lane. Nevertheless, it is quite a lot of money for any flat around here outside the NW3/NW8 postcode. This is the cheapest 3-bed in the building, they go up in price as you go up the floors, so the 3rd floor 3-bed flat is £830,500.
Floorplan of the 3-bed apartments
Which brings me to the point of this story. To date, 17 of the 27 non-social housing flats in the development have sold (the three 3-beds have not). The prices for the four penthouses, which are just coming on the market now, are not on the website, but early communications said that the top price flat would be £1.5m, so I guess we assume that’s the price of the only 3-bed penthouse, while the cheapest penthouse is £1.35m.
Looking south from one of the penthouse suites
Given that the apartments don’t seem to be flying off the shelves, so the developer, Taylor Wimpey, is holding an open day and resorting to “buy now” discounts in the form of cash/cash-equivalent incentives.
If you sign on the dotted line this Saturday at the open-day then it will throw in either a luxury holiday, £15,000 to spend at Selfridges or a brand new Mini. According to the PR company, “Offering these incentives is a new trend for estate agents and house builders, in order to kick-start a property industry that has slowed in recent years.” Or in other words “we overpriced the apartments a bit”. Now, if you’re willing to drop £1.5m on a 3-bed apartment in what is almost Cricklewood, it’s debatable whether a £15,000 cashback deal (1%) is going to make much difference to your yes/no decision. Even for the cheapest apartment still available (£588,000), you’d only be getting a 2.5% discount.
The press release implies, although certainly doesn’t make clear, that that expensive car parking space might be thrown in as well (or a 2-year parking permit). That’s a far more valuable incentive, both financially and practically, but this is a common negotiating tool as far as I’m aware.
Anyway, if you want to go along on Saturday, then there’ll be drinks, nibbles and live music between 11am and 3pm. If you want to view an apartment (and surely that’s the only reason to go), then best reserve in advance by calling 0845 676 2377. Even if you don’t have half a million quid to spend on the day, us locals are apparently welcome. I quote: “It is also a fab opportunity for local residents to find out more about their newest neighbour!”. Which is very friendly.
What’s sold and what’s not by Sep 26th 2012 (penthouses not included)
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make the first West Hampstead Farmers’ Market last Saturday, but intrepid correspondent Nimet was on hand to record it for posterity in both words and pictures.
“Shortly after 10am on a crisp Saturday morning on the Thameslink station forecourt, in front of a small gathering, Cllr Gilllian Risso-Gill rang the inaugural bell and announced the West Hampstead Farmers’ Market open.
Finally! The is it on / off palaver had caused some entertainment in the run up over the past few months, but the resident cow had certainly left no doubt that the market was definitely on.
I arrived shortly before 10am, spoke to Cheryl Cohen from the London Farmers’ Market, then watched some of the hardy stall holders dressed in their gloves and hats set out their stalls ready for business (you can find out more about the full list of producers). The vibrantly coloured fruit and vegetables, freshly baked bread, cheese, flowers, fish and meat soon looked at home on the normally empty forecourt.
I spent over an hour at the market wandering around speaking to the vendors about their produce, observing the crowds and earwigging conversations. Each producer was more than happy to let you try a sample (where appropriate) and all spoke passionately about their produce. One farmer gushed about how his wife had handmade all the sausages and gave expert advice on how to cook them.
The shoppers really were loving it, there was a chaotic buzz and very few stalls struggling for custom while I was there. Most came with empty bags which slowly filled up with fresh produce. The evidence on Twitter (#whampFM is the hashtag in case you’re wondering) is clear – it was a resounding success, Jonathan also Storify’d the reaction. I’m pretty certain the weather played a huge part in the massive turn out and the stock sell out my midday. I really hope that Whampers still make the trip to support the market when the weather isn’t so fair.
Someone on Twitter asked me what ‘Lincolnshire’s finest’ was doing in West Hampstead…? Well, we didn’t expect many NW6 producers did we? In fact, quite a lot of the vendors aren’t actually from London. As Jonathan explained in a previous post, all the producers come from within a 100 miles radius of the M25 and they must raise, grow or bake all their stock. Well, that’s good enough for me.
Stupidly, I went to the market with only a £1 coin in my purse so I hunted for best way to spend my fortune. I settled on 6 large eggs that were laid the previous day. I made dippy egg and marmite soldiers. Delicious.
The West Hampstead Farmers’ Market is trading each Saturday between 10am and 2pm on the West Hampstead Thameslink station forecourt, see London Farmers’ Market website and Facebook for more.”
A plaque to author George Orwell was unveiled, followed by a reading in West End Lane Books by his son Richard Blair.
The Red Arrows swooped over West Hampstead after the London 2012 victory parade.
Timmy Mallett was among the stars at the annual Hampstead CC charity cricket match.
Chris Philp (Conservative) and Ed Fordham (LibDem) both announced they wouldn’t stand again for Hampstead & Kilburn at the next general election. This means three new faces to contest the seat next time around.
West Hampstead WI is on Twitter (it’s not all cakes and jam y’know) @WestHampsteadWI.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (yes, really) is @NxNW6’s Film of the Week.
The Camden housing office at 156 West End Lane will stay open until 19 October because of a delay in sending out letters to tenants.
Coming Up Saturday: a charity night at The Railway starting at 8.30. Run by West Hampstead fire station for Help The Heroes. Live music, free buffet, raffle, £5 in.
Also on Saturday, the final old stock Met Line train will be making its journey from Moorgate, departing at 9.55am. I’m afraid the journey is already sold out, but you could always go to Finchley Road to see it.
Tweet of the Week Amid all the gushing over pigeon breasts and kohlrabi, the inevitable farmers’ market related tweet of the week was altogether more prosaic.
Sadly, I couldn’t make the grand unveiling of the plaque to George Orwell last week, but mercifully (and appropriately), Danny from West End Lane Books could – and kindly penned a few words about it.
“I’ve got something in common with George Orwell it seems! I gleaned this priceless piece of dinner-party ammo the day that Kilburn Historic Plaque supremo Ed Fordham triumphantly brought Richard Blair to town to unveil a tribute to his father, the mighty George Orwell, on the Kilburn estate they briefly inhabited before being bombed out in WW2.
Nowadays, the building is called Kington House in Mortimer Crescent and Blair, not the slight, pale figure I imagined, but a broad avuncular man of old-school bank manager appearance, admitted he didn’t really recall it — unsurprisingly since he was an infant the last time he laid eyes on the place.
A good crowd had gathered to meet the man whose father has so enriched us all and confirmed that Orwell did indeed work on Animal Farm while living in our postcode.
After the unveiling of the plaque Blair and Fordham braved rush hour traffic to hotfoot it over to West End Lane Books where another eager crowd had gathered and was treated to a reading from Orwell’s Bookshop Memories essay — and that’s where I learned of mine and George’s shared experiences!
Bookshops, Orwell remarked of his time working in one, were places ‘you can spend a long time without spending money’. Yep, that bit still rings sadly true. And although our customers aren’t of the ‘motheaten’ variety that Orwell depicts and nor do we regard children’s books as ‘horrible things’ (they obviously didn’t have Puffin, Walker, Usborne et al in those days), his description of the ‘brutal cynicism’ of the marketing of Christmas, in particular the order form for advent calendars displaying ‘two dozen Infant Jesuses with rabbits’ brought a blush of shame.
Orwell went on to describe life with George as his (adopted) father, noting that while he was always Eric Blair to at home, he was only ever George Orwell to his friends and professional contacts (‘the name change was to protect us,’ said Blair.) and often the two camps were not aware of the other; some family members remaining ignorant of George’s alter ego even as his books were published and word began to spread of his work.
Blair recalled his father as an affectionate man who often read to his son—classics such as AA Milne (also honoured by a Kilburn plaque) and Beatrix Potter, but also his own little stories and poetry, none of which survives to our loss. While retaining the then-customary stoicism about his struggles with TB (‘he was slightly vague about it’), Blair told us that his father was nonetheless constrained by his illness and felt that physical contact with his son needed to be minimal for his own safety.
Orwell also read aloud chapters of Animal Farm at home to his wife and Blair reminded us that even this literary colossus had initial trouble finding a publisher. Blair himself was not allowed to read 1984 until some time after his father’s death when he was 11 and when asked when he first became aware of Orwell’s status, he remembered it as a form of osmosis around the same age.
Listening to Blair’s recollections of Orwell doing bits of woodwork, rolling fags with newspapers when he ran out of cigarette papers and all of the everyday trivia family life is filled with, I for one had a few frissons: this man lived with Orwell…this man knew Orwell!
What an honour to have Richard Blair in our shop. What an honour for NW6 to have such a connection! Major thanks to Ed Fordham for making this happen.”
Everyone went back to school this week – even though the Paralympics and the weather are there to remind us of the summer. What marked the new term in West Hampstead? Well, actually this week is rather dominated by Kilburn news!
The Guardian reviewed the latest exhibition at Kilburn’s Tin Tabernacle.
HungryInLondon reviewed Ariana – and liked what it found.
A water main burst on the North Circular causing traffic chaos throughout the area.
Zadie Smith is all over the media at the moment, and all over Kilburn.
Brent residents can now get England tickets at Wembley Stadium for £20 (£10 for kids). Show a bill proving your Brent residency at Wembley box office (max 8 per household).
Coming up West Hampstead Community Centre has its AGM on Monday 6pm-7.30pm. Come and hear about the future of your community centre (there’s cheese and wine!)
On Tuesday, George Orwell’s son, Richard Blair, will be reading at West End Lane Books, as part of the unveiling of a green plaque for Orwell. Please book ahead for the 4.30pm reading.
Tweet and Photo of the Week. Stiff competition this week. The Farmers’ Market cow being milked was a close runner up, but in the end the award goes to Tom.
Zadie Smith is everywhere at the moment, and yet this media ubiquity also has a very firm geographic focal point: North-west London.
No great surprise there, after all, Smith has become some sort of literary symbol for the cultural melting pot of this part of the capital. And when she titles her latest book “NW”, you can’t blame journalists for making something of it.
Since 2010, Zadie Smith has been a professor of creative writing at New York University. She’s not popping into Poundland on the Kilburn High Road of a Saturday morning. Yet the sense of north-weezy (as the kids say) identity and affection clearly runs deep. Back in June, she wrote an impassioned article in the New York Review of Books about the plans for Willesden library and bookshop (read the article if you haven’t already).
In what one hopes was a great editorial idea, rather than clever publisher PR, TimeOut this week took Smith up the Kilburn High Road to meet a few locals. Although defining what “local” is in Kilburn is a tricky matter as one tweeter commented.
@jamesrobking @timeoutlondon how many “locals” did she Speak to? Er none by the looks of it. But welcome to all the visitors of Kilburn. — ANNE MOUTADJER (@kilburnbelle) September 6, 2012
Kilburn High Road has always been a street on the move though. It’s arterial, with all the blood-pumping energy that implies. Not so many “born and bred” locals, but a galaxy of people who’ve called it home at one time or another. That’s what has made it Kilburn.
In a week when we gawped at the exploits of Paralympians, and prepared to go back to school (with or without help from Michael Gove), what was happening closer to home?
The paralympic torch skirted West Hampstead on Wednesday as it headed for the stadium.
Firefighters were called to a shed on fire in Broomsleigh Street on Thursday, no-one was injured.
Mill Lane Barbers celebrates its 10th anniversary with an amazing prize. Each haircut in Sept will entitle the customer to entry into a draw to receive a year’s worth of free haircuts!
It’s still a long way out, and full details/tickets won’t be available until the end of the month, but Whampgather X will be at The Alliance on Mill Lane on November 15th.
This Tuesday, The Gallery on Broadhurst Gardens is hosting the next in its occasional whisky tasting sessions. This time around it’s whisky & cheese.
Tickets are £10, for which you get to try seven whiskies and matched cheeses. All the profits (i.e., whatever’s left after paying for the cheese) will go to The Winchester Project. Tickets are selling out, and you need to head to the bar to get one, so I would recommend doing so asap. Plenty of whampers are going to be there.
I went to the whisky & chocolate session a few months ago, and can honestly say it was great fun (and good value). Once again, Colin Dunn, Diageo’s Whisky Brand Ambassador, will run the masterclass and he’s an old hand at this sort of event. Last time around most people were whisky novices, but I think everyone really enjoyed it. I don’t think of myself as a whisky novice – certainly my drinks cabinet* suggests otherwise – and I thought it was great. Oh, and the “tastes” are pretty generous!
Tuesday’s meeting about the proposed West Hampstead dispersal zone was less “drop-in” and more “sit around a table” than I’d been led to believe. As a result, and because the door was locked when I arrived, I missed the start and thus (presumbaly) the set-up and the police’s perspective.
Nevertheless, I was there to hear local residents voice a wide range of disgruntlements with both the council and the police.There was a strong sense that “something had to be done”, with anecdotes of long-standing anti-social behaviour. There was also a recognition that the underlying problems wouldn’t be solved by simply moving people on, but the idea of this short-term measure was broadly welcomed with caveats around appropriate resourcing.
The main problem the police want to deal with is gang activity on the Lithos Road estate, and they see the dispersal zone as a useful tool to help them. The challenge is that dispersal zones often just shift the problem across the border, wherever that border might be. They are also extremely subjective – any group of young people can be dispersed at the whim of the police and are not allowed to return within 24 hours.
Lets take Broadhurst Gardens as an example – the whole road is included in the proposed zone. A group of 22-year-old bankers drinking outside The Gallery could be very noisy, and potentially anti-social. Down the other end of the road by the Broadfield Estate, a group of 18-year-olds could be hanging out one evening with not much else to do, just chatting and with no intention of causing trouble. Which group is more likely to be dispersed?
There appeared to be a strong push to extend the zone across West End Lane to include the Thameslink station – this ended up being stretched to the Maygrove Road/Iverson Road junction including Medley Road.
The blue lines mark the proposed extension
Ultimately, most people seemed to say they supported the zone only if it was extended as described above. Camden’s Michael Hrycak (a Senior Community Safety Officer) explained that extending the zone would delay the process as people living in that area would then need to be consulted. Cllr John Bryant pointed out that there wasn’t much point having a consultation meeting if the input was going to be ignored. It’s not entirely clear how this will proceed – quite possibly by the original zone being put in force and the extension being considered when the zone is reviewed after six weeks or so.
Such reviews are mandatory for dispersal zones. They can lead to prolonged periods of enforcement (a few years for example), or the review might conclude that the impact is negligible or that the problem has been solved. There’s also an issue in that anti-social behaviour tends to be worse in the summer when longer days and warmer nights encourages people to be out later. So, a reduction in ASB may be ascribed to a successful dispersal zone, when it could just be a function of rainy weather and chilly nights.
As soon as I hear more about the implementation of the zone, I’ll report back.
West Hampstead has its fair share of local celebrities – Black-cab driving Stephen Fry might have deserted us but there’s still the A-list thesp set of Jim, Imelda, Phyllida, Emma and Greg. There’s the permanently louche Bill Nighy. There’s actress Angela Griffin, singer Chaka Kahn (although no-one ever seems to see her), and many more. Most recently, David Mitchell (ok, he’s in Kilburn) and Robert Webb have been the most visible local famous people.
Webb, in particular, is spotted very frequently on West End Lane and in particular in a couple of the local pubs. I see him myself fairly regularly. Yet, despite the fact that I seem to tweet every five seconds, I generally don’t live-tweet celebrity spots – at best I’ll wait until I’ve got home, or be very vague about where I’ve seen someone. In the same vein, I tend not to retweet other people’s real-time local celeb spots. This is particularly true for those famous people who actually live here or who, like Robert Webb, are seen frequently – it’s really not news and i don’t think my twitter followers are that interested. If someone’s here for work reasons (Phil & Kirstie, for example) then it’s a different ballgame.
Why so prissy? I think that if I was well-known I wouldn’t really want my whereabouts advertised when I just wanted a quiet pint. Some people crave the limelight, others have it shone on them when perhaps they’d rather stay in the shadows.
I was interested therefore to see a short exchange on Twitter last night.
Hard to tell whether Webb’s being narky or funny, and I feel a bit sorry for @markmccluskey who clearly didn’t expect to be called out on his tweet. It’s true that most people who spot Webb don’t use his twitter name, so unless he has a search set up for his name(or for “that bloke from Peep Show” or “Jez”) he probably doesn’t see how often he’s identified.
The moral of this story – next time you see someone famous in the neighbourhood, maybe have a think as to whether you really need to immediately tell the world that you’ve seen them and – if they’re on Twitter – whether there’s anything to be gained from using their twitter name in any message you do decide to post. Failure to do so might result in Robert Webb asking you to explain yourself in person!
It’s 25 years since Wally appeared on the pages of children’s book, leading to a generation of kids with strained eyesight and a Pavlovian reaction to anyone wearing a red-and-white striped hat.
In honour of this literary anniversary, West End Lane Books has organised a treat for Wally spotters young and old this weekend.
If you spot Wally in West Hampstead on Saturday afternoon then take a pic of him and tweet it (@WELBooks) or mail it (info@welbooks.co.uk) to the bookshop. The shop has Where’s Wally goodie bags crammed with stuff for kids, which will go to the best pictures (be warned, I may be involved in judging these!).
Bit old for a goodie bag, but still want some Where’s Wally action? West End Lane books is also offering a £25 book voucher for the best adult entry.
Bank holiday weekend means the newsletter is a day late. It’s got nothing do with a lion rampaging through NW6. So, what HAS been happening over the past seven days?
Coming up On Saturday, keep an eye out for Wally – it’s the 25th anniversary of the red-and-white striped one, and West End Lane Books has prizes to give away!
Early Tuesday evening, there’s a drop-in consultation meeting about whether a dispersal zone should be implemented in part of West Hampstead. Whether you’re an arch libertarian or in the hang ’em and flog ’em brigade (or perhaps somewhere inbetween), this is your chance to get your views across.
The idea is to “specifically target the problem of Anti Social Behaviour by youths and related incidents including large scale fights involving weapons, assaults, robbery, drinking alcohol and the use of drugs within the areas highlighted above. It is further aimed at targeting Anti Social Behaviour by groups associated with controlled drug offences on the West Hampstead Ward”
What’s a dispersal zone? Here’s the definition from Local Government.
A dispersal order will provide the police with additional powers to disperse groups of two or more people where the officer has reasonable grounds for believing that their presence or behaviour has resulted, or is likely to result, in a member of the public being harassed, intimidated, alarmed or distressed. Once asked to disperse, it will be a criminal offence for that person to return to the dispersal area for a 24-hour period.
If a young person under the age of 16 is stopped in the area after 9.00 pm and is not accompanied by an adult, the police can escort them to their home address, if they are either:
at risk or vulnerable from anti-social behaviour or crime
causing, or at risk of causing, anti-social behaviour.
A dispersal zone can be as small as the area surrounding a cash point or as large as an entire open area of a housing estate or row of shops. Once a dispersal order is in place, the escort power can be used against any under-16, but it does not necessarily have to be used at all.
Camden police’s West Hampstead crime map for July 2012 isn’t online yet, but I’ve taken a look back over the past few months to see how many anti-social behaviour crimes have been recorded within the proposed dispersal zone. I also looked back at June 2011.
June 2012 – 35 ASB offences
May 2012 – 27 ASB offences
April 2012 – 42 ASB offences
March 2012 – 28 ASB offences
June 2011 – 16 ASB offences
Such a short time series isn’t that meaningful, although the fact that of these five months, June 2011 was the quietest might suggest that the problem is indeed getting worse although as you can see from both March and April these stats can be skewed by a couple of larger incidents. A dispersal zone was recently put in place the Brent side of Kilburn, and there was one around Swiss Cottage that was renewed several times.
Not everyone agrees with the principle of dispersal zones. Aside from the fact that they can simply push the problem elsewhere, their detractors also argue that they infringe people’s rights. A group of young people hanging out on a street corner are not necessarily intent on causing trouble they may just be hanging out, and perhaps have nowhere else to go. The police of course argue that it makes their job easier.
If you’re interested in learning more about why this dispersal zone is being proposed, or want to have your say, then the meeting is Tuesday 28th August 17.45-19.00 at Hampstead District Housing Office, 156 West End Lane.
Lots of you have noticed the new additions to West Hampstead’s, er, vibrant retail scene. Yes, Mr Whippy and a hot dog stand have arrived in town.
Photo via @RicksterLondon
They have set their stalls on the new wide pavement by the Thameslink station but this hasn’t proved popular with everyone – they don’t seem to quite fit with the image West Hampstead likes to have of itself.
In fact it’s not entirely clear how they are there. There was some confusion as to whether that space was a designated car park (which it is not), and then as to whether they had the right licence. The police moved them on for a day, but then they were back with the right licence.
The councillors are trying to get to the bottom of it as there is even more confusion as to whether this is a Network Rail issue or a Camden council issue. The land is owned by Network Rail but trading licences should normally be given by the council. That’s what happens when you privatise “public” space I’m afraid (if you’ll allow me to ride one of my hobbyhorses for a moment).
I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr Whippy and his frankfurter friend won’t be there much longer, so if you like a 99 Flake or a £3 hotdog, then get down there quick.
If you are organised, efficient, and enthusiastic, and you are interested in food, environmental issues, or farming, you might enjoy managing London Farmers’ Markets new West Hampstead market.
You need to be self motivated, assertive, cheerful, a good communicator, polite, and well organised.
Some of the duties include:
Being present at set up of the market (usually 2 hours before start of market). Duties involve co-ordinating the position of stalls, and putting up signs.
Setting up a table with information about London Farmers’ Markets
Ringing the opening bell and ensuring that there is no selling before the bell.
After ringing the closing bell, supervising the clearing of the site and confirming that each stallholder has cleaned up.
Filling in a weekly market report to LFM on market day
Enforcing the market rules.
Talking to stall holders and customers and convey those comments to LFM.
Promoting the market during market hours, for example, by leafleting, handing out samples or talking to local businesses or community groups.
If you’re interested then contact info@lfm.org.uk. Send them a letter or e-mail telling us something about yourself. If you have a C.V. then attach it, but if you don’t, or it’s not relevant, a written statement giving an indication of your previous experience is fine. Please provide two referees. Tell LFM what you’d bring to the job, why you think you’d make a good manager, and what skills you think you’d bring to the role. If you’ve been to one of the LFM markets, give them your impressions, and what you think could be done to improve it. You’ll need access to e-mail and a mobile phone.
Then today a cow appeared. Not a real cow obviously, but a painted one. It’s standing next to the Mr Whippy van and the hot dog stand, so probably just as well it’s not a real one. It’s announcing that the Farmers’ Market will open on September 22nd.
The LFM website confirms that the market will be every Saturday from 10am to 2pm. In early September the organisers will announce who’s going to open the market. In the meantime, LFM is still looking for a manager for the West Hampstead market if you’re interested!
Zack Lester of Seraphine talks about the Hampstead store and the company’s growth
Situated in the very heart of Hampstead’s thriving high street, Seraphine’s Hampstead Maternity Boutique opened in 2007. Seraphine encapsulates a simple maternity belief: it is important to feel comfortable during your pregnancy, but equally as important to feel confident in what you are wearing.
The shop has experienced impressive growth alongside Seraphine’s other stores and online service, which has seen considerable success, becoming one of the leading online stores for designer maternity wear.
The popularity of Seraphine’s website has been vigorously supported by its stores, notably the Hampstead store and its flagship store in Kensington. These rigid foundations have created a thriving online presence, contributing to its ongoing expansion.
Seraphine offers designer maternity wear at affordable prices, ensuring that fashion-conscious women no longer have to compromise between style and comfort when it comes to selecting maternity wear. Seraphine’s varied and modern style fuses the need for comfort with the desire to look stylish and sophisticated.
In recognition of its year-on-year growth and online store, fashion business magazine Drapers, awarded Seraphine’s e-commerce site with ‘Best Specialist E-Tailer 2011’. This momentous victory saw Seraphine competing against the likes of John Lewis, ASOS, and Jimmy Choo.
Most recently Seraphine launched its ‘Luxe’ collection at the Ritz; a celebration to mark its new line of dresses for special occasions and the opening of its first UK concessions, in partnership with John Lewis, which can be found in the Peter Jones department store by Sloane Square. Without the success of Seraphine’s Hampstead store, none of this would have been possible. The Hampstead boutique offers the complete range of Seraphine styles – and any style not available can be ordered for collection 48-hours in advance.
Whether you are looking for dresses, jeans, casual tops or even luxurious dresses for special occasions, check out the Seraphine store on Hampstead High Street.
Warm isn’t it? While you were sunbathing amid the funfair on Fortune Green, what else has been happening in West Hampstead?
A hot dog stand and ice cream van popped up (not in the fashionable sense) on the widened Thameslink station. Then disappeared. Then appeared again. It’s not quite the farmers’ market though is it?
The original Café Bon, which seemed to have closed, has reopened.
Also preparing to open where Sushi Gen was is the geographically strangely named Picasso. Geographically strange because it’s offering “Italian street food”.
At least one Lymington Road resident isn’t happy with how the temporary school buildings on the sports ground are affecting her view.
Sarah Polley’s latest film Take This Waltz is one of this week’s local films.
A dispersal zone has been put in place for a large part of Kilburn. Meanwhile, a West Hampstead dispersal zone has been proposed by the police. There’s a consultation meeting about this on August 28th. Full post on this coming very soon.
The third #whampbooks night at West End Lane Books was a big success. Thanks to all who came, to the bookshop for the late-night opening, and Chelsea Square for the wine.
Tweet of the Week Seasonal greetings
Coming Soon This Thursday Dame Janet Suzman is reading from her new book Not Hamlet at West End Lane Books. It’s free, but you need to reserve and I’d do it quick.
Next Thursday, the 16th, is the third of our occasional #whampbooks events with the marvellous West End Lane Books.
The premise is simple: you come to the bookshop from 7.30pm. You can chat to some lovely locals, you can drink some (free) wine, browse the shelves, and if you want to buy anything then you’ll get a 20% discount. Yes, free wine AND 20% off books. Come on.
No tickets, no pre-booking, just turn up. The event usually winds up aroud 9 – 9.30pm.
If you’ve been reading the local film listings of late, you’ll have spotted that the Tricycle in Kilburn has been taken over for the Trinidad & Tobago cultural village. Fiona went along to see whether it had brought some Caribbean sunshine to the mean streets of Kilburn:
“After an incredible weekend for Team GB, my flatmates and I had thoroughly caught Olympic fever. So on Monday night we decided to try one of the cultural villages that have popped up across London, and as Trinidad and Tobago have made the Tricycle Theatre in Kilburn their home, it seemed like the obvious choice.
The evening’s main event was a dance class was led by Attillah Springer who is heavily involved in the local Trinidad community in Kilburn (she has a blog). She began by explaining the history of wining and its importance as an expression of freedom and female sensuality. For her wining is about owning your own body and displaying it proudly during Carnival. We were repeatedly told ‘Your bottom is not your enemy!’
We started with simple ‘chipping’ (effectively walking with rhythm) and then moved on slowly to creating the signature grinding movement. I won’t pretend I was any good at it but I did manage to learn something and had a great laugh doing so – and who knows, by the time the Notting Hill Carnival comes around I might be wining with ease!
After the class we went downstairs to eat. There are five or six stalls serving up traditional Caribbean food from tiny hotplates and microwaves. We chose one, which turned out to be from Jouvert, a Trinidad and Tobagan restaurant rather annoyingly based in SE6. The roti was really excellent: tender chunks of mutton with spicy potatoes, proper chapatti, and grilled plantain on the side, all for £8 (or £6 without the plantain). No cards are taken, so take cash! We washed it all down with Carib beer, and sat back to watch some athletics and cheer on the Jamaicans on the big screen as sadly no one from T&T was competing that evening.
There is still plenty more to come as the village runs until the 25th August. The workshop floor where we had our dance class was covered in glitter from an earlier children’s workshop, and if you can tear yourself away from the Olympics (we couldn’t) there are also film screenings and music concerts (the later sadly seems to have sold out) in the evenings. We had a great evening, and on a wet squib of a summer evening, it was nice to find a slice of Caribbean sunshine on our doorstep!
I reported a few days ago that London Farmers’ Markets had added West Hampstead to its list, with an opening date of September 22nd. Odd then that a day later the page had been removed. Odd, right?
I contacted LFM to see if I could find out why, and was met with a “not my area, call back later in the week,” delivered in a defensive tone.
Instead, I tweeted Cheryl Cohen of LFM who responded very quickly and much more positively. She quelled the rumour I’d heard that the problem was a conflict with Queens Park farmers’ market, which LFM also runs.
“We are confident,” said Cohen, “that we will have confirmation of the West Hampstead farmers’ market soon and are very much looking forward to becoming a part of the local community.”
This would imply that the issue is with Network Rail, who own the land and perhaps the website shouldn’t have gone live.
There’ll be a Facebook page for the market soon apparently. But despite the disappearance of the website, the message from LFM is that all is still on track. Lets hope Network Rail are on the same track.
Sadly, Ammis Curry on the Kilburn High Road has closed.
I hear that Sushi Gen is going to become an Italian restaurant called Picasso (yes, I know Picasso wasn’t Italian).
There’s an art exhibition at Gloves Boxing Club (of all places) raising money for Broadway – a homeless charity.
There was another accident involving a pedestrian and a lorry on the Kilburn High Road, thankfully this one wasn’t fatal.Local cllr Thomas Gardiner has asked Camden’s transport chief to investigate, in co-operation with Brent & TfL.
Have your say on how Camden chooses the unheralded gems of West Hampstead.
