On 20th September, Coll McDonnell brought us the news on facebook that the Victorian shops on the Goldhawk Road, numbered 30 to 52, are threatened with demolition:
‘It has come to my attention that Hammersmith and Fulham Council want to make “improvements” to Shepherds Bush Market. While some of the suggestions may be welcome, the Planning Brief proposes the demolition of 30-52 Goldhawk Road. (A full copy of the draft planning and regeneration brief can be viewed on the Local Plan pages of the Council’s website).
At the moment, this row of shops does not look much. (This is in part due to the fact that late last century Hammersmith and Fulham enforced the removal of cornicing on “health and safety grounds.”) But the reality is this terrace was built in the early to mid-ninteenth century and they are good examples of Victorian shops. The fact that they have fallen on hard times is no reason to have them demolished. Rather this should be seen as an opportunity to have them restored to their former charm.
The Planning Brief suggests relocating the businesses to within the developed market. But this terrace of shops brings atmosphere and community to the Goldhawk Road. Not one of these shops is part of a chain – many are family firms – and the Pie and Mash shop has been in that location since 1899. It would not be the same to simply relocate them. There is a real danger that we will be turning a vibrant and interesting (if somewhat rundown) part of Shepherds Bush into something bland and average.
The Planning Brief goes on to describe 30-52 Goldhawk Road as being of a ‘scale that is no longer appropiate for this part of the Goldhawk Road townscape’. But the height of this terrace is very much part of their charm. We have lost much good architecture in the area, such as Shepherds Bush Station, in recent years. Lets stop the destruction of yet more good bulidings.
Please register your objections by email at: SBMarket@lbhf.gov.uk or call Jackie Simkins in the Council’s Planning department on: 0208 753 3460. The deadline for the Council to receive responses is 5pm on Monday, 11th October,’
The deadline has now been extended to 5pm Monday 18th October and the facebook group is growing by the day. It is important that we keep emailing/phoning the Planning dept. The following is an extract from Dan Hodges ‘s article that appeared in the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle:
‘Traders were told they will have to move out of their row of Victorian buildings, which stand on the edge of the market area which Hammersmith and Fulham Council wants to develop. But they have been left in the dark about what alternative premises they will be offered, and fear they will be forced to shut up shop. The strip includes a pie and mash shop which has served the area for more than a century, and several traditional family-run fabric and textile stores.
Mike Boughton, whose ‘A Cooke’s Pie and Mash’ shop dates back to the 19th century and has been in its current premises since 1913, said: “I’m not going to move out. We’ll fight it, unless they start offering some fancy money or appropiate premises.”
The Council announced in September that a developer, Orion Shepherds Bush Ltd, was interested in transforming the market site to create more shops, cafes, housing and a cultural quarter. Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh said: “While we understand the historic importance of this row of shops, they are now of poor appearance. They have suffered from inappropriate alterations over many years and have lost most of the architectural detailing which once contributed to their character and appearance. They are currently in a state of disrepair and it is unlikely that they will receive the kind of investment required from their private owners in the near future. By including these shops as part of an exciting new development it will be possible to create an enhanced entrance for the market on Goldhawk Road that reflects the historic character of the area.”
So he says that: “…it will be possible to create an enhanced entrance for the market on Goldhawk Road that reflects the historic character of the area.” Tarting it up and demolishing existing bulidings won’t reflect the historic character of the area Mr Greenhalgh !!!
Please support the campaign.
Steve Russell
i find this utterly disgusting,,,,who do the beaurocats think they are….to think they can just demolish our history,for greed…..
whats more cultural in london than pie and mash
Generations of R’s fans have had a meal at Cookes as an unmissable part of their pre-match routine.C’mon everyone,pull your finger out,tout-de-suite,and let the Council know this ain’t on.
Excellent article,Steve.Vital stuff to me as a W12 resident.Duly sent an email to SBMarket@lbhf.gov.uk – what a lot of rot about ‘cornices’ and ‘height’ and then Fatty Greenhalgh puts the tin-lid on it with a bit of Orwellian doublespeak by saying we’ll knock down something historical to build something new to reflect history.You what?
I hope Robert Elms knows about this,his blood will surely be boiling,what with his Dad working on the market.I’ll try and phone his radio show today to try and get him to give a shout-out.
Well done Olly. The latest from the facebook group…
‘The council have decided not to have a public meeting about the redevelopment of Shepherds Bush Market and the demolition of 30-52 Goldhawk Road. They are instead holding “drop in sessions” on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 October between 12 – 7pm. These will take place in the old library on Uxbridge Road.
These drop in sessions are a farce as they are being held after the council have voted on the plans.
Rather than attending the drop in sessions individually we are asking as many people as possible to turn up to the old Shepherds Bush library at 6pm on Friday 15 October. That way we can treat it as the public meeting we never got. So please join us on Friday at 6pm so we can put our views – en mass – to the council. Thank you.’
What a disgrace and shown up for what they are !!!
It just gets worse,accountable to no one !!! Coll has just posted this bit of news….
‘I have just had a phone call from a resident in Pennard Mansions. She knew nothing about the planned demolition despite the fact that their building adjoins our terrace of shops. This shows that the council have failed in their responsibility to local residents.’
I’ll be there on Friday.
Could be time to get busy with some bespoke flags and banners…. 😉
Also hope I can find in the market some tomatoes on the turn…
Thanks for this Steve. I did get in touch with Coll. I don’t know if my opinion is worth anything to the council as I don’t live in the borough but I’ll let my feelings be known.I can’t make it on Friday but I will be going to Cooke’s on Saturday before the game and will sign any petition they may be running.
This just cannot happen. I will certainly be emailing my objection to lbhf. As stated in this article, these shops have been there since early nineteenth century and we have got to preserve our heritage, we cannot just keep knocking down these places because of convenience. Spend the money and restore them, not everything is about making money for goodness sake.
Hey those shops have been there for years,espicially the pie and mash shop I was brought up on pie an Mash and now my children are eating pie and mash PLEASE PLEASE leave our tradtions alone
Traders and customers have been telling us that the market has been allowed to decline because of a lack of investment. We want to see the market return to its former glory so that that more people visit it and its businesses become more profitable.
All the business at 30-52 Goldhawk Road will be able to stay in any new market area and the Pie and Mash Shop will always remain an integral part of the market.
We all know that the Market has been in decline for years. Those shops on the Goldhawk Road are very successful and must also be protected as historic Victorian buildings and can co-exist with a revitalised Market. As I concluded above…..
So he says that: “…it will be possible to create an enhanced entrance for the market on Goldhawk Road that reflects the historic character of the area.” Tarting it up and demolishing existing bulidings won’t reflect the historic character of the area Mr Greenhalgh !!!
PLEASE SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN
I did not know about this Steve and thanks for bringing it to my attention. This is the price we pay for sa-called modernism where cutural heritage of public value and appreciation gets overrided by idiots behind drawing boards who think they know best what’s good for the cummunity. When I was working in the sorting office here in Cork some years ago we had a whizz-kid with nine letters after his name who came up with an ingenius plan to modernise the sorting system and introduce new delivery methods…those reading this will have guessed that of course the young chap had never sorted a letter in his life much less delivered one to a door. The changes were an unworkable disaster. The post office wasted a lot of money with the modernisation and then more money to revert to the old system that nobody had a problem with..in essence, the old system looked old fashioned and laborious but it worked! The whizz-kid was promoted a year later with a fat performance bonus and another year later was head-hunted by our electrical semi-state body no doubt to foist further damage to an already workable system. The proper thing to do here and to preserve community pride in buildings like 30 – 52 Goldhawk Road would be to inject money into the upkeep of them. When visitors come to London and take a walk through such places of beauty, innocence and charm like Shepherd’s Bush Market they get their cameras clicking to preserve the moment. They don’t chase after ugly monstrosities because very likely they already have them at home. Cultural heritage is highly important and the day we lose it we lose a part of ourselves, who we are, who our mums and dads were and who our grand-parents were.
Just FYI, Cookes’ does have a petition. Bex signed it today. I’ll do my very best to get to the meeting on Friday and will sign the petition on Saturday too. Glad to see such terrific support for this cause. London’s heritage and culture seems all-too-easily disposable these days. Make a stand for tradition!
This country is slowly but surely being stripped of its heritage buy people who show utter contempt for the views of those that matter.
A West London boy, although not from the Bush, have always been proud of the character and history that Shepherds Bush posseses.
Given all the hollow, bland, boring and staid ‘new towns’ that have been created in the past you would think these people would embrace all that we have and invest in something that is real…. but they are misled with power… a fatal concoction.
Keep up the pressure everyone, and good will out.
Steve. With you all the way. Could I just say you are the only person who reliably reports on youth team games. I am staying away from watching the first team out of superstition. They’re winning. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I just want to say please continue to give your youth team reports. The official site is terrible. And not a word in the last home game programme about youth. What a testament to Steve Gallen and Marc Bircham. Last game, I know you were there, Bruno got a hat_trick and got professional contract. The boy Gibbons looked absolutely fantastic. Great goal and technique of a potential Quashie or even a Francis. Please carry on your reports because the club seem not to be giving these guys any credit.
Thanks for your kind words Steve. I didn’t see Bruno’s hat-trick unfortunately, I was heading off to Palace at the time, but I will be at Harlington this Saturday mate.
ATTENTION HAMMERSMITH AND FULHAM COUNCIL…
Im a trader in shepherds bush market, its a 2nd generation business which we have run for 30 years. We asked the council to REFURBISH our market…NOT REDEVELOP or RELOCATE BUSINESSES…..90% of traders ARE AGAINST the councils current proposals and we have sent in petitions to the council ( 100s of signatures)
Fact is TRADERS DONT WANT IT, RESIDENTS DONT WANT IT, GOLDHWAK ROAD DONT WANT IT, and the local MP has hammered the council for the total sham it is.
What will happen to us? i have a young family who i support only through the market.
Since when have the council suddenly started caring for the market? they DO NOT CARE FOR US, WITH THIS DEVELOPMENT THEY STAND TO MAKE BIG MONEY, THATS WHAT THIS WHOLE THING IS ABOUT.
Time and again we have asked the council for public meetings, assurances and transparency.
I request as many of you as possible to turn up at 6pm this friday at the old library !!
Coll has just put this up for the facebook group. Well done to him for attending and for his report….
I have just come back from the Cabinet meeting. What became clear from talking to the director of communications Simon Jones is that there is still time to put our case to council.
What took place today does take the whole process forward but it is not the end of the line. It was not the approval of the planning scheme …but rather the approval of the whole process continuing.
As far as I can tell, the big thing which was approved tonight was the right to seek compulsory purchase powers “of all relevant property interests within the regeneration site.” I’m afraid to say this does include 30-52 Goldhawk Road. But I must stress that the council has not approved the use of these powers in this case.
According to Simon Jones the best thing for us to do is find out when the whole development of Shepherds Bush Market is up for discussion by the whole of the council. This according to Mr Jones is quite soon – but I will find out exactly when. We can, if we apply, submit questions to council which we ask them in person. The questions could be “Would the council consider restoration of 30-52 Goldhawk Road as an option in the renovation of the market.” Or “Will the council guarantee that all present stall holders in the market retain their stall.” Or even “Will the council seek to ensure that stallholders rents do not exceed inflation.”
There is also a formal way a submitting petitions and this is also something we should do.The good news is that no planning consent was approved tonight. And that, according to Simon Jones, we have time on our side.
If you would like to look at the exact wording of what was approved tonight go to the link and then go to page 39. There in bold you will see three items under recommendations: It is these three items that were approved tonight.
See more:
http://democracy.lbhf.gov.uk/Published/C00000116/M00001543/$$ADocPackPublic.pdf
democracy.lbhf.gov.uk
The Bush Gazette covered the story today and incredibly this is a quote from the Council Planning Officer, a Matt Butler and which for me really illutrates what the campaign is up against !!!
“The scale of the Victorian strip of shops is ‘not appropiate.’ It doesn’t provide a consistent facade, and we feel that what would give more presence to the street, as well as an entrance to the market, would be something of equivalent height to Pennard Road that would provide a grand frontage to Goldhawk Road.”
The so called meeting was a farce! Complete stitch up. No consultation and the council already have agreed to go ahead. Andy Slaughter,the local M.P. is trying to get a proper Q and A meeting .
First the very un-London claustrophobic “bling” of Westfield is forced upon us, and now this! Designers from all over the world favour the charm, expertise and reliable knowledge of these small textile businesses, willingly supporting them. And it’s reciprocal, they keep the prices down, we make our budgets stretch further. QED. These unimaginative, greedy, faceless councillors with their own puny agenda, stealthily implemented then come along and blindly trash a whole way of life! The saddest thing of all is their absolute lack of remorse for this attitude, which is also deterring Aglophiles from all over the world. WAKE UP, leave well alone or at least listen to the traders and support what already works, before it’s to late. Considering the present financial climate this could hardly be a less appropriate proposal.
I am afraid the traders will suffer and we as customers of this wonderful row of shops which i bring my friends from far and wide to visit and purchase from , will be lost.
Pass it on,everyone should sign the petition at cookes pie mash shop,best of luck to them all
This is one of the best pie & mash shop’s in the area,its part of Londons culture we dont want to change
it,to demolish these shop’s to build new ones is disgraceful.
I find the decision to destroy these shops as perverse, they offer an outstanding contribution to the local community and I buy fabrics from two of these great shops for my clients in Fulham, including some very famous show business personalities.
Why are we destroying the heritage,as everyone knows High Streets are being destroyed all over the UK,the Government recognizes this and has appointed the Retail Guru Mary Portas to help regenerate NOT destroy local shopping areas.
By all means provide renovation grants to spruce up this shops, but please do not destroy!!!!!
this must not happenthese shops are incredible
These shops are invaluable and must not be demolished.
I am a student at The London College of Fashion and I study at Lime Grove, just round the corner from these shops. I only recently moved to London, I come from York which is full of old buildings so understand their value – I don’t think these shops are ugly, there is a history behind them and that should be what matters. They may not be as impressive as some but by turning them into a generic strip full of commercial shops will destroy the charm and won’t make Goldhawk Road stand out from anywhere else.
As for the market, it is very famous as it is and this too has its own character, why demolish everything when they are perfectly good buildings that could simply be restored if anything is to be done at all.
The shops themselves; as I am studying ‘costume for performance’ I – and many other students – have to buy lots of extravagant fabrics on a small budget and this is what these shops offer. They are very friendly, a lot more so than other places around London, and it’s really nice to have small family businesses as opposed to huge companies who don’t really care about the customer. These families have worked hard to keep their businesses going so why destroy this?
We need Goldhawk road……It’s FAMOUS FOR FABRICS!!!!!
Hi steve russell
I am making a film for the BBC Inside out prog about the fight that the shops face. Could you please call me on 0776 433 5633
All the best Ray Hough producer
Steve call me an old fool because you kindly rang me and ive written the wrong number down so cannot call you back. please call me again this evening
Ray Hough
0776 433 5633
We don’t need another 212 flats. London is overcrowded as it is, and the infrastructure cannot support those who currently live here, let alone the many more who are going to move in.
Leave the Goldhawk Road alone. It is full of history.
Where do we write to register opposition to this crazy scheme?