Residents First

Capital Clean up at Wormwood Scrubs

Residents can help to keep the streets of Hammersmith & Fulham cleaner than ever before by organising or taking part in a ‘Capital Clean-up’ event.

The campaign, run by the Mayor of London, is now in its sixth year of helping Londoners take part in the maintenance of the places where they live and work.

So far, across London, 11,000 volunteers have rolled up their sleeves and taken part in over 1000 clean up events. 4,800 bags of litter have been removed, 0.75 acres worth of graffiti has been stripped clean and 2.2 acres of habitats have been spruced up.

And with the millions of visitors coming to London for this summer’s Olympics, keeping the city clean has never been more important.

Bentworth Primary School Academy consultation

The Governors of Bentworth Primary School have begun a public consultation on the school becoming an academy in September 2012.

The new academy would be operated by ARK Schools who have a track record of success in the area.The education charity operates 11 schools across London, Portsmouth and Birmingham, including the hugely popular Burlington Danes Academy in the north of the borough. It has recently opened a primary free school in White City, the ARK Conway Primary Academy.

Chairman of Governors, Eugenie White says:

“We have been considering various options to raise the levels of academic achievement at the school and to establish a leadership and financial structure that is effective in the long term. We think this is best done through being part of an academy group and we have chosen ARK Schools because of its substantial and successful local presence.”

Park Royal City vision: We built this city on rails and road

 

Slaughter's insult to the residents of College Park & Old Oak Ward

A curious comment about the proposed boundary changes from the Labour MP for Hammersmith, Andrew Slaughter, in his latest news bulletin:

I shall be sorry to see Fulham Reach and North End, my old council ward, move out of Hammersmith constituency.

All very touching. But what about the College Park and Old Oak Ward? Why does he not mention them? They would also cease to be in the new constituency. Is he so scatty that he was unaware of this? Or does he have some peculiar hostility to this section of his constituency which prompts him to welcome their removal?

New research and Pete Waterman back case for HS2

Residents of Old Oak were doing the locomotion today as music mogul Pete Waterman lent his support to the campaign to bring High Speed Rail to north-west London.

The music impresario, who brought us the likes of Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and Bananarama, is a keen rail enthusiast and a supporter of the new line proposed between London and Birmingham.

Mr Waterman said: “It’s all very well for NIMBYs in the Chilterns to worry about their lawns, but with the demand for rail travel predicted to continue to grow, the railways are facing serious capacity issues.

"A new High Speed Rail line will not only address the problems with capacity, but dramatically reduce journey times.”

Stephen Greenhalgh gives evidence to Transport Select Commottiee on High Speed 2

Council leader Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh gave evidence to the Transport Select Committee (chaired by Labour MP Louise Ellman) on june 28. Here is the transcript.

Witnesses: Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader, Hammersmith & Fulham Council, John Dickie, Director of Strategy & Policy, London First, and Daniel Moylan, Deputy Chairman, Transport for London, gave evidence.

Q162 Chair: Good afternoon, gentlemen, and welcome to the Transport Select Committee. Could I ask you to identify yourselves, please, with your name and organisation?

John Dickie: John Dickie. I am the Director of Strategy and Policy at London First.

Daniel Moylan: Daniel Moylan, Deputy Chairman of Transport for London. I am speaking for the Mayor.

Stephen Greenhalgh: Councillor Stephen Greenhalgh, the Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

Q163 Chair: What would you say are the strongest and weakest points in the case for high speed rail?

Stephen Greenhalgh: I would start off by saying that one of the strongest points is the economic regeneration potential within my borough. The previous witness talked about the connectivity at Old Oak. Old Oak is one of the forgotten parts of Hammersmith & Fulham. It is landlocked railway sidings. In fact, I only got a site visit for the first time last week. I pass it every day virtually in the train but, yet, you do not notice it. It has the economic potential to create a new city for London, bigger than Canary Wharf, to unlock thousands of jobs and 11,000 homes. What excites me is the economic impact to transform one of the most deprived communities in the country.

Farrells to help council tell ‘West Side Story’

 

Sir Terry Farrell (right) and Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh at Old Oak Common

World renowned architects Terry Farrell and Partners are to work with Hammersmith & Fulham Council to create a vision for the regeneration of Old Oak Common.

The proposed High Speed Rail line from London to Birmingham will include a major interchange station at Old Oak Common that will provide a catalyst for significant regeneration of this neglected corner of London.

Plans for a Crossrail station at the interchange will link train services to the High Speed line to the continent, as well as links to the existing North and West London suburban routes, Bakerloo and Central Lines. A second phase will see a spur to Heathrow.

It is projected that HS2 will bring 10,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs to west London, regenerating an area in the bottom fifth of the most deprived areas in Britain. At the time of the last census just over a half of working age adults living within 2km of the site were in employment, falling to less than half for those living within 1km.

“Old Oak Common has the potential to be as significant for west London as the redevelopment of Stratford has been for the east of the city,” said H&F Council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh. “H&F Council is determined to demonstrate what the regeneration of the area can achieve and to present a vision for the future of Old Oak.”

Farrells have previously been involved in other regeneration projects in the borough, such as the proposals for the transformation of Earls Court. The architects have also had specific involvement in the proposed High Speed Rail line at other stations on the route.

Sir Terry Farrell said:

"This is an incredibly exciting opportunity to work on a project that will not only reshape west London, but have a huge impact on the country as a whole.

“High Speed Rail is not just a transportation strategy; it’s a nationwide economic catalyst that requires creative placemaking. At Farrells we have previously worked on proposals for Euston and Birmingham stations in relation to HS2 and are helping reshape Ashford and Folkestone thanks to the economic stimulus provided by the arrival of HS1.

“Old Oak Common presents an exceptional opportunity and we look forward to developing a clear vision to maximise the benefits of HS2."

H&F Council is engaging with the Mayor of London, Transport for London and other west London councils before making its submission to the Department for Transport consultation that closes on 29 July. Cllr Greenhalgh will also be giving evidence to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee on 28 June.

Wormwood Scrubs Fun Run

Wormwood Scrubs will be the venue for a four mile fun run on Saturday, June 11.

The event is free and is open to everyone to take part in.

The race starts at 9am and will then take place every Saturday at the same time meeting near the Linford Christie Outdoor Sports Centre car park.

Everyone is welcome to attend the free weekly four mile timed run, jog or walk open to all abilities. Whether you are interested in taking part as an established runner, wannabe runner or simply to improve your health and fitness.

Cllr Greg Smith, cabinet member for residents’ services, said:

“Wormwood Scrubs is the largest park in the borough and this run will help people to keep fit while enjoying a beautiful open space.”

For more information visit www.parkrun.org.uk/wormwood-scrubs

Wormwood Scrubs Annual Fun Day

Over 400 people enjoyed a sunny day out at the Wormwood Scrubs Annual Family Fun Day last Saturday (April 9).

Locals attended the event to celebrate the benefits of the nature reserve and enjoy an array of exciting activities in the spring sunshine.

The free annual event, organised by Groundwork London together with Hammersmith & Fulham Council, has become widely anticipated by the local community and provides an opportunity to bring people together and get them directly involved in making use of the nature reserve.

Locals who attended came face to face with farm animals at the mobile farm and petting zoo and experienced a sense of grandeur as they were escorted around the park by horse drawn carriages. Children impressively scaled the heights of the climbing wall, learnt bushcraft skills, created puppets using recycled materials and were treated to story readings courtesy of Hammersmith and Fulham Libraries, all whilst being serenaded by the tropical sounds of a steel pans band.

Have your say on high speed rail

Residents are having their say on plans to build a high-speed rail link between London and the north and create thousands of new homes and jobs in the north of the borough.

Earlier this month the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond launched the public consultation on High Speed 2 (HS2) and named Old Oak Common as London’s interchange station.

The site just north of Wormwood Scrubs intersects the Great Western mainline and the West and North London Lines and provides links to a future Crossrail station. Supporters say it creates an ideal interchange linking Heathrow Express services to Birmingham, the north and Gatwick Airport. Journey times from Old Oak to Heathrow would be just 11 minutes. If the current proposals go-ahead around 10,000 new homes and 5,000 extra jobs could be created in the area – which is one of the most deprived in London.