Residents First

Capital Clean up coming soon

Residents can help to keep Hammersmith & Fulham cleaner than ever before by 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.

Clean-ups will take place at:

• Wormwood Scrubs Local Nature Reserve - Saturday 19 May, 10:00am - 2:00pm
• Bishops Park, Fulham - Saturday 19 May, 10:00am - 2:00pm

Cllr Harry Phibbs, cabinet member for community engagement, said:

“In this borough, we are lucky that there are so many people who take pride in where they live and refuse to see the borough treated like a giant rubbish bin.

“I would like to thank the army of residents who help the council to keep the borough clean and urge all like-minded people to take part in the two Capital Clean-up events on May 18.”

To register for a Capital Clean-up email capitalcleanup@groundwork.org.uk or call 0300 365 9950.

Mayor plants trees

The Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr Frances Stainton and a prestigious Japanese visitor planted three new trees at Hammersmith Park recently.

Hammersmith Park in Shepherds Bush has its very own Japanese Garden that dates back to the Japan British Exhibition of 1910.

The Mayor was joined by Akira Kobayashi, from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

Cllr Stainton said:

“It was a great pleasure to welcome Mr Kobayashi to Hammersmith Park. This borough has a great affinity to our Japanese friends, dating back to the early twentieth century. I am sure the relationship will flourish over the years, like the trees that we planted and we look forward to when a tea ceremony is held among them.”

The Mayor and Mr Kobayashi planted three Japanese Cherry trees sponsored by the newly formed White City Lions Club.

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.

Safest Parks

Two parks in Hammersmith & Fulham have won a prestigious award.

Normand Park in Fulham and Brook Green in Hammersmith were both awarded the coveted Silver Safer Park Award at a special awards ceremony at City Hall.

Closer working between residents, the police and the council is one of the main reasons why they have been named amongst the safest open spaces in London.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council has its very own, council-funded Parks Constabulary, whose officers work every day of the year to keep the borough’s parks and open spaces safe. The officers provide a friendly face for  visitors to the borough’s parks but also deal with crimes including vandalism and drug taking, and issues regarding dangerous dogs.

Parks set for £2 million boost

Eleven of the borough’s most popular parks are set to be improved next year at a total cost of £2million.

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council has announced exciting plans to revitalise parks the length and breath of the borough as part of its commitment to providing top quality, beautiful parks and open spaces.

Over £1million will be spent on Wormholt Park in Shepherds Bush subject to funding confirmation. The park will be fully refurbished and residents will be consulted later in the year.

The council will also be spending £300,000 sprucing up Eel Brook Common in Fulham. As well as carrying out general improvements, paths will be enhanced and new bins and benches will be installed.

The council also intends to spend £74,000 redeveloping the play area at Brook Green, Hammersmith, subject to funding confirmation. £177,000 has already been spent on improving the play area at South Park in Fulham.

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

Improved William Parnell Park officially opened

The new and improved William Parnell Park in Fulham has been officially opened.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council (H&F) has been working closely with environmental regeneration charity Groundwork London to transform the open space from a park and play facility which suffered from vandalism and bouts of nuisance behaviour into a secure, modern and innovative natural play area for all ages.

Known affectionately as Pineapple Park, the revamped park utilises the existing landscape including its large hills to create exciting opportunities for play. The park features a large slide and stepping stones on one of its hills, a timber climbing frame with cargo net and a basket swing. A sand pit, digger and board walk have also been installed for younger children.

The new facilities were officially opened by the Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr Frances Stainton on Saturday December 17.

Blooming marvellous

Hammersmith & Fulham is officially ‘blooming marvellous’ after sweeping the board at the recent London in Bloom awards – picking up an incredible 16 gongs!

London in Bloom is a well established and high profile initiative that invites neighbourhoods from across the capital to breath new life into their local green spaces.

Judges visited H&F in the summer and were amazed with what they saw. They awarded the borough a ‘Silver Gilt’ award and stated that the council ‘continues to maintain their parks and open spaces to high standards. A major success for such a small team.’

In addition to the overall award, the borough won 15 individual prizes. Frank Banfield Park in Hammersmith won a Gold Award. The park has seen major improvements recently and features a brand new children's play area, attractive new landscaping, improved railings and gates and new benches.

Wormholt Park volunteering event on Friday

Gardening fans and lovers of the great outdoors should attend a Wormholt Park volunteering day at the end of the month.

The event, taking place on Friday, July 29 from 11am to 2pm, will see members of the public take part in a whole host of tasks ranging from flower beds digging to sanding and painting of the railings surrounding the park and litter picking.

The event is being organised by Hammersmith & Fulham Council and environmental charity Groundwork London and will be an excellent opportunity for users of the park, in Shepherds Bush to have their say on what improvements they would like made.

The information collected will form part of a Masterplan for the park which will inform a proposed future redevelopment.

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

“The council is looking forward to carrying out a number of improvements to Wormholt Park and I hope as many people as possible attend this event so that they can tell us what they would like us to do.”

If you would like to attend the events, please contact Amy Lee on 0208 762 0323.

Six Green Flag Awards

An incredible six parks the length and breadth of the borough have been named amongst the country’s best open spaces.

Ravenscourt Park, Frank Banfield Park and Margravine Cemetery have been awarded with Green Flag status for the third year in a row. Normand Park has won the coveted honour for the second year while St Peter’s Square in Hammersmith and Little Wormwoods Scrubs have collected Green Flag Awards for the first time.

The Green Flag Award is the national standard for parks and is managed by Keep Britain Tidy. Hammersmith and Fulham Council has pumped more than £6 million into its many picturesque parks and open spaces and these awards recognise the council’s commitment to ensuring its parks have excellent facilities and are maintained to the highest standard possible all year round.

In addition, Loris Gardens and Godolphin Road Community Gardens have retained their Green Pennant Awards which recognise high quality green spaces that are managed by voluntary and community groups. Both of these gardens have been managed by the Hammersmith Community Gardens Association.

Ravenscourt Glasshouses open

Pupils from local schools attended a healthy lunch at Ravenscourt Glasshouses to mark its refurbishment by the council.

The event was organised by Hammersmith and Fulham Urban Studies Centre (HFUSC) and Hammersmith Community Gardens Association (HCGA).

HFUSC were awarded funding by the council to run a series of healthy living events and are using the Glasshouses to deliver sessions to pupils from Flora Gardens School and Lena Gardens School.

Activities include making fruit smoothies using a pedal powered smoothie maker, planting vegetables and taking part in a shelf life quiz.

Pupils from Vanessa Nursery School were also in attendance because the Glasshouses are the base for their Get Growing! Project – a scheme that promotes food growing and healthy eating in nursery and pre schools across the borough.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council has spent £10,000 refurbishing the Glasshouses so that the space can be used more flexibly for training courses and to provide environmental education programmes.

Cllr Greg Smith, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services attended the launch and said:

“I am delighted that the refurbished Glasshouses are now open and am sure that it will become an environmental resource centre for the entire borough."