Reactions to the ‘Big Ideas’ proposed to develop Chiswick’s town centre
Images above: The Wild Bunch cafe
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Bridget Osborne
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Bridget Osborne2022-01-17 19:45:552022-01-18 11:09:16Reactions to the ‘Big Ideas’ proposed to develop Chiswick’s town centreCafe owners facing Turnham Green delighted
Cafe owners whose businesses face Turnham Green are delighted that Hounslow Council is considering making more use of Turnham Green for events and activities. Cabinet members universally approved a report calledWest London borough police commander sacked for gross misconduct
Image above: former Chief Superintendent Paul Martin
West London borough police commander Chief Superintendent Paul Martin has been sacked for gross misconduct. He bullied staff and made bogus expenses claims, the Metropolitan Police’s Directorate of Professional Standards found. He has been sacked without notice.
A misconduct hearing which concluded on Sunday 16 January found
Owner of Annie’s opens Rock & Rose in Chiswick High Rd
Image above: Bar from the Rock & Rose website
The owner of Annie's, Strand on the Green, Lorraine Angliss, is launching a new restaurant where Bill's used to be on the High Rd. Called Rock & Rose, like her restaurant in Richmond, it will be a "funky cocktail bar and restaurant with an Asian influenced menu and good music" she says, and an "eclectic" decor. The new 140 sea
New mental health campaign launched by NHS with ‘Help!’ from The Beatles
The NHS has launched a new 'landmark' campaign to get Londoners to take better care of their mental health, using the iconic Beatles song ‘Help!' to promote the campaign.
The classic soundtrack, written by the Beatles superstar in 1964, includes the lyrics “Help me if you can, I’m feeling down” and were donated by Sony Music and Apple Corps f
Draft plans for redevelopment of Chiswick’s big Sainsburys site published
Image above: Google Street View of entrance to Sainsbury's car park
Draft plans for the redevelopment of the big Sainsburys site in Chiswick have been presented to Hounslow Council's Cabinet and approved for public consultation. The plans propose a new food store 'embedded within a mixed use development' in the area currently covered by the supermarket and its car park.
Presente
New university to open in Chiswick Business Park
Image above: Chiswick Business Park by Jennifer Griffiths
A university will be opening in Chiswick later this year, after planning permission was granted for the campus in Chiswick Business Park.
Richmond, The American International University in London - a liberal arts university, will be moving from its current campus in Richmond in July 2022. This year alsoEquivalent of 400 Olympic-sized swimming pools of sewage spilled into Thames on each of two days
Image above: Raw sewage in the River Thames at Strand on the Green
Our bit of Thames was mentioned in a parliamentary select committee report, and not in a good way. The Environmental Audit Committee has just published the Fourth report of Session 2021-22 on water quality in rivers. It revealed a staggering fact about the amount of raw sewage released into the Thames.
The commit
History of women’s football to be exhibited at Gunnersbury Park
The history of women’s football is to be exhibited at Gunnersbury Park Museum in summer 2022, in collaboration with UEFA Women’s EURO 2022.
The National Lottery funded project aims to challenge the common perception of women’s football being ‘new’ and change the nation’s understanding of the game.
Stories and objects relating to pioneering women and girls in football across Houns
Council approves plan to ‘reimagine’ Chiswick town centre
Image above: Chiswick High Rd
'Ambitious, collaborative, interventionist approach' - Steve Curran
Hounslow Council has approved a report which calls for a 'reimagining' of the borough's town centres: Chiswick, Brentford, Hounslow and Feltham. The report, commissioned by LB Hounslow as part of its Recovery Plan to address the impact of the pandemic, sets out an 'ambitiousChiswick masseur convicted of voyeurism
Image above: Tamas Dominko image from Facebook
A married man working as a masseur in Chiswick has been convicted of voyeurism, after a client in her 20s caught him filming her while she undressed.
Tamas Dominko, 35, used his mobile phone to film the customer in July 2021. He placed the device on a treatment room shelf.
He was caught out while working at a clinic in Chiswick,
Kew Gardens offering £1 tickets to visitors on Universal Credit
Kew Gardens has reduced entry prices for the poorest pensioners and visitors on Universal Credit to just £1.
The offer is part of Kew’s 'Manifesto for Change', which it created in early 2020 stating that its gardens must be accessible to a wide range of audiences.
Th
Council approves new management structure for Gunnersbury Park
Image above: Gunnersbury Park Museum; photograph Jennifer Griffiths
Hounslow Council has approved proposals to reorganise the management structure of Gunnersbury Park Estate, which will mean the council taking a back seat in managing the park.
Overall responsibility for running the site will be given to the Gunnersbury Museum and Park Development Trust, which will now take over
Betty application for 1am weekend licence turned down
Image above: Steve Novak, owner of Betty in Barley Mow Passage
"Chiswick needs a late night place" says owner
The owner of Betty, the restaurant-bar in Barley Mow Passage, has had his application for a late licence on Fridays and Saturdays turned down by LB Hounslow's Licensing Panel. Betty is currently licensed until 11.30pm on both nights. Owner Steve Novak applied toLocal charity receives funding to launch over 60s dance and movement classes
Image above: Move into Wellbeing® class
Move into Wellbeing®, founded in 2005 by Donna Schoenherr, has been granted money by LB Hounslow to deliver a 'Move into Wellbeing' class for Over 60s at the Hogarth Youth Centre on Duke’s Road, W4, during 2022.
The charity provides dance and movement classes for people with mobility restrictions. Move into Wellbeing® works with tho
Residents petition against 5G mast in conservation area
Image above: Example of a telecommunications mast head
Telecoms company wants to put one of these in Old Chiswick
Plans to erect a 20 metre high 5G telecommunications mast in the Old Chiswick conservation area have been met with resistance from local residents, who claim the structure will have a "significant detrimental impact." The mast and three associated cabinets woConfusion over new shop voucher scheme to encourage people to get vaccinated
Image above: Chiswick High Rd
There is confusion among Chiswick's traders over a new E-vouchers scheme offering residents money off in local shops.
Two Chiswick retailers told The Chiswick Calendar they have been told to hang on their window stickers and till arrangements because a new voucher scheme was in the offing, but they had heard nothing about a new scheme from the Counc
London Overground and Southwestern trains running reduced services due to staff absences
Overground trains, run by London Overground and Southwestern Railway (SWR), will be running reduced services this week as Covid-related staff absences continue to affect the transport network.
On the London Overground, which serves Gunnersbury station, a half-hourly service will operate between Richmond and Willesden Junction until Friday 14 January. Usually, the services runs every 12-15 minut
Fines increase for London’s red routes
Transport for London is increasing the fines for contraventions on London's red routes. As of Monday 17 January the charge will increase from £130 to £160. This puts it in line with penalties for non-payment of the Congestion Charge and the Ultra-Low Emission Zone, which are also currently set at £160.
TfL say the increased penalty will be 'a more effective deterrent that will lead to
Appeal to trace two significant witnesses to Ali Abucar Ali murder
Images above: CCTV footage of the potential witnesses
Police have released photos of two 'significant witnesses' they would like to speak to about the fatal stabbing of Ali Abucar Ali and the attack on 82-year-old Betty Walsh.
The CCTV image
Development of luxury houses at Hartington Rd turned down
Image above: The Victorian house at 17 Hartington Rd; photograph Mukti Jain Campion
Unanimous decision not to build in a conservation area with potential for flooding
LB Hounslow's planning committee has turned down an application for the development of four luxury houses in the garden of 17 Hartington Rd in Chiswick, despite the recommendation from their planning officersTube strikes planned for weekend evenings for six months
Tube strikes are likely on weekend evenings for the next six months, beginning on Friday 7 January.
Members of the RMT union are striking over plans for all drivers to put on the rota to work overnight shifts to fulfil Transport for London's promise to reintroduce the night tube service. They are threatening a programme of strikes to run until June.
Victoria and Central lines could be se
Visitors banned in West London hospitals
Hospitals in North West London have banned visitors because of the spread of the Omicron variant.
The NHS Clinical Commissioning Group for NW London (CCG) said on 5 January that it had banned visitors to its hospitals from Friday 31 December:
'To keep everyone safe, we can only permit visitors in exceptional circumstances, including:<
Residents object to Betty’s application for late licence at weekends
Image above: Betty's bar
Residents living close to Betty, the bar-restaurant in Barley Mow Passage, have expressed concern about the restaurant's application to extend their business opening hours. The owner of Betty Steve Novak has applied for later opening on Friday and Saturday nights.
Betty offers ‘casual dining’ - sharing platters and traditional pub standards, with a r
Traffic-free Fisher’s Lane given final sign-off by LB Hounslow
Image above: Fisher's Lane
The traffic restrictions at Fisher's Lane, making it cycles and buses only, have been made permanent, following a decision by Hounslow's department for Traffic, Transport & Parking.
LB Ealing councillors ratified a recommendation in September 2021 to make the traffic restrictions on Fisher’s Lane permanent and the last thing needed to make the ch
Consultation launched for 4.1km extension of Cycleway 9
Transport for London is asking people to comment on newly unveiled plans for a major extension to west London’s Cycleway 9 route. The plans include an extra 4.1km of new, protected cycle lanes stretching from Brentford High Street to Hounslow High Street.
On some sections, the cycle lanes would be ‘bi-directional’: this means that there would be two adjacent tracks for cyclists, one in e
Chiswick Post Office redevelopment backed by LB Hounslow
LB Hounslow are set to consider a report outlining visions for the future of the borough's town centres, including Chiswick, at an upcoming cabinet meeting.
Councillors will be presented with a series of 'big ideas' for the future of the High Road. Many of the ideas are described as 'aspirational' but the report does reveal confirmation that a major redevelopment of the Post Office building is
Vanessa Redgrave leads list of west London people to receive New Year’s honours
Vanessa Redgrave has been made a dame in the 2022 New Year's honours. The veteran actor and campaigner was awarded for her services to drama.
Others from west London to be awarded this time round include Chiswick businessman Steven Cooper, CEO of Aldermore Group and Co-Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, who was awarded a CBE for services to banking and social mobility, and a Sixth Fo
Chiswick RNLI celebrates 20 years of search and rescue
Images above: Chiswick lifeboat rescues
In January 2022 Chiswick RNLI and the other three Thames lifeboat stations celebrate 20 years of search and rescue on the tidal river. The stations at Chiswick and Tower Bridge are now the busiest lifeboat stations in the whole of the UK and Ireland, but it took a major disaster for the need for an emergency service on the river to be realise
Met to increase number of police officers on the street
London streets should see an increase in the number of police in coming weeks.
The Metropolitan Police announced in the autumn they would increase the number of 'bobbies on the beat' after data revealed a spike in unsolved minor crimes. The Met announced an extra 650 officers would be put back on the beat and that the new teams of officers would be in place 'by spring 2022.'
The decision to
Gunnersbury Park becomes Jurassic Park
An animatronic company is planning to take over a section of Gunnersbury Park during the Easter holidays to put on a display of life sized dinosaurs, which move and roar.
Dino Kingdom. the creators of the award-winning Lightopia Festival, which has brought crowds to Chiswick House Gardens in previous years, has applied for a licence to take over part of the park from 25 March, with the live ev