Forum Topic

Shepherds Bush Green

I see the green is now starting to be opened up but can somebody please tell me exactly what has been done, apart from the new play area and widening of pathways.

Carol Burge ● 4424d28 Comments

I cannot help feeling that local government, whoever is in power, can lose sight of what it is trying to achieve. Shepherd's Bush Green now has bright yellow broad paths to excess, and the playground that should serve the children from the four tower blocks to the south (and the rest of the area) is located in the north-west corner. Curious.  And tennis courts free for all are a no-no to a council that believes nothing is valued unless paid for.The plus is that the war memorial is no longer fenced in, as it always seemed wrong to me on Remembrance Sunday for there to be a them (outside the railings) and us (within), but the need for vigilance to prevent desecration remains. The outcome is soulless. So keen have the powers that be to enable commuters to scurry unhindered to and from the tube station that they have made it a typical architects' drawing piazza, full of stick people and wholly unlike the real people who actually want to use the green to relax, exercise the dog, play with their children, quietly enjoy the sun on its rare visits etc. A fail,  in my book, and at £2.6million a costly one. How does a project like this get to cost so much?

Daniel Antony Filson ● 4217d

Crikey I was worried about being run over by the cyclists......now have to watch out for taxi's as well!

Carol Burge ● 4237d

I must be doing something wrong, all my posts disappear!  Anyway 3rd time lucky.  I saw a taxi drive up from McDonalds side, onto the  new wide paths,  and have a break, just parked up near the monument!

Valda Self ● 4237d

And with all the money that has been spent the biggest eyesore on the green could not even get a lick of paint....I am of course referring to the derelict building at the corner of Wood Lane/Uxbridge Road.

Carol Burge ● 4237d

Well I know who will eventually pay for it!  And I love the fact that on the front page of this site, when you click on the link re the grand re-opening of the green, it shows a pic of how it used to be!  Classic.

Carol Burge ● 4238d

Who was paid all this money...and for what? There is some wonderful sculpture using trees in Ravenscourt Park. QWhy not on the Green. Instead of the silly metal thing!

Michael Wale ● 4239d

Yee gods...............this was a "£2.6million project".  Excuse me as I pick my chin up from the floor!

Carol Burge ● 4239d

I agree that the lighting's an improvement, but I don't agree that the wider paths were justified. We've lost quite a bit of green to these wider paths and the playgrounds. Alos, my bugbear is the seating layout - mostly bunched up to one side and barely nothing at the other. The memorial end of the Green is horrid, cold and unwelcoming.Frankly, it's a rotten design - far too manicured for common land.

Terry Abrahams ● 4329d

Here's an alternative view: it's a lot better than what it was.  Lighter, wider paths, a lot less scary.  The new playground is great and shared paths mean people are forced to look out for each other rather than just barging through. Not everyone would be satisfied but it's definitely an improvement.

Mike Wendling ● 4329d

Don't worry about vandalism folks. A community orchard on the Green would be run and ,therefore, protected by young people. Us oldies would just plant it. My God how I hate both Labour and the Conservatives! Boneheads both! Anyway what now matters is that we get into the3 TV Centre mayhem, and get something good for the community out of it. Re: Community growing. God Bless the Phoenix

Michael Wale ● 4332d

Howzabout mud wrestling?

Carol Burge ● 4333d

Oh I dunno! The central mud bath is looking ready for its delivery of piggies!

Viv James ● 4333d

The idea of "growing areas" is certainly a good one but just wondering if Shepherds Bush Green would be the right place to have such a scheme?  I am assuming the idea is to allow local residents to grow their own fruit and veg, if this was done in this location how would you be able to prevent it from becoming a free-for-all?  Presumably some sort of security would need to be put in place?  I still think somebody from the Council needs to go back and review the redevelopment, swallow their pride and agree it has not been planned properly, reinstate the dog exercise area, turn some of the area into wild flower beds, make the footpaths narrower with seperate, dedicated cycle paths and generally make it more environmentally friendly

Carol Burge ● 4333d

Well, of course, the alleged Olympic legacy is just a myth. As for opportunities for the community to grow their own what about the planning on TV Centre. Where is a community growing area? As usual the developers and planners have not made any space for this. Food production is our future in the inner city. We are dealing with people who have no imagination or idea of what world they are building and damaging at the same time. Of course there must be business, but it must be linked to nature!

Michael Wale ● 4333d

Why no response on this forum from the LA with regard to withdrawing an Olympic legacy (i.e. accessible sport in the form of tennis courts) or the opportunity for community growing schemes as mentioned above?  If they have removed an accessible sporting facility from one location, council tax payers have the right to know where this facility is available elsewhere within the LA to compensate for this, and a response on the lack of community development programs (i.e. the "growing scheme") in this area?

Samantha Hill ● 4333d

I'm sorry to go on and on about 'growing areas' but I will. The East End has an amazing collection of public growing areas, especially around estates. Everybody deserves good fresh food.Every time there is a planning or modernisation plan in AShepherds Bush my pleas for 'growing areas' are ignored. It will be at the politicians expense, because health will suffer. All praise to the wonderful Sir William Atkinson at the Phoenix School for what they are doing. Politicians of all parties need to wake up. A community orchard, quite small, on the Green would have been a start!

Michael Wale ● 4346d

Thing is the Council are trying to "modernise" Shepherds Bush but in doing so they are losing not only its history but its character.  Clean it up, yes.  But there are certain part of Shepherds Bush that should be left alone, the green was one of them.  Unfortunately now it has been butchered it will never go back to how it was.  Such, such a shame.

Carol Burge ● 4346d

I've not spoken to one person - resident or otherwise - who likes what's been done to the Green. It's totally lacking character now. One man said he preferred it when it was scruffy. Me, too. At least it was more entertaining. Somehow they've managed to sanitise, prune and tweek it to death. I doubt that funfairs will be allowed back. What a shame.And, spending money on TWO kids' playing areas baffles me. Quite rightly the tennis court should have remained but given a facelift.The residents who approved the design have been short-sighted in their eagreness to regenerate da Bush.

Terry Abrahams ● 4346d

Totally unimaginative/ But what can you expect from politicians of both sides who don't know, or care, about growing area. There should have been a public, free to pick orchard planted. A decent cafe. But no.And I love sculpture but what is that bit of metal represent, and how much did it cost. Shepherds Bush residents have been let down.

Michael Wale ● 4361d

Previously, there were dedicated cycle lanes, and these have not been reinstated, demonstrating LBH&F's continuing disregard for those who cycle, and who are at least making an effort to cut down on car use.  Previously, there were tennis courts, free to use, which were busy all the time.  The Olympic "legacy" was surely supposed to open out sporting activities to all, and here was a free facility which meant that those who cannot afford to join expensive and exclusive tennis/sports clubs could not only enjoy the game, but also become healthier, tackle obesity... What is the Olympic legacy on the new Shepherd's Bush Green?  Two weird, steel obilisks, fenced off, are not exactly in the spirit of the Olympic legacy.  Do LBH&F actually want local people to have access to healthy pursuits (i.e. cycling, tennis) or are they content to watch the population steadily succumb to obesity and all the health problems that the taxpayers of this country will be paying for?

Samantha Hill ● 4361d

I've seen those tacky red signs. I've also been dodging cyclists of late. Oh, it's going to be a laugh a minute trying not to get run over, especially if you're elderly or infirmed.I still don't get why they've bunched most of the seating at one end, whilst leaving the other side practically unfurnished. We've definitely lost a fair bit of grass area, especially at the east side where the Parks Constabulary sit in thier vehicles. This is a tiny piece of common land, not some vast private estate or a safari park. And, don't get me started on those horrid cubes...Call me a casandra but I detest everything about this so-called 'improvement' - I find it cold and alienating. Far too much has been spent on building mounds (what's THAT about?) and on the play areas.Can't imagine H&F allowing the funfair to return and mess up all that lovely new grass.What a folly.

Terry Abrahams ● 4371d

I noticed this morning there is now a metal sign at the beginning of one of the footpaths telling cyclists that pedestrians have priority.  Like that is going to make any difference?  Surely the clue is in the name.....FOOTpath, not cycle path.  I am not against cyclists having their own paths, in fact it should be mandatory seeing how many there are now.  But they need to be clearly marked and kept seperate from the footpaths, (like the one that was there before the so called rejuvenation of the green!).  Otherwise it will only be a matter of time before somebody gets injured, particularly when the weather does improve and more people/children head to the green.

Carol Burge ● 4375d

Absolutely agree. What a complete waste of time, effort and money. I've said from the outset that all that needed to be done was new seating, ligting, railings and bins, and new turf, where necessary. Now, for the best part of this year, we've not had access to common land. It's an utter disgrace and H&F council should be brought to task about approving such a white elephant.

Terry Abrahams ● 4390d

And now they have widened the paths it is a free for all with cyclists.  I will now be walking round the green rather than trying to get across it.  Sorry Council but not only have you ruined the green, it was a complete waste of money.

Carol Burge ● 4392d

Cafe and loos were not approved by the planning inspector in the end. Not sure about the substation at the NW corner - I thought that his was to be removed to open up the access for bikes and pedestrians. Silly to leave it there really as it obstructs the entrance to the Green. Now all the shrubbery has been ripped out there is nothing to prevent footballs etc rolling into the 3 lanes of traffic. Not a flower in sight either (too high maintenance!) I used to love the great patches of daffs in the springtime. The barriers round the play areas look cheap and nasty as well! So called sculpture is ghastly too. Humbug!

Viv James ● 4396d

What's happened is it's been turned into something unrecognisable. Utterly hate the mounds (what are they for?). Why they put the play area at the other end is beyond me. The hideous expanse of path area at the east side is awful.It's a common, for goodness sake - not Hyde Park. It's - was - Shepherd's Bush Green. I hope the drunks, et al, come back en masse. However, with the ugly Ibis Hotel & Foxtons in situ, I imagine the hard-pressed local constabulary will be policing with greater force.

Terry Abrahams ● 4420d

I thought planning approval was given for cafe, toilets etc so presumably they are still to be built.  But before the work the green was a nice place to walk round but now it is just like a green blob, there is nothing nice about it at all, it looks cold and characterless!  In fact it looks man made which obviously it is.  And as you say there is now nowhere for local residents to exercise their dogs, and that was quite pleasant to walk past.

Carol Burge ● 4421d

Last time I was there I noticed the had chopped down a few trees, demolished the Tennis Court, got rid of the dog area and the seated area.  Oh and moved the playground right next to the road rather than in the middle of the green.

Valda Self ● 4422d