Communities - Fulham & Hammersmith

Your chance to quiz the borough's top brass

2009-11-06T17:19:25Z

Veteran BBC broadcaster and Shepherd's Bush resident John Humphrys will host a 'quiz the leaders' event in the town hall next week.

Council, health, police and fire bosses will be under one roof on Tuesday evening to face a grilling from members of the public on subjects of their choice.

Jeff Zitron, chairman of NHS Hammersmith and Fulham, said: "Public bodies need to work together to provide good quality, value for money, services. At the heart of getting it right is listening to and talking with residents. The summit is a great opportunity to do just that and I'm looking forward to hearing what local people have to say."

The meeting will run from 7pm to 8.30pm. To register and submit questions in advance visit www.lbhf.ogv.uk

Fulham foreshore reveals ancient findings

2009-11-05T16:40:30Z

Amateur archaeologists have uncovered the first evidence of an iron age settlement on the foreshore of the Thames at Fulham.

Volunteers discovered the remains of a wooden post which is thought to date from around 500 BC - long before any previously known activity in the area.

]]> The team from the Thames Discovery Programme made the find in front of Fulham Palace, close to Putney Bridge, where they are also charting the rich archaeological contents of a dry dock which has been cleared of tonnes of thick silt for the first time in decades.

At the bottom of the site at the very end of Fulham High Street is a newly unveiled cobbled ramp, leading down to the remains of the previous Putney Bridge.

The wooden structure featured a toll house on the Fulham side and was built in 1729, with the intention of lasting 30 years. It remained there for 150 years until today's stone bridge was built to replace it in the 1880s.

Mud and silt which built up to 12 feet since a previous excavation attempt has finally been removed with help from the waterways charity Thames 21.

Volunteer Rick Davis, who lives round the corner from the site in Ranelagh Gardens, said: "Thames 21 turned up with fire pumps to break the mud up and wash it out, but it's taken three years to get down to the original level. It's been a hard job at times.

"It seems to have been a bit of a dumping ground for local pickpockets - we found one purse with a bank card dated to 1997, so we knew how far down we'd gone.

"There's the possiblilty for lots of nice things to be found. People have been crossing here for millennia, and right next to a toll house we're expecting people to have dropped things out of their pockets into the water."

Volunteer Andy Brown described the discovery of the iron age post as 'very, very significant'.

He said: "An actual structure which we can date to prehistoric times is a first for this area. It's a sharpened tree trunk that has been banged into the ground, maybe as a support for a jetty or that sort of thing."

And fellow worker Yvonne Masson said: "The foreshore is about the only thing left in which amateurs can get involved.

"We're talking about the largest archaeological site in Europe - it's always been very exciting and you find the most extraordinary things.

"The Thames is a mighty river and it changes the foreshore all the time. New stuff is appearing and getting eroded and we're having to record it before it disappears."

It is now hoped the dry docks can flourish as a nature reserve, with ducks, fish and other creatures attracted to its calm waters and clean environment.

Hammersmith Palais plans thrown out

2009-11-04T17:39:17Z

Plans to demolish a historic music venue and replace it with hundreds of student flats in the centre of Hammersmith have been turned down.

Developers London and Regional had hoped to build shops and 429 flats in a vast project reaching up to ten storeys high on the site of the old Hammersmith Palais in Shepherd's Bush Road.

]]> But councillors at a planning meeting last week (27) voted unanimously against the scheme following objections from several groups concerned about its impact on the area.

Alex Chalk, chair of Hammersmith and Fulham Council's planning committee, said: "We could never have allowed this massive building, which was completely out of character and not in keeping with other buildings in the area, to be dumped in the heart of Hammersmith.

"The application did not meet planning requirements and was unacceptable across the board. There were issues with many aspects of the plans - the design was bulky and the building too high, the residential nature of the scheme would have posed problems with transport, and so many people living in such a small space would inevitably lead to difficulties."

The Hammersmith Society claimed the block would 'excessively dominate its surroundings', and the Hammersmith and Fulham Historic Buildings Group and the Greater London Authority also objected along with 20 residents.

Permission was originally granted to redevelop the site into a six-storey scheme in 2002, and an extension was granted allowing work to start up until Saturday (7), when it expires.

The Gazette contacted London and Regional, who declined to comment on their plans.

The Palais de Danse, as it was originally called, opened in 1919 to host ballroom dancing and dance bands, and remained a popular venue until its closure in April 2007. It was immortalised by The Clash in 1978 with the song '(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais'.

Council tax to fall again in Hammersmith and Fulham

2009-10-30T16:28:07Z

Council tax will fall by three per cent for the fourth year running, Hammersmith and Fulham Council announced today.

The authority claims it is able to make the cuts having stripped away more than £42 million worth of waste and bureaucracy over the past three years.

]]> Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh said: "Some critics have argued in the past that cutting costs is unpopular - this is nonsense. What we are doing in Hammersmith & Fulham is hugely popular with local residents.

"All councils have a duty to respond to the perfect storm of social and economic challenges caused by Britain's toxic debt mountain, which is fast approaching £1.4 trillion. Britain is heading for bankruptcy unless we all start making radical changes that can truly deliver better services for less money."

If approved in the council's next budget, the cuts will mean the average home in Hammersmith and Fulham pays £122 less in council tax than it did in 2007.

Calling time on pub closures

2009-10-29T16:59:07Z

Back-street pubs perform a vital community service and should be protected from being shut down and turned into flats, councillors agreed last night.

Guidelines will be drawn up to try to stop developers getting hold of local pubs with a high land value, then carving them up to sell on for large profits.

]]> The move follows a planning meeting on Tuesday in which councillors agreed a scheme to turn the Olive Tree pub in Perrers Road, near Ravenscourt Park Tube in Hammersmith, into two maisonettes and three flats.

A similar bid in August to split the Cottage pub in Colehill Lane, Fulham, into two maisonettes and four flats was also passed at the recommendation of planning officers.

At a meeting in Fulham Town Hall yesterday (Wednesday), Labour member Wesley Harcourt urged Hammersmith and Fulham Council to take action to prevent more pubs going the same way.

He said: "It's becoming increasingly difficult to find the sort of relaxing atmosphere that we need to wind down after a meeting like this.

"I'm not talking about town centre pubs and city centre pubs, I'm talking about traditional backstreet sort of pubs which, according to the British Beer and Pub Association, are closing at a rate of about 40 a week."

Last year 167 London pubs closed down, according to Cllr Harcourt, who said they perform a vital service and meeting place for many people with few other places to turn.

Recalling customers who used to use his own local pub, the Crown and Sceptre in West Kensington, he said: "Some of them were vulnerable, some of them were lonely, some of them needed support, and the pub gave them that. When people became ill they were looked after by people from that pub, and when they died it was people from that pub who attended their funeral."

Sarah Gore, the Conservative councillor for North End, said some developers were acquiring pubs with the intention of 'running them down' before claiming that the business is no longer viable, and conversion into flats is the only option.

She said: "We do need to consider the needs of these residents. For many people the idea of a good night does not necessarily end with the Pitcher and Piano."

A motion was passed unanimously resolving to develop planning guidance to preserve pubs in the borough which are 'a much-loved aspect of our heritage'.

Burglars caught out by 'smart' water

2009-10-29T16:53:28Z

A state-of-the-art liquid which leaves a 'forensic signature' on property is responsible for a large fall in the number of burglaries in parts of Fulham, according to police.

SmartWater, which contains DNA unique to each household, has been handed out to residents since last January - since when there has been a 43 per cent drop in the number of burglaries in Munster ward, which was previously one of the most burgled in the capital.

Sergeant David Turtle, of Munster safer neighbourhood team, said: "Now that SmartWater has been introduced in Fulham, burglars are thinking twice about committing crime. The message to offenders is that the police and council have a zero tolerance policy to crime in the borough and if you steal something that has SmartWater on it, you might not know about it until you walk through our custody doors."

'Man in a van' school dinner plans under fire

2009-10-23T16:43:51Z

School dinners are to be delivered by members of the public using their own cars after Hammersmith and Fulham Council handed control of catering over to a private firm.

Adverts appealing for 'owner drivers' of estate cars and vans have placed in print and online, raising concerns about how closely people recruited to transport children's food will be monitored.

]]> When the Gazette called to enquire and posed as a Ford Transit van driver who routinely transports building waste around the borough, recruiters at the Birmingham-based firm Sheridan Myers immediately sent out a job application form.

One manager stressed that the van would have to be very clean, as 'very occasionally' a council worker might turn up and 'stick their head in the back of the van'.

The company, which already runs a similar scheme for 25 other local authorities around the country, is offering up to £48 a day to people to pick up hot food in sealed containers from one school to deliver to others which have no kitchens, then return the empty containers.

At the moment food is delivered to nine schools without their own kitchens by council staff in council vehicles, but private firm Eden Foodservice is due to take over production of school meals in November.

A spokesman for Sheridan Myers insisted that it carries out criminal record checks on all employees, conducts interviews and inspects all vehicles to make sure they are spotlessly clean.

But Steve Cowan, leader of the council's Labour opposition, claims he was told when he answered the advert that it would be no problem for him to use his car to deliver Christmas trees at the same time.

He said the move would make him reconsider whether his own two children should be given school meals.

Mr Cowan said: "It is completely unbelievable that even the Conservatives would stoop this low and take such a shoddy approach to our children's food, with seemingly very few checks and balances. It will make people question whether they're fit to be in charge of our schools."

A spokesman for Eden Foodservice said: "All of our food is delivered in sealed hotboxes, to ensure it arrives at the correct temperature and in the right condition.

"We are totally committed to ensuring that our service meets health and safety and food quality requirements and will conduct a full investigation in light of the concerns raised.

"As an interim measure, Hammersmith and Fulham Council will provide all transport requirements for the delivery of school meals, and we will be assessing alternatives prior to the start of this contract in November."

Kids escape inferno in Hammersmith

2009-10-19T16:31:58Z

Five young children escaped with their lives after their Hammersmith home was gutted in a fierce fire.

A seven-storey block in Aspen Gardens, near King Street, had to be evacuated after the blaze took hold in the ground floor flat at around 6,30pm on Friday.

]]> Two babies were being bathed by their mother in the seven-room flat when the fire started. It is thought one of the other children, all aged under eight years old, had been playing with lighted paper.

Smoke alarms alerted the family and all managed to escape before firefighters arrived. Crews from Hammersmith, Chiswick and Kensington were on site for around three hours checking that the flames had not spread to neighbouring homes.

Watch manager Michael Herschell, of Hammersmith fire station, said: "It was a very intensee fire. If it had happened in the middle of the night they might not have got out."

Extra cash to tackle gun, gang and knife crime

2009-10-15T11:02:35Z

An organisation working to prevent young people in Hammersmith and Fulham becoming involved in gun, gang and knife crime has been given an extra £29,000 in Government cash.

Banooda Aid Foundation is planning a three-year project to work with schools and colleges in the area, and is putting together a youth offence prevention panel to reach out to offer leadership to vulnerable young people.

]]> Director Abdi Haiderow said: "We are delighted to have the Home Office support for this very important project in which the young people themselves will take a lead role in working to reduce the level of knife crime in the community."

The Somali organisation is one of 150 nationally to receive cash to tackle youth violence.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "The organisations receiving funding work tirelessly with communities at the very frontline of the fight against knife crime and demonstrate how at every level we are tackling serious youth violence.

"I am committed to making our streets safer by tackling the minority of young people who commit serious violence through enforcement, tougher sentencing, and also stronger prevention, sending out a very clear message that it will not be tolerated."

Teen convicted of Christmas Eve killing

2009-10-09T14:02:03Z

A teenager is facing life in jail for the murder of a young father who was shot dead as he unloaded Christmas presents outside his girlfriend's Shepherd's Bush home.

Nathan Harris, 16, was found guilty today of the murder in Loftus Road on Christmas Eve last year following a six week trial at the Old Bailey.

]]> Harris, of Campbell House in the White City Estate, hastily arranged the killing after he recognised Craig, 20, from a previous fight in which he had bitten off part of the ear of his friend Khalid Elsheikh.

The victim had just returned from a shopping trip with his partner and their five-year-old son when he was hit three times the head, neck and chest by bullets from a handgun.

Harris is believed to have also been questioned over the murder in Hammersmith of Kodjo Yenga, who was stabbed to death in March 2007. Two other teenagers were sentenced to life in prison for his murder in May last year.

Elsheikh, of Adie Road, Hammersmith, was today cleared of Craig's murder, but found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. He and Harris will be sentenced on Monday.

Adil Saed, 21, of Baird House in the White City Estate, and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were found not guilty of murder.

Arsonist hits North End Road

2009-10-08T15:32:50Z

Investigations are under way after an arsonist started three small fires in Fulham's North End Road early on Monday morning.

The canopy of one cafe was set alight at around 2am, but firefighters from Fulham had already been called out and were able to extinguish the blaze before it was able to spread and cause serious damage.

]]> The cafe owner, who asked not to be identified, said: "This is not just stupid, it's a crime. We were lucky the fire brigade were here and the fire didn't spread from the canopy to the whole building, because there were children upstairs."

Two other properties were slightly damaged but no-one was hurt.

Hammersmith car club set to expand

2009-10-08T15:28:40Z

A car sharing club pioneered in Hammersmith and Fulham now has 3,000 members using 45 vehicles in 35 locations around the borough, with another 10 locations to follow before the end of the year.

Streetcar claims local demand for VW Golfs, Polos and Transporter vans - which are hired on a pay-as-you-go basis from bays on the street and in car parks - has rocketed by more than a third over the last 12 months.

]]> Co-founder Brett Akker said: "There are few boroughs where the potential benefits of joining a car club can be so high. As the cost of car ownership increases and parking congestion in the borough worsens we are finding more and more people giving up their private cars in favour of our service."

Girl traumatised by dead fox

2009-10-06T15:39:56Z

A mother whose five-year-old daughter was distressed by a dead fox left outside their Shepherd's Bush home is appealing for animals killed on the roads to be cleared more quickly.

Carol Robson discovered the large fox shortly after it was hit by a car in Goldhawk Road early on Monday morning,(OCT 5) and immediately reported it to Hammersmith and Fulham Council.

]]> She told her daughter, Angelica - whose favourite children's character is Swiper the Fox, from the cartoon series Dora the Explorer - that the animal would be taken away by the time she came home from school that day.

But by the evening the fox remained unmoved, with buses and cars forced to swerve around it or drive over it as they travelled along Goldhawk Road, near the junction with Paddenswick Road.

Mrs Robson said: "At 6am I heard a screech of tyres, and I looked out the window and saw what resembled a dog. I came downstairs and realised it was a lovely, fully grown fox with a bright, bushy tail.

"I called the council's out of hours service and they made a note to pass on to the highways team.

"When I picked my daughter up from school at 3pm, she was asking me if the fox had gone to heaven. We came back and it was still in the road, and my daughter was crying.
"If it was a human being everyone would be up in arms. It seems as if there isn't anyone who cares about animals or worries about what this does to young children. I don't think it's right."

Mrs Robson, 43, also called the RSPCA, to be told that they only respond to calls about animals which are still alive.

She spoke to council representatives three times to try to get the fox removed, and is now urging them to rethink their approach to removing large animals killed on the streets.

A council spokesman said: "Hammersmith and Fulham has some of the cleanest streets in the country, with 93 per cent of roads in the borough cleaner that the national standard. We aim to have all road kill removed within 24 hours, but usually far exceed this timescale."

A big gig for a big band

2009-10-02T16:33:00Z

A big band based at Charing Cross Hospital is planning a special concert of swing, jazz and Latin classics to raise cash for people suffering from a debilitating disease.

Members of the 18-piece Fulham Big Band are gearing up for the performance at All Saints Church in Putney Common on Wednesday, October 28, with proceeds going to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

]]> Doors open at 6.30pm for the 7.30pm show, which will also feature wine and a prize raffle. Tickets cost £10 and are available in advance on 07960 794737 or online at www.wegottickets.com/event/53825

Criminals take on community 'payback'

2009-09-30T11:26:05Z

Drink drivers and petty criminals have been trimming overgrown bushes, cleaning up graffiti and litter picking around Hammersmith and Fulham in a new 'community payback' scheme.

Offenders are made to wear high visibility orange jackets while they carry out the unpaid work at various sites such as Oak Lane Sidings Nature Reserve, next to Wormwood Scrubs.

]]> Vandals, thieves and graffiti taggers have also been ordered to carry out work at the Lillie Road recreational area in Fulham, St Paul's Church in the Wormholt Estate, White City, and the conservation area at Ravenscourt Park in Hammersmith.

Crime leader Greg Smith said: "On one level the work helps revamp parts of the borough that need an extra bit of attention, but perhaps more importantly the scheme compels the offenders to physically put something back into the borough."