Northwest 6

Environmental campaigner takes on the big parties in Hampstead and Kilburn

2010-03-03T21:16:00.008Z

The General Election campaign in Hampstead and Kilburn, our redrawn constituency, is shaping up into an interesting contest.

With everything to play for between the three main parties, an independent candidate, Tamsin Omond, has thrown her hat into the ring.

Best known for her rooftop protest at Parliament in 2008, she's now attempting to become one of the youngest MPs (aged 25).

She brings an iconoclastic approach to what it means to represent the people in Parliament. If elected, she says she would spend a day a week doing community service in the constituency, would allow constituents a direct say in how she should vote in the Commons, and would donate a third of her salary (£20,000) to the community.

According to the Ham & High, Tamsin Omond was born in West Hampstead and moved back to the area after graduating from Cambridge. She now lives in Kilburn.

You can find out more at her website, To the Commons, which now joins those of Chris Philp and Ed Fordham in the links roll on the right hand side of this site.

V2 rocket attack remembered

2010-02-05T22:58:00.022Z

The bombed-out front of the Iverson Road 'Villas': 126 is the last on the left,
next to the three-storey house.

A former West Hampstead resident, Ted Bailey, has sent Northwest 6 a personal account of the V2 rocket attack that devastated part of Iverson Road on 8 January 1945.

Ted was born in Maygrove Road in 1931, moved to Iverson Road with his family a couple of years later and - after a spell in Essex - back to West Hampstead at the outbreak of war in 1939. His family moved into a home at 126 Iverson Road which ultimately would be devastated by the V2 explosion.

Ted’s father built and ran a cafe on what Ted says was a coal wharf on Iverson Road (see below).

Ted Bailey pictured with his mother, outside his father's cafe

on Iverson Road. The decorations are for the coronation of 1937.

Ted has vivid childhood memories of the war years.

“We spent most nights of the blitz under the stairs or in the air raid shelter in Ariel Road. School days were often only half a day , I presume due to the lack of teachers in the war. We had a great time seeing who had found the biggest piece of shrapnel from the previous nights raid on the way to school.”

Ted attended Beckford School, which had only recently adopted that name - having previously been known as the Broomsleigh Street School. It was thanks to a friendship he had made at his new school on his return from Essex that Ted was not at home when the rocket struck.

“Stan was introduced to me on arrival at Beckford school in 1939 and we became friends. On the afternoon of 8th Jan 1945, Stan asked me to come round to collect some comics so I was fortunate not to be in our house when the V2 fell.
"I stood in the hallway of 148 Maygrove Road when there was an enormous explosion. It was around 4pm. I remember running home, meeting my father on the way.
"The rocket had landed on the railway embankment at the rear of the ‘Villas’, numbers 112 to 126 Iverson Road. We found much devastation. The backs of the 'Villas' had been blown away and much of the fronts."

After the V2 attack: the devastated rear of the 'Villas', 112 to 126 Iverson Road.

"My mother was fortunately ok and sitting with other neighbours on the running boards of the fire engines. Someone provided tea. It was cold with snow on the ground, while we endeavoured to retrieve some of our belongings.

"I know not how but we had somewhere to stay that night. Later in the week, my uncle, who had a furniture business in Woking in Surrey, came to rescue what remained of our home which was under a tarpaulin in the road. I stayed with them for a while until we were re-housed to 13 Lymington Road, NW6 where I lived until my marriage in 1952."

Ted now lives with his wife in Rutland. The site of the rocket explosion was turned into a children's playground.

Fortune Green Councillors have a blog

2010-01-14T17:48:00.002Z

Fortune Green's three Liberal Democrat Councillors - Flick Rea, Russell Eagling and Nancy Jirira - have started a blog. They've been posting since November with a steady trickle of interesting news about the NW6 neighbourhood.

Their latest post: confirmation that Tesco will open a second store in West Hampstead, at the new development on Fortune Green Road where the Texaco garage used to be.

Keep up to date at:
http://www.fortunegreenspotlight.blogspot.com/

Petition against First Capital Connect

2010-01-14T17:10:00.004Z

There's a petition on the Downing Street website calling for the termination of the First Capital Connect rail franchise on the Thameslink line. According to the petitioners:

"Timetables have been severely reduced due to mismanagement by First Capital Connect, which has not employed enough drivers to cover the shifts needed."

Northwest 6 is told by a former Ravenshaw Street resident that it's gathering quite a head of steam among commuters in St. Albans.

West Hampstead train users can join in at:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/FirstCC/

Image courtesy Mackenzie 377

The big freeze

2010-01-07T11:58:00.007Z

Snow, Ravenshaw Street

Apologies for the lack of posts of late. Other commitments are having to take priority over Northwest 6 at present. But I put them aside to pass on some information on the state of our roads, from Councillor Nancy Jirira.

In snowy weather, we're accustomed to suffering icy conditions more than other streets in the West Hampstead area. Our streets are often among the last to be gritted and Ravenshaw Street, Dornfell Street, Glastonbury Street in particular as well as the path alongside the railway (aka The Black Path) are always among the last to thaw because of the way the sun falls.

This time however, we're not suffering alone. Most of the side roads off Mill Lane are treacherous, as is the case on many of the other roads around West Hampstead that branch off the main thoroughfares.

Councillor Jirira has received word from Camden's street teams that this is because stocks of grit are so low that side roads are being abandoned. An email she received from Sam Monck, Acting Assistant Director, says:

"Stocks of salt are now very low across London, and indeed more widely across the UK, and gritting is therefore confined to the agreed strategic network of main roads, to try and keep London moving as best we can. We have, where possible, been gritting pavements and side roads but have had increasingly to prioritise, given the poor medium term weather forecast, and declining stocks of salt. Whilst we would of course like to repeat our previous gritting of side roads, this is not now going to be possible for the next few days at least. I would emphasise that this is not a Camden issue, but one that is affecting very significant areas of the country, and almost all of London."

This policy does not appear to be being applied uniformly, though. A walk across the Finchley road will confirm that the main side streets leading up to Hampstead, east of the Finchley Road, have all been recently gritted and walking and driving is consequently much easier there.

West Hampstead on Twitter

2009-09-25T15:43:00.001+01:00

There's a thriving West Hampstead community exchanging tweets on Twitter. If you're a Twitter user, search for @WHampstead. Otherwise you can find it here.

Local resident, Jonathan, who's the man behind @WHampstead, tells Northwest 6:

"It has about 200 followers at the moment - growing fairly steadily - the majority of whom are West Hampstead or Kilburn residents or organizations. Its purpose is really just to provide a platform for local news, generally slightly more geared towards entertainment/retail/eating, but with some more community/political things in there as well."

The stream contains a lot of posts which are replies to other people, which makes it a bit of a bewildering read. But there's plenty of gems in there.

Laugh on Wednesdays

2009-09-25T15:20:00.004+01:00

Lower Ground Bar, West Hampstead, NW6
Originally uploaded by Ewan-M

The Lower Ground bar on West End Lane is running a weekly comedy night on Wednesdays.

The venue tells Northwest 6 that it's bringing "top flight acts" to West Hampstead.

For details, check the bar's listings.

Black Path consultation

2009-09-12T18:45:00.002+01:00

Black Path consultation

If you had a chance to name a hitherto unnamed local path, would you choose the name by which people have referred to it informally for decades or a completely new one lifted straight from the annals of bureaucrats' quarterly?

That's the choice Camden council is offering with reference to the path which runs along the railway between Broomsleigh Street and the Thameslink station, otherwise known as The Black Path.

Join in the long-awaited consultation by texting your choice to 80800. Send the message PATH1 A, to vote for Black Path. Or, if you must, PATH1 B to choose Beckford Way.

West Hampstead's swine flu outbreak

2009-06-16T23:36:00.001+01:00

Beckford School in Dornfell Street is closed because of an outbreak of swine flu.

According to the school's website, there are six confirmed cases - with a number of pupils and staff unwell. The school is expected to be closed until Monday 22nd June.

According to the Ham & High, people showing flu-like symptoms are advised to stay at home and contact their doctors although there is no need for others in their households to isolate themselves unless they also show symptoms.

Advice is available from the Health Protection Agency or Camden Council.

West End Lane Books online

2009-05-19T12:22:00.002+01:00

West End Lane Books
Originally uploaded by Pashmin@

My previous post on West End Lane Books prompted a contribution from the shop alerting us to their recently revamped website.

There's a new blog (providing information about new stuff in the shop and - we're promised - other items of bookish interest), info about a two for £10 promotion, and - my favourite - the foundations of an archive of their stylish window displays.

Later on they'll be offering recommendations and an online shop.

Put West Hampstead on the map

2009-05-19T11:59:00.003+01:00

West End Lane, NW6

Short notice but the people behind Open Street Map are in the area tonight and are looking for volunteers to help add detail to the maps of West Hampstead, Kilburn and Queen's Park.

Open Street Map is a kind of open source version of Google Maps, which means that anyone can edit it and contribute to its accuracy. A group of volunteers will be going round local streets from about 6.30 tonight and are inviting people with local knowledge to join them.

They'll round off the evening with a drink in the Black Lion pub on Kilburn High Road from 8pm.

If you want to take part, contact Shaun McDonald on 07879 610632.

More details on the Open Street Map wiki.

Now open

2009-05-16T21:50:00.002+01:00

Tesco, West End Lane

West Hampstead's new Tesco store finally opened on West End Lane. And it's been doing very brisk business as far as I can tell.

Wild Flowers for Fortune Green

2009-03-30T12:43:00.004+01:00

Poppy

The Friends of Fortune Green are organising a day of sowing seeds of wild flowers. If you want to help create some colour on the Green, you can take part in either of two sessions this Sunday, 5th April.

Mark Stonebanks of the Friends of Fortune Green says:

"The seeds we will be sowing are pictorial meadow seeds which includes some wild flowers and is a sort of sythensised flower meadow (but we are just restricting it to a single flower bed). This is just a trial to bring some colour to the Green for the summer. It should bloom for several weeks of successional flowering and be in full flower by the Jester Festival (which by the way will be the 4th and 5th July)."

Volunteers are asked to turn up either between 10am and noon or 2pm and 4pm.

Local heroes

2009-03-20T14:57:00.010Z

The Carry On star, Sid James, used to live at 21 Lymington Road, West Hampstead - a fact which has prompted one local resident to suggest that the footpath between West End Lane and Lymington Road be named in his honour. (See comments on this photopage.)

It's also been suggested that the path that runs from West End Lane to Finchley Road be named after the rock'n'roller Billy Fury, who recorded many of his hits at the Decca studios in Broadhurst Gardens.

The suggestions have been prompted by Councillor John Bryant's call for ideas to name three paths in the area that currently are without names. The suggestions forthcoming for the path between Broomsleigh Street and West End Lane are on the more prosaic side - including Beckford Way and the Black Path (a long-standing informal name for the footpath).

According to the Camden New Journal, Councillor Bryant is drawing up a shortlist to be put to public consultation.

But we were in! (Update)

2009-03-20T14:36:00.000Z

The Royal Mail is keen to hear from anyone who has had problems with "Sorry, you were out" cards being left when they were at home.

Several readers have contacted Northwest 6 to share their experiences of missed deliveries in response to this post last month.

A Royal Mail spokesperson told us:

"There are no reported problems delivering parcels or other large items in the West Hampstead area. Postmen and women should and do ring the doorbell or knock at the door if they have an item which cannot fit through the letterbox. There may be cases where a householder does not hear this, particularly as it takes longer to write out the card than to deliver the item itself. However, we are very happy to investigate the customer's complaint and would ask them to contact our customer services team on 08457 740 740."

Parking changes proposed for Mill Lane area

2009-03-15T20:43:00.004Z

Mill Lane, West Hampstead

Camden Council are consulting on changes to the pay and display scheme in the area around Mill Lane.

Most of the changes proposed would convert existing residents' bays into shared use bays - which means they could be used by pay and display visitors as well as residents' permit holders. There are also plans to reduce some of the pavement space on Mill Lane to give easier loading access for local shops.

Some redundant bays would be removed: a disabled parking space in Ravenshaw Street would be changed to residents' parking; and the doctors' bays on Sumatra Road would convert to shared use now that the GPs' clinic has moved to the new West Hampstead Medical Centre in Solent Road.

I've not been able to find online access to the consultation. But all residents and businesses in the area should have received a paper consultation form. If you haven't you should contact Colin Roberts at Camden on 020 7974 5106, or email colin.roberts@camden.gov.uk.

You have until 6th April to submit your views.

Get a tree for free

2009-03-10T21:13:00.001Z

If you have room in the patch of West Hampstead that you call your own, you can get a free tree to grow in it.

Camden Council will be giving away saplings this Saturday on West End Lane. The plants include hawthorn, rowan, silver birch and crab apple trees.

Advisors will be on hand to tell you how to care for your tree as it grows.

The tree giveaway will be outside West Hampstead library on Saturday between 11am and 1pm.

More details.

Round-up

2009-03-10T20:45:00.000Z

Emmanuel School, a church school on Mill Lane, has put forward proposals to double in size by building on the site of the Mill Lane Open Space across the road. Four houses on Mill Lane and a nursery in the Open Space would be demolished. More details from the Camden New Journal.

Parents and children in West Hampstead have been warned to be extra careful about being approached by strangers. Beckford School has been on a state of high alert after a man who had been spotted a few times hanging around Mill Lane approached one of the children. The Ham & High has details.

And Cycle Surgery has reopened in West End Lane after a fire forced it to close in January. The shop has been completely refurbished and has special offers to celebrate its return to business.

West Hampstead's bookshop of note

2009-03-03T21:00:00.007Z

West End Lane Books, West Hampstead, NW6
Originally uploaded by Ewan-M

Londonist has a nice feature on West End Lane Books. It tells how the West End Lane shop is fighting a lonely battle for survival against supermarkets, the big book chains and internet retailers.

Use it or lose it.

Go-ahead for UCL academy at Swiss Cottage

2009-02-13T21:58:00.001Z

Camden Council has won High Court approval to go ahead with its plans to open a new secondary school at Swiss Cottage - under the management of University College London.

Camden's consultation procedures on the proposal had been the subject of a judicial review. The High Court has found that Camden's process for promoting the UCL academy was lawful.

The decision may be subject to appeal. But Camden says it means it can proceed with its £250m Building Schools for the Future programme - which includes not just the plans for the UCL academy but improvements to other secondary schools in the borough.

More details in this Camden Council press release.

West Hampstead's (not-so) controlled zone

2009-02-08T13:08:00.003Z

Parked vehicles in Ravenshaw Street

Some updates (courtesy of the Lib Dems' Spotlight newsletter) to items we've covered before here on Northwest 6.

Camden Council's consultation on extending the hours of the controlled parking scheme in local roads has found that an overwhelming majority are happy with the current two-hour controls.

And planning permission has been turned down for the big building development at 1 Mill Lane. The developers are appealing, and also putting forward plans for a smaller scheme.

Overground overhaul

2009-02-06T21:20:00.005Z

Originally uploaded by tompagenet

Work is getting under way this weekend on an 18-month project to improve the North London Line section of the London Overground.

Platforms will be extended at 18 stations, including West Hampstead, and there will be upgrades to track and signalling. The £326m project is intended to bring the service up to scratch in time for the 2012 Olympics.

Ian Brown of Transport for London says:

"A fleet of 32 new trains will enter service from 2009 with more capacity, air conditioning and real-time information. That, along with these infrastructure improvements, will really make a difference to passengers."

Train services will be suspended for some periods, with replacement bus services running instead.

But we were in!

2009-02-05T11:50:00.004Z

It is with irritating frequency that we find that one of these cards from the Royal Mail has been posted through out letter box when we've been at home to answer the door.

This particular card was posted last Saturday and, with the snow, there has been no sign of a delivery since.

Are we unusually prone to not hearing the doorbell when the postman calls? Or is it a common experience in the neighbourhood to receive a 'Sorry, you were out' card when you were in all along?

Update: In response to comments on this post, I've started tracking this issue on Google Maps. Please keep your experiences coming in.

Update 20th March 2009: response from the Royal Mail.

Walking bus

2009-02-03T20:51:00.004Z

Walking Bus
Originally uploaded by Pete Ashton

West End Green in West Hampstead is going to be the starting point for Camden's first walking bus for school children.

4-to-11-year-olds from Hampstead Parochial School will be able to join the guided walk - of nearly a mile - to school on Friday mornings.

More details are available on Camden Council's website.

Picture problems

2009-02-03T18:44:00.001Z

Apologies if you've been having difficulties clicking through to enlarged versions of the pictures on the site. This should now be sorted.