Mod Bush: Fight to save Cooke's Pie & Mash

The Mods come to Goldhawk Rd - the Bush isn't defeated

The 1960s returned to W12 this Saturday afternoon as dozens of scooters stood gleaming in the winter sun outside a Bush icon - Cooke's Pie & Mash at the Market. Just a day after the Standard ran a piece on the essential place this corner of West London holds in modern British culture, legions of two wheeled warriors roared down the Goldhawk Road to let our Council know that the fight is very much not over.

H&F Council, fresh from ignoring residents once again at the infamous planning committee, have been pushing press releases out alongside property developers Orion declaring that it's all systems go for the demolishing of these much loved buildings lining the Goldhawk, some of whom have been in the same family since before 1900.

Historic Bush buildings - and their Mod defenders

This ignores the inconvenient fact that a court hearing in mid may plus the small matter of a possible change of Mayor would put the kaybosh on this scheme, aimed at making millions for property developers, just as surely as the Council's last attempt to ignore local people over King Street, Hammersmith.

In fact let's compare our Council's response to any kind of local residents campaign in, say, Fulham in the South of our Borough - to anywhere north of Hammersmith.

Down in Fulham they don't particularly want the disruption and building works that will accompany the Thames Water Super Sewer - and our Council lines up behind them enthusiastically. Nor are there any property development planning schemes in Fulham being pursued where there is large scale opposition.

Just look at how Council Leader Stephen Greenhalgh (pictured below) thunders from the pulpit about how residents MUST be listened to before a planning decision that will blight the area is made. So he can do it - but only in Fulham it seems.

Greenhalgh puts Residents First - if they live in Fulham

In the North of the Borough, by contrast, we have numerous schemes which completely ignore residents wishes - Bush Market, West Ken, King Street and Ashcurch Grove to name but a few. Could this be at all connected with the fact that the ruling councillors who run H&F all live in Fulham and not in the north of the Borough?

Surely not.

TUESDAY UPDATE - Well, as the local debate seems to be getting fired up in the comments to this article a petition has been launched by the owners of Cooke's Pie & Mash which you can view and sign here. Meanwhile, the local press have still yet to report anything on either the Mod invasion of Saturday or the subsequent debate.