Bush Green open in October

Shepherd's Bush Green: deserted

The locals are not happy! Many of you have been expressing your anger at the slack effort that seems to charecterise the current works on the Green, being carried out by contractors FM Conway.

A number of people have asked me for the latest on this so I have been speaking to our Council, who tell me the latest expectation is that it will re-open in October.

Now then, before we all lay into either the Council or the contractors, it’s worth bearing in mind that they have had what has at times seemed like the will of the Gods conspiring against them. The discovery of dangerous chemicals, followed by unexploded ordnance from the Second World War can hardly be an easy thing to deal with – and of course it has been one of the wettest summers on record, ensuring that the patch of land started to resemble no-mans-land at the Somme.

That of course also follows the delays which were as a result of the dispute between our Council and local residents which needed to be resolved by an independent arbiter.

However – it does also seem to be the case that FM Conway’s work teams seem to be on some kind of super EU working hours contract that involves long leisurely breaks and very early end times to the day.

Speaking to me earlier the Cabinet Member responsible for the works Cllr Greg Smith had this to say:

“Despite major factors outside the council's control, including the wettest summer on record, the discovery on an unexploded World War Two bomb close to the site and a small amount of contaminants in the underlying soil, work to rejuvenate Shepherds Bush Green is on schedule with the open space likely to officially reopen in October.

"The new Green will undoubtedly benefit everyone who lives near, visits or works in and around Shepherds Bush, as well as rejuvenating a park that really needs a boost and we look forward to it reopening in the near future.”

We certainly do.

WEDNESDAY 1420 UPDATE - Well, after promising for about 24 hours the contractors FM Conway have responded to this article and not a few comments from local people - some of which involved taking the project out of their hands and outsourcing to local pizza workers - with this statement to me this afternoon:

"At present our site hours are 7.30am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday as agreed within the current contract.

Design complications and unforeseen circumstances such as inclement weather has hampered work progress, however, we did continue with the works that could be done in order to keep the project on track as much as possible.

We do recognise that the delays are frustrating for residents but we are working closely with London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to deliver this fantastic new scheme for the community to a very high standard. 

The scheme is due to be complete in Autumn 2012. Updates on progress will be available at www.lbhf.gov.uk/shepherdsbushgreen"

I'm not sure that really moves us forward but it was good of them to respond. Now then - are they always there at 0730?!