Slaughter in mass letter: disgusted with Council

Shirley Wiggins, Chair of West Ken & Gibbs Green Community Homes receives MP's letter 

Andy Slaughter has sent the below letter to every resident on the West Ken & Gibbs Green Estate, threatened by the Council's plan to evict them in order to redevelop the estate. Although council tenants have been promised to be re-homed many private tenants will in effect be made homeless by the scheme, as this 9 year old told a Council officer as beefy security men stood around her.

Mr Slaughter says he is "disgusted" by the treatment meted out to residents by the Council, and refers to the "secret" documents he says are being kept from the public by the Council and the property developers involved in the £100 million scheme. The scheme is, he says, "..all about making money for rich and powerful people."

He concludes by predicting that they will win the fight against the authority and this letter is clearly timed both to support the campaign but embarrass the Council. It is not a secret, for example, that Boris Johnson will be in town tomorrow night at Hammersmith Town Hall.

That should be an interesting evening, as the angry hordes descend from the various corners of the North of the borough that the Council seems intent on redeveloping despite large scale opposition. There may be fireworks..

(Click on "view in full screen" - bottom left button on the letter)

Slaughter Letter to Residents March 2012

1500 UPDATE - well that caused a bit of a stir and the local Conservative councillor representing the area in which the estate sits has hit back very angrily indeed. He has asked me to publish his comments as part of the article to give them the same prominence as Mr Slaughter's letter which I am more than happy to do. Here's what Councillor Thomas Crofts of North End Ward has to say:

A proforma letter which has been sent to all residents on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates by their local MP, misleads residents as to the facts regarding the potential West Kensington and Gibbs Green Estates redevelopment. Here are the straightforward answers to his claims:

1. It is wrong to state that the council has been forced to  consult with residents on the two estates. The council has always stated that it would consult with everyone and will only proceed if redevelopment is the right thing to do for people living on the two estates, the wider neighbourhood and the borough as a whole.

2. It is wrong to say that the council wants to sign a contract with a developer to sell both estates for £100m. The priority for the council is to negotiate replacement brand new homes for people living on both estates; additional affordable housing and the council must also get a fair price for its land before it can agree to proceed. Any money received by the council would be ploughed back for the good of the borough.

3. It is wrong to state that the Conditional Land Sale Agreement (CLSA) will be a secret document. The CLSA will be a public document when and if the agreement is finalised. However the basic terms affecting tenants and leaseholders are already public as part of the current consultation.

4. It is wrong to claim that this is about making money for rich and powerful people. The council has no interest in making money for rich and powerful people. This redevlopment is about the opportunity to provide new homes, attract thousands of new jobs and investment to the area.

5. It is wrong to state that residents will end up on a building site for up to 20 years. Redevelopment of the estates is planned to take place in phases and the first phase on Seagrave Road providing 200 new homes has already received planning permission and will be built over the next 2-3 years.

6. It is wrong to say that the council has not told tenants where they will be offered a new home. The council has stated clearly that all residents will be offered a brand new home within the redevelopment site and vulnerable private tenants will continue to be protected under the homelessness legislation.

7. It is wrong to claim that tenants in houses will inevitably lose their gardens and be forced to downsize. Tenants who have a house and need one will be offered a brand new house as a replacement.

8. It is wrong to state that leaseholders and freeholders will have to move away. All leaseholders and freeholders receive generous compensation packages and an offer of a brand new home in the new development at a significant discount without an increase in costs.

9. It is wrong to insinuate that the developer will not have to proceed with building the new homes. If the developer fails to perform then the council has the right to terminate the agreement with the developer.

10. It is wrong to say that the council would get its £100 million upfront. The council would receive payment for its land in phases over a number of years.

11. It is prepostorous to state that the council is running down the estates to try and demoralise residents. The council is a responsible landlord and has just completed a £10 million Decent Homes programme on both estates.

12. Finally it is shameful of him to claim that the council is preying on weak and vulnerable people. The council is fully committed to protecting the rights and interests of council tenants and leaseholders and giving the residents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get a brand new home as part of this exciting new opportunity.

Mr Slaughter should be ashamed of himself for spreading fear, lies and confusion in a ward that I represent, purely for his own political gain. He is playing politics with peoples lives, but sadly, I am not surprised that he would stoop to this level.

Cllr Tom Crofts

Pavilion work begins - stunning image from reader

6am start on the Green

As I walked past the Pavilion this morning on the gym run at 6am, I was confronted by a sight I have never seen in the 10 years or so I have been there. The building had the doors open! Workers were shifting things out of the building and moving scaffolding inside - it was the start of the long promised conversion of the dilapidated hulk into a hotel which will give both the structure and the Green a very welcome return to former architectural glories.

Having sent the pic above out on Twitter several readers have responded with their own images of the building, both inside and outside. Of which the best by far, in my opinion is this one of the inside of the former 1920s cinema courtesy of Harry Burton, who was in there in order to put on a play. Speaking to me this morning he described the interior as "most atmospheric".

And here's another looking down at the stage area:

Some stunning images that evoke in my mind another hidden corner of the Bush. So many thanks indeed for sending it in. Now then - who else has got images of the Bush in times gone past?

Ibis to arrive at Shepherd's Bush

The Evening Standard reports that we are to have a budget chain at the other end of the Green to the posh Pavilion end, with the Ibis chain set to open up at the building being renovated on the side of the W12 Centre.

According to the Standard the Shepherd's Bush hotel will be Ibis' first under a merged brand name and will therefore be a flagship for the company. They report that the four-storey, 128-bed hotel will open in the summer. Landlord Land Securities also plans to open shops in the basement.

Speaking to the Standard Accor managing director Thomas Dubaere said: "2012 will be a busy year for Accor with the rollout of our new Ibis brand and a strong development pipeline, and this hotel plays an integral part of both."

A good sign of development - and this time no controversy involved. So it can be done!

Secret Bush: under the arches

A piece of Bush history - H&C westbound platform is directly above

A veil of grey drizzle, shining cobblestones gleaming in the rain, a garage in an archway and a train rattling overhead. Through the fine mist and at the bottom of the alley the tall BBC building with a large white satellite dish is the only thing that confirms this is not in fact the 1960s or earlier. This was another discovery of a piece of history in the Bush.

The spirit of the Bush hangs on every corner of this hidden alleyway – unknown to most of us who live here but only 2 metres from the busy entrance of the H&C tube station. I’d been recommended to take my car to High Tech Autos, a garage run by two brothers which has been a resident of Arch 150 for a quarter of a century and existed on the Goldhawk Road before that.

“They don’t want the working classes round here anymore” sighed Keith, the long haired owner and worker of mechanical magic. Looking down the narrow alleyway out at the market traders setting up their fruit stalls he described the changes that had slowly changed the face and the faces of the Bush over the years.

They echoed many of the themes Mohammad, the owner of King Soloman's further up the Uxbridge Road had told me, that the populations of successive waves of immigration had added layers of richness but there were also things that remained constant - a willingness to help each other out and a sense of sticking together.

Battles for survival on both sides of the Uxbridge Road

As another train rattled its way overhead Keith and his brother introduced me to the other arch dwellers around them. There is a window tinter, a sign-maker and a computer warehouse while Bush Studios, a music outfit used by bands including some A-listers in the past, owns several arches on each side of the garage. Transport for London, the landlords of the arches, wants Keith to make way for another studio and has repeatedly raised his rent, and altered his contract to get their way. Two court cases later, both of which TfL withdrew from at the last minute, and Keith is still standing. As our Council are finding over the Market just on the other side of the Uxbridge Road they don’t take kindly to bullies in the Bush.

On the other side of the alleyway is a row of houses which form the backbone of Macfarlane Road, a well-to-do community that have fought their own battles over the impact of Westfield on their lives. But behind them, sadly, it seems relations are often not cordial with the arch dwellers either, with one resident apparently even having installed a camera on a pole to check whether the arch dwellers were working past their official clocking off time of 7pm!

As the prices of houses around them have rocketed, with one having been sold for just under a million a couple of years ago, the remaining working class artisans are feeling increasingly under siege. There is a real spirit of solidarity, a word as old-sounding as the scenes from the arches but somehow appropriate, with the traders of the Market and the shop owners of the Goldhawk Road as they fight for their own existences against the luxury flat development being pushed relentlessly by our Council. 

But Keith is only a few years off retirement himself, and he knows that when he hangs up his oily gloves there won’t be another like him. In the meantime I can’t recommend this local business highly enough. He had every chance to charge me the earth for what was wrong with my car, but chose not to – instead spending double the time telling me his stories about this hidden corner of a rapidly disappearing face of London. As we stood there a steady stream of taxi drivers turned up to have various things fixed – and these guys choose their garages very carefully. Keith and his brother aren’t just faces of the Bush, they’re part of what makes it special.

The alley snakes down towards the soon to be vacated BBC

Shepherd's Bush has best police in London: official

We have the best rozzers in old London Town. The Shepherds Bush Green Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT)has won the prestigious ‘SNT of the Year’ accolade, awarded by new Met Police chief, Bernard Hogan-Howe. And frankly I'm not surprised having accompanied them on their shifts on one Saturday night, and then on a major drugs raid.

Our own Council is one of the only local authorities in the country that directly funds town centre police, and they are rightly proud of having allocated £1.3million a year into the teams - they deserve congratulations for this as does Cllr Greg Smith who leads on this for H&F.

In Shepherds Bush the enhanced SNT comprises two Sergeants, 17 PCs and 5 PCSOs. This compares to a normal SNT of only one Sergeant, two PCs and three PCSOs. All these additional officers are funded by the council apart from the PCSOs. The weakness in the chain is the lack of Sergeants who make everything happen - their necks are on the line if things all go wrong. While Cllr Smith is to be congratulated for putting up the money he sadly doesn't seem to understand this point, maintaining to me recently that it was all about the numbers, not the ranks. Wrong.

Our area is one of the busiest in the borough and obviously home to Westfield Shopping Centre, QPR and four underground stations. Despite these challenges, the SNT has contributed to a reduction in most priority crime areas.

Between June and November 2011 the team arrested 497 people. They also carried out 1,487 stop and searches, obtained six new Anti-social Behaviour Orders, issued 109 cannabis warnings and investigated 444 crimes.

Anti-social behaviour had been a particular problem over recent years and the team has robustly used dispersal zones to combat youth disorder. This zero-tolerance initiative has been particularly popular with local residents whose lives had been blighted with crime.

Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Lucy D'Orsi said:

"I am delighted that the hard work and professionalism continually demonstrated by the Shepherds Bush Green Enhanced Safer Neighbourhoods Team has been recognised with this award. It reflects the dedication and commitment that the officers have to the Borough and in particular their Ward and local community. The fact that they are judged to be the team of the year out of over 620 other wards within the Metropolitan Police District gives an indication of their performance."

Cllr Greg Smith, Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council Cabinet Member for Residents Services, said:

”This accolade means that Shepherds Bush is now the best policed town in London. It is a proven fact that beat bobbies beat crime and, despite the nationwide spending squeeze, we have found a way to improve our town centre squads by putting more PCs onto the front-line than ever before. We are giving the Met the tools to cut crime and it is clear that they are delivering the results that residents expect.”
Well done both - a success story.

West Ken Protest: A 9 year old's voice

Away from the sound and fury of last night's Council meeting, which was basically a piece of political theatre, a small act of protest took place by the residents of the West Kensington & Gibbs Green Estate, who don't much fancy being moved out by our Council so that their homes can be demolished and rebuilt in a multi million pound planning redevelopment. These were real life people who are very very frustrated, angry and frightened.

The residents, who formed their own campaign group in opposition to the plans and at one point seemed poised to use Big Society legislation to take control of their estate by evicting the Council as a "rogue landlord" turned up to protest outside an event organised by the Council as part of a consultation excercise.

The residents believe the consultation is about as genuine as that which was engaged in over the King Street or Shepherd's Bush Market ones so have no faith in it, and turned up in numbers to express their views.

Our Council were not best pleased and have just released this terse statement:

"Residents living on West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates who were unable to speak to officers at last night's information drop-in session are being urged to contact the Council with the questions they wanted to raise.It was unfortunate that a small group of residents and non-residents turned at the drop-in session without notice to stage a protest. This had the affect of preventing many real residents who live on the estate from asking officers the questions they wanted to pose". 

They mention non-residents and "real" residents - and this from a Council that spent £30,000 of your money setting up an alternative residents group that agreed with the Council. Until it's chairman resigned. In fact they were all very much real residents who had every right to be there - the Council had not stipulated any notice being required. I understand the only non residents, who did not interfere, were some MSc Housing students from the LSE studying regeneration schemes. Not exactly the Occupy Movement, is it?

So who were these dastardly people, these do-ers of evil, these vagabonds of vagrancy? Well, one of them was Ana-Maria who is 9 years old. She has a new born baby brother. Her family lives on Gibbs Green Estate. Because they are private tenants, they would be made homeless by the demolition scheme.

In the picture she is asking the Council officers not to demolish her home. Watched over by Council security guards, she explains how she came to write a letter to the Governor (held by the officer in the blue shirt) on her own initiative. Her mother is videoing the occasion on her mobile phone. This is what Ana-Maria said in her letter:

To: The Governor or to whom it may concern

I am writing to ask why you are knocking our houses down, in West Kensington Gibbs Green.

I understand you want to make plant, cycle parking and things like that, but there are going to be lots of happy memories here. Instead of knocking our houses down just change the name of the area instead.

It’s really sad for us because not only adults live here but babies, children and old age people. I know it’s until next year but, my mum has a new born baby, so where will we live and where am I going to play with my little brother?

If you want to reply to my letter then send it into this address.

I hope this letter has changed your mind about your plans. Thanks you for reading this letter.

Yours sincerely

Ana-Maria9 years old.

Mystery virus hits H&F: violent sickness reported

Spontaneous projectile vomiting has been reported across Hammersmith & Fulham this morning, with local hospitals placed on standby for a major incident. The Norovirus has been ruled out, however, and the likely culprit according to the latest information from the emergency services is the below video which has been viewed by unwitting council tax payers.

The NHS is standing by for more video-induced sickness while human rights groups have expressed concern over the dignity of the council workers involved. Bewarned. 

FRIDAY UPDATE - Hammersmith King Street was today in the grip of the projectile vomit virus, which has been tagged locally as propaganditis - as shoppers stopped in their tracks to shoot their dinners on to the pavements uncontrollably. The cause was an advertising van which had pulled up inside the infected zone and proceeded to blast the video, now widely held responsible for the illness, at unsuspecting passers by.

Police have said they are looking for a large white male, who goes by the aliases of either "Steve", "Guv" or the street-gang name "Leadah" who was apparently spotted by the offending van with a box of chocolates. Police have warned the public not to approach him but to contact them with any sightings.

Dangerman: Police have warned public to steer clear of "Steve"

19 MARCH UPDATE - The vomiting virus has spread up the road to Shepherd's Bush with morning commuters soiling their suits and dropping their tall skinny lattes, according to emergency dispatches from the ambulance service. Reports have linked the the re-emergence of the sickness to some vandalism that appeared in W12 overnight, with lamp-posts having sickness-inducing imagery attached to them. It is thought both the materials and their hoisting were produced with public money.