New Look Unveiled for Shepherd's Bush Green

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Consultation over £3.3 million facelift for the common

This week, residents will have a chance to see the proposals for improvements to Shepherds Bush Green.

Design proposals for the common will go on show for a week, from Wednesday 23 to Tuesday 29 January inclusive, in the foyer of the W12 Shopping Centre, Shepherd's Bush. Residents are being consulted before a formal planning application is submitted in the summer.

A second public exhibition is planned for March. Planning permission will be sought in June, and construction is planned to begin in February 2009 for 9 months.

Cllr Paul Bristow, Hammersmith and Fulham Cabinet Member for Residents' Services, said: "We believe these exciting proposals will transform the common and ensure that it remains as one of our great open spaces."

The plans include a multi-use games area, extensive children's play facilities, a skateboard area and a café with new toilets. The design creates a boulevard effect on the outside of the common, including a new cycle path.

Cllr Bristow said: "As residents will see for themselves we are not seeking to radically alter the overall feel of the park. One of the great advantages of this design is that the common retains its big, open feel."

Under the proposal, the common would be divided by paths into three main grassed sections, with slightly raised areas and a section that can be used for entertainment. The historic war memorial will remain in its current location.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council has been consulting on the proposals with a stakeholder group, consisting of local residents from Addison ward and Shepherd's Bush Green, amenity groups and businesses.

After the exhibition the landscape designers will work up the designs in more detail for a further exhibition in March before any planning application is submitted. The aim is to start construction sometime in 2009.

Cllr Bristow concluded: "The new games area and play facilities will boost the appeal of the common to families. I would like to encourage anyone with an interest in the future of Shepherds Bush Common to have a look at the proposals themselves and let us know what they think before a formal planning application is submitted later this year."

Emma Midgley

January 25, 2008