Iconic Walkabout Pub Set to Be Demolished in September
To make way for new art deco building with serviced apartments and restaurant
Demolition of one of Shepherd's Bush's most iconic landmarks, the much loved Walkabout Pub, is set to take place in September to make way for a new extension to the neighbouring Dorsett Hotel.
Plans for an Art Deco style eight storey building at 56 Shepherd's Bush Green were approved last April by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Now a Construction Management Plan has been submitted to H&F Council, with details of the planned building works.
According to the plan, the work will begin in September and continue for around 18 months with the new building completed in March 2020.
It adds that residents will be updated of progress and notified of upcoming work at the site through community liaison meetings and information sheets.
You can read the plan in full here and you can also see new details of the building's exterior including the blue/green roofs, balustrades and gates here
The site, which is owned by Dorsett Hospitality International, sits between two Grade II listed buildings, their Dorsett Hotel, formerly the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion and Shepherd's Bush Empire.
A previous application for a 16 storey high tower on the site, which was formerly the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion, was refused by Hammersmith and Fulham Council after opposition from residents and organisations including the Hammersmith Society.
Last year however, the revised proposals, designed by Flanagan Lawrence Architects who were also responsible for the award-winning restoration of the Dorsett Hotel itself, were given the green light.
The architects said: "We have received planning approval for our residentially led development in Shepherd’s Bush. Adjacent to our multi award-winning Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion for Dorsett Hotels, the project features an eight storey building with 74 serviced apartments, along with a restaurant and entertainment uses behind a retained 1923 façade."
At public consultations held last year, the entertainment plans included a cinema in the basement, but it has not yet been confirmed if this is still part of the scheme.
Originally constructed as a cinema in 1910, the Walkabout was converted to a pub/barin the mid-1990s and went on to become a hugely popular local venue, particularly with the London Australian community.
It finally closed its doors in 2013 after being sold by its owners to Dorsett Hospitality International.
August 6, 2018
