By a scheme to build a new town hall at Brook Green was proposed but this and various proposals to redevelop the original site were dropped in The architect E Berry Webber , who specialised in municipal buildings, designed the current town hall for a site at the creek, lying between King Street and the river. The foundation stone was laid on 2 July and the building was completed the following year. It suffered some bomb damage in and but was repaired in time for the Victory Celebrations in The north side facing King Street was designed with an open space and a wide flight of steps.
These were lost when the large five-storey extension was built in Hammersmith Town Hall, excluding the extension, is a Grade II listed building in recognition of its architectural and historic interest. The town hall is currently undergoing extensive refurbishment and is closed to the public.
It is due to reopen in See Civic campus set to rejuvinate Hammersmith. What was gratifying was the increasing extent to which the Council would listen to and take into account our views on a range of issues. There was no political controversy in consulting us, and in acting in accordance with our views, where appropriate. Grove Neighbourhood Centre, Award winner My main concern throughout the four years was to broaden the base and the appeal of the Society.
One of the highlights for me was a meeting at the Grove Neighbourhood Centre, when speakers from both the Notting Hill Housing Trust and the Peabody Trust came and gave a fascinating insight into their policies and aims when introducing affordable housing into an existing urban environment.
My other happy memory was the occasion when the descendants of a runaway American slave who had lived in Hammersmith in the nineteenth century came to visit his house and were welcomed by the Society and Borough officials. It was a fascinating collection of records dating right back to the start of the Society and its first meetings, under the leadership of the late Nancye Goulden. I thoroughly enjoyed reading, sorting and collating all the material and it was a proud day for me when I delivered it in this more manageable form to the Borough Archives.
I felt I was not able to make much headway with the great street furniture campaign that had gone on so long. We spent long hours in the Town Hall discussing the issues, and I can only hope my successors will carry on. It was recognised by the Society with an Environment Award that year. The task was enormous, but the Society succeeded in rewording much of the text of the London Plan, to the benefit of all Londoners. During the time when the London Plan — the then planning guide for London as a whole — was evolving, the Hammersmith Society played a very active role in its development, in close collaboration with Peter Eversden, the Chair of the London Forum of Civic and Amenity Societies.
The task was enormous and very time-consuming, but we achieved many successes in rewording much of the text to the benefit of all Londoners. Locally, we opposed the enlargement of the Holiday Inn Express in King Street, much to the delight of the residents of Argyle Place with whom we co-operated at the public enquiry. The scheme was turned down very comprehensively by the inspector from the Planning Inspectorate. Had the scheme been allowed, the houses in Argyle Place would have suffered from serious overlooking and overshadowing.
Likewise, we also campaigned against the shoehorning-in of a luxury residential scheme on the site of the Olympia Car Park to the north of the station. The inspector at the public enquiry turned this scheme down too. The Hammersmith Society also campaigned against the proposed Kingston branch of Crossrail, which would have gone underground at Paddington and emerged at Turnham Green. As it had no stations on this stretch, it would have been of no benefit for Hammersmith residents.
There were also worries about vibration under the houses. In addition, apart from turning Wormwood Scrubs into a vast construction base for several years, huge ventilation shafts were proposed in areas such as the small park in Stamford Brook Road. Due to both local opposition and rapidly escalating cost estimates, the scheme was eventually abandoned.
It was also a period of wider change. As usual over the three years, reacting to development proposals dominated discussions in the committee. Plans for a storey block on the Allied Carpets site at the junction of Askew and Goldhawk Roads were seen off at a public inquiry, and an office development was proposed on the carpark site at the junction of Beadon Road and Hammersmith Grove, where work on building an amended scheme has just commenced.
A tram proposal along the Uxbridge Road was eventually withdrawn. But we thoroughly supported the results of the London Festival of Architecture that the problems imposed by the Hammersmith flyover should be investigated, and that the A4 to its west should be tunnelled to re-connect Hammersmith with its riverside.
Now that the flyover seems to be nearing the end of its life, this idea has been resurrected. We make a significant contribution to civil society in our borough …thankfully there are still people who are passionately interested in improving their locality and willing to join the Society and share the work. In I found myself chairing the Society for a second term, some 25 years after I first became Chair. When I returned to the committee, I realised the changes in Hammersmith over that period had been enormous.
In the s, the redevelopment of Hammersmith Broadway was seen as unprecedentedly destructive and insensitive. At the time, there was little if any sense of how much bigger the stakes would become in the London property market, how much bigger the buildings and how much denser the population. Developers see Hammersmith as one of the most desirable areas in West London.
As a result there is a constant tension between high-quality development offering homes or amenities that are within reach of local people, and over-development, that is too dense for the area and threatens valued and much loved local views and open space, and quality of life generally. A new London Plan has come into force, and our own new Local Development Framework is nearing completion. We participated in the Examination in Public of the Core Strategy, and spent many hours studying drafts and considering the implications of detailed wording.
The Localism Act and the National Planning Policy Framework also came in, and it will take time to assess their full impact. Over the years the Society has worked collaboratively with the Council where possible on issues such as Streetsmart and the Core Strategy. There is a risk that Hammersmith will be overtaken by high-rise strips along the main through routes: not only Westway and the West Cross Route, but potentially King Street too.
Residential development has overtaken office development as most lucrative, but there is no motivation and little enforcement to provide adequate open space alongside ever denser construction.
A generation of young people is growing up in Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush for whom the principal recreational space is Westfield Shopping Centre. But the continuing success of our Environment Award shows that there are still good buildings appearing.
Our collaboration with our affiliated local groups is stronger than ever, and membership is growing. Together, we represent some households in Hammersmith. We make a significant contribution to civil society in our borough: an average of 20 carefully considered responses on planning applications a year; two appearances at public enquiries, as well as many other meetings; sponsorship of the.
There is an extraordinary amount for a voluntary group like ours to do — strategic issues, major sites, local arguments. It is very hard work for those involved, but thankfully there are still people who are passionately interested in improving their locality and who are willing to join the Society and share the work.
I am proud that the Society has been active for 50 years. It is evident that there will be no shortage of matters to work on for the future. Contact us Join Us. We welcome as members individuals and organisations who care for Hammersmith As a Member, you will receive at least two printed newsletters and regular email updates each year, outlining our activities, and giving you the opportunity to participate in our campaigns.
Join Here. Join Us. Image: Historic Buildings Group. Lyric Square. Chairs in the first 50 years. Our History. The Capability Brown Statue.
Read more The Hammersmith Study Group Notable Achievements. The images are also available as an online montage or downloadable large, 40M pdf montage Olympia redevelopment model in Upper Pillar Hall.
Conservation Award The Grotto. Capability Brown Statue. Hammersmith Studios, Talgarth Road. Capability Brown Statue unveiling. Wormwood scrubs fog. Quaker meeting house frontage. Nancye Goulden Award 21 Banim Street. The Great River Race Capability river downstream. Environment Award Hammersmith Surgery.
River sculpture. Conservation Award Olympia. Hammersmith Bridge. Bush Theatre. Steam train at Ravenscourt Park Arches, June 23rd Hammersmith Highline.
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