FN Newsletter 03-05-2023

Tree planting, Fitz West AGM, more alcohol sales in Warren Street, affordable housing and retrofitting, historic pubs at risk, poetry, and the latest public interest news.

Great Titchfield Street has lots of trees north of New Cavendish Street planted between 2011 and 2013, but very few to the south. Photo: Fitzrovia News.

In this issue we have a lot of news, features and comment, as well as public consultations and local democracy reports.

Covid is still here. The infection rate at just under two percent of the population of the UK. Please follow NHS advice to avoid catching and spreading the virus. Vaccination information is on Camden’s website and Westminster’s website.

It’s Coronation Day this Saturday. If you want some light relief I highly recommend Frankie Boyle’s Farewell to the Monarchy which you can watch on Channel 4 On Demand.

The Fitzrovia Partnership is heading west in June and holding a ballot for a new business improvement district (BID) for West Fitzrovia. But is this a responsible and reputable organisation to be getting into a public-private partnership with Westminster City Council? Later this month I’ll be looking at their plans and what else they have been up to, and telling you why I think they are bad news for residents in Fitzrovia West.

If you want to get in touch with us to tell us what you think of our reporting, have a question, or would like to contribute to Fitzrovia News please email us at news@fitzrovianews.com

Enjoy the holiday weekend.

— Linus Rees, editor

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The latest on our website

School children plant cherry trees in Ogle Street

Head teacher Alix Ascough (centre) watches as pupils plant one of the trees. Photo: Nick Bailey.

Children from All Souls Primary School, Foley Street, took part in the planting of three flowering cherry trees in Ogle Street, Fitzrovia, under the guidance of their headteacher, Alix Ascough, writes Nick Bailey.

Fitz West AGM to focus on how proposed traffic changes on Oxford Street will affect Fitzrovia

The Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum will hold its annual general meeting this month and host a discussion about how Westminster Council’s proposed changes to traffic flow on Oxford Street will impact Fitzrovia streets.

Warren Street does not need another place selling alcohol

Yet another licensing application has been submitted to Camden Council. This time it is Must & Lees seeking permission to sell alcohol to takeaway and to drink on the premises and on the forecourt at 57 Warren Street.

Tottenham Court Road bus stop open again

Bus passengers were delighted to find that the Stephen Street bus stop on Tottenham Court Road was open again, several months after it was closed because a gantry from a construction site was causing a hazard.

Affordable housing and retrofitting – is Westminster Council keeping its promise?

The new Labour administration at Westminster City Council says that its two top priorities are affordable housing and retrofitting to fight climate change. So how are they doing? writes Sue Blundell.

Shafting the historic watering holes (and the neighbours) in Fitzrovia’s pub heartland

Shaftesbury Capital’s plan to create apartments on the upper floors of two Fitzrovia pubs is a bad idea, writes Angela Lovely.

I won’t miss Planet Organic’s Tottenham Court Road shop

Customers were disappointed to find Planet Organic on Tottenham Court Road had closed, with a notice in the window announcing that the business was in the hands of the administrators. But I for one won’t miss the shop as much as some people will, writes Angela Lovely.

Poem: ‘World’

A poem inspired by “World”, an artwork by the Canadian artist Mark Pimlott, incorporated into the piazza in the middle of the expanded Broadcasting House, written by Jennifer Kavanagh.

Auction of hundreds of Westminster street signs

A collection of 340 1950s and 1960s City of Westminster street signs will be offered for sale by auction this month.

Public consultations

Licensing application: ground floor and basement, 57 Warren Street

Must & Lees Ltd has applied to Camden Council for a new premises licence for the ground floor and basement at 57 Warren Street.

Planning applications in Fitzrovia West, April 2023

Westminster Council validated planning applications in Fitzrovia West during April 2023.

Planning applications in Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia East, April 2023

Camden Council registered planning applications during April 2023 in Bloomsbury ward, which includes Fitzrovia East.

Local Democracy Reports

Women in Camden hit hard by cost of living crisis

Women in Camden are skipping meals, turning off fire and smoke alarms to save electricity, and struggling to find work which fits round caring commitments as they are hit hard during the cost-of-living crisis, writes Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter.

Better training needed for Camden’s planning committee to address climate emergency

Members of Camden’s planning committee should get better training to help them weigh up the carbon costs of new developments as part of the borough’s response to the climate emergency, writes Julia Gregory, Local Democracy Reporter.

Coronation road closures in Westminster – what you need to know

Drivers and cyclists in central London can expect major disruption to their journeys ahead of and during the coronation of King Charles III, writes Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter.

Printed newspapers

Our latest printed newspaper, Fitzrovia News, is available from outside Fitzrovia Community Centre, 2 Foley Street, along with the weekly Camden New Journal and the Westminster Extra. Our May printed edition is out, and another issue will come out in June. Then the next edition will be in September when we will return to publishing in printe every three months, with the occasional special issues. See the newspaper archive for back issues.