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.
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
The latest on our website
School children plant cherry trees in Ogle Street
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
Warren Street does not need another place selling alcohol
Tottenham Court Road bus stop open again
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’
Auction of hundreds of Westminster street signs
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.