Plans for much needed facelift come a step closer
Plans to regenerate Shepherds Bush Market have come a step closer with a developer, Orion Shepherds Bush Limited coming forward to tell Hammersmith and Fulham council that they are potentially interested in regenerating the area.
Orion Shepherds Bush Limited is a joint-venture between regeneration specialists Orion Land and Leisure Limited and development and investment company Development Securities PLC.
H&F Council’s Cabinet will now meet on Thursday, October 14, to discuss whether to give Orion an option to buy the council’s land on Pennard Road, which is known as the former laundry site.
The option could only be taken up if the developer is able to assemble the rest of the land needed to come-up with a viable scheme – based on the final planning brief – that ultimately gets planning consent.
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader says: " Shepherds Bush Market deserves to be the standard-bearer for all London’s markets. The Market has been in existence for nearly 100 years and is now in desperate need of new life if it is to maximise its undoubted potential.
" It is encouraging that a developer has finally come forward but there is a long way to go until the market evolves into the exciting and vibrant venue that we all want to see."
A consultation with residents - the second this year - is now underway on the council’s overall vision of the market, known as a "planning and regeneration brief". The brief proposes that the Transport for London-owned market would be enlarged to take in a former laundry site on Pennard Road, along with land currently owned by Broadway Centre and Peabody Trust and redeveloped to include new homes and public spaces.
A new cultural quarter – with the Bush Theatre moving into the old Shepherds Bush Library – is also a significant feature of this vision.
In the first consultation 75% of people said the draft planning brief represents a positive step for the market. For more than a decade, traders and customers have been complaining that the market has been allowed to decline because of a lack of investment.
The council consulted with traders, residents and shoppers over six weeks from December 2009 and the vast majority agreed any redevelopment must complement local architecture. There was also a very favourable response regarding the mix of shops proposed, new leisure and public arts facilities and embracing the former Shepherds Bush Library as a cultural facility.
However, while 75% of traders who responded were in favour of the proposals, they were concerned that any redevelopment is phased to ensure that the market can continue to operate during construction and that vehicle access and parking is improved.
Traders also wanted more public toilets, improved security, cash machines and a roof over all or part of the market and rent levels that do not spiral through the roof.
69% of residents who responded were in favour of renovating the market. Lime Grove residents have voiced concerns about proposals to move some services from the Broadway Centre to the nearby Lime Grove hostel. However the council would expect any developer to work closely with residents to find a suitable solution if firm regeneration proposals do eventually come forward.
Council members will decide whether to adopt the updated planning brief, following the latest public consultation, at the full council meeting on October 27 .A full copy of the council’s draft planning and regeneration brief can be viewed here
To be sent a hard copy email SBMarket@lbhf.gov.uk or call Jackie Simkins in the council’s planning department, on 020 8753 3460. If you wish to respond, the deadline is 5pm on Monday, October 11.
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