NEWS UPDATE
CONSERVATION WINS IN W6
Stuart Blake explains how resident
power has led to more neighbourhoods
being included in Hammersmith’s
coveted Bradmore Conservation Area
A
fter five rollercoaster
years, hundreds of
historic Victorian and
Edwardian homes in the
heart of Hammersmith
will now be better
protected. It’s a fantastic result.
A cluster of new roads have now been
added to the south-east corner of the
Bradmore Conservation Area, including
all homes in Iffley Road, Kilmarsh Road,
Overstone Road and Southerton Road.
In the north, more homes would
be added in Brackenbury Gardens,
Brackenbury Road, Sycamore Gardens
and Goldhawk Road.
And we have worked very hard to get
the council to agree to the changes.
It’s taken more than five years of
hard graft, gathering support from
neighbours, putting questionnaires
through doors and contributing to a
new study of the conservation area.
I hope joining the
conservation area helps
instill a renewed sense of
pride in our community
Of the residents who took part in the
surveys, more than 84 per cent were in
favour of joining the conservation area.
We thank everyone who participated.
But what does it mean practically for
homeowners in the area? The tighter
rules in conservation areas are designed
Overstone Road is one of the
W6 streets which now fall
within the conservation area
to safeguard the character of places
with a special architectural and historic
interest. Residents must seek planning
permission before building roof
extensions or installing satellite dishes
on the front of their homes.
Some residents we spoke to were
concerned the new rules would be
too restrictive. And landlords were
worried about the extra responsibilities.
But while it does place an onus on
owners paying a bit more attention to
their homes and involve a few more
rules, I strongly believe that it can only
be a good thing.
I’ve lived in Overstone Road for more
than 25 years and never understood
why the conservation area – which
surrounds us – didn’t cover our area.
Now it does. And it also joins up
many other neighbourhoods that were
also bordering the zone and I hope it
helps instill a renewed sense of pride in
our community.
That’s why we fought, alongside
the Hammersmith Society and
Hammersmith & Fulham Historic
Buildings Group, for the these changes.
And that’s also why we supported
the Hammersmith Society in its recent
victory to have the Angelsea Arms pub
designated an ‘asset of community
value’ to protect it from falling into the
hands of property developers.
Stuart Blake is the chairman of the
Brackenbury I