Corner of First Avenue and Harrow Road, W10

Queens Park street scene, Monday, 6 January 2025

Wood End Library and Children's Centre demolished (photos)

Update 8 Feb 2022, the scene today

Before

After

Whitton Avenue West

According to this website presentation, Ealing Council's proposed plan for the site includes a block of 11 new "affordable homes" and a community library.

"View of the current, emerging proposal" (from the linked site above)

The fight for the soul of Spitalfields

Save Brick Lane - BBC London News https://t.co/Lkpq0z2DnT

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) September 14, 2021

"Tonight, Tuesday 14th September, Tower Hamlets Council’s Development Committee makes its decision upon the Truman Brewery’s controversial planning application for a shopping mall with four floors of offices on top, as the first step in the redevelopment of the entire brewery site into a corporate plaza." (More)

The sad, shameful demise of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry

The sad, shameful demise of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry https://t.co/YIeKthPLdo

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) May 14, 2021

Save Arnold Circus

"Conservation groups are calling for a proper heritage assessment before digging up Arnold Circus, the centrepiece of the listed Boundary Estate which is the world’s first municipal housing scheme built in the 1890s." #towerhamlets #savearnoldcircus https://t.co/94UA5gKf4k

— Stephen Moran (@stephen_j_moran) October 31, 2020

'The historic Arnold Circus was not the place for “expensive and ill-conceived enhancements”, an area celebrated worldwide for its unique design and architecture, the trust pointed out. The simplicity of the Arnold Circus design “should not be tampered with”.

Conservation groups are calling for “a proper heritage assessment” before digging up Arnold Circus, the centrepiece of the listed Boundary Estate which is the world’s first municipal housing scheme built in the 1890s.' (Hackney Gazette)

Tower Hamlets council has already broken up some of the original Yorkstone paving, apparently without waiting for planning permission.

Stunning new council housing in Greenwich

New Council housing we just did for people in Greenwich pic.twitter.com/KuhJx3MDBy

— Peter barber (@PpeterPeter) October 10, 2020

"Progress" - old shop/new shop. Does London still exist?

This is what became of the Kingsland Cafe in the KIngsland Rd, as depicted by @eleanor_crow https://t.co/yTcQCQko5R pic.twitter.com/CbnKV18PJW

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) May 17, 2020

South Vale has reopened - hallelujah!

New mighty self-draining concrete kerbstones (left) and boundary kerb (right)

Opposite view, showing extent of new drainage system & grass verge relaid

Junction with Wood End Road, Orley Farm Road (private) & bridleway path

Excellent work by Harrow Council on this street, which was regularly subject to flooding near the entrance to John Lyons School playing fields. Note: there is also a planning application in progress to put speed humps on this and neighbouring roads and turn this enclave into a 20 mph zone, which should be welcome.

Whiteleys reduced to a skeleton

Whiteleys in Bayswater today pic.twitter.com/IbEjF7v5Pg

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) November 29, 2019

Where the hell am I going to park now, without that rooftop car park? I've got to get to Khans and Fortune Cookie with my guests and wander down to the art market along Hyde Park railings. Life is no longer worth living. {Don't post this, Feargal. I just wanted to show you what they've done. Edmondo}

"Our imaginations are being held hostage by the car"

Our imaginations are being held hostage by the car. pic.twitter.com/C28JzMnm3Q

— Philip Boucher-Hayes (@boucherhayes) October 29, 2019

Beautiful shop replaced with monstrous logo & void

How heartbreaking is this? Spiegelhalters in Mile End Rd - the developers preferred to destroy the nineteenth century shopfront for sake of an architectural void. https://t.co/Cq3GIEj3oH pic.twitter.com/FX5i5BOezF

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) August 19, 2019

Wellington Estate: Canal Club under threat

AT THE CANAL CLUB- a report on the threat to community spaces at the Wellington Estate in Bethnal Green: https://t.co/kWt3TFylak Photos by @rachelferriman pic.twitter.com/qlQGlniNhe

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) July 21, 2019

"Novelist Sarah Winman visited the Canal Club in Bethnal Green recently with Photographer Rachel Ferriman to report on the threat to the community spaces at the Wellington Estate.
...
"The proposal for the Wellington Estate is to demolish the Canal Club and remove the open space and community asset it provides. This is to construct a further twenty-two flats on an already densely populated estate which was built in the thirties as an answer to slum clearance – basically, it is taking space from those who have little to start with.
...
"...the Canal Club land was given by the GLC  to the people of the Wellington Estate in the late seventies and early eighties to offset the overcrowding and the lack of balconies and gardens."

Tower Hamlets Council wants to cram a few more flats into the space occupied at present by a communal garden beside the canal. Follow this link for the full report and photo gallery:
http://spitalfieldslife.com/2019/07/21/at-the-canal-club/.

End of the line for the Water Poet pub

The Water Poet in Folgate Street closes thanks to British Land's redevelopment of Norton Folgate for a hideous corporate plaza! pic.twitter.com/ftCTwjfWU2

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) March 12, 2019

According to this, the Water Poet corner pub in Folgate Street is closing to make way for "a corporate plaza." London is disappearing, welcome to nowhere.

Architectural joke?

Trusting and hoping this is only an alarmingly real-looking architectural joke (Fulham Palace Road)

Site for new flats - Wood End, Northolt

Car breakers yard (?) demolished, to be replaced with flats (Wood End). It's situated alongside the Piccadilly Line near where Wood End Road meets Wood End Gardens, Northolt. It's a pretty good location, all the better now for replacing the ramshackle car place. Though there is perhaps something to be said for ramshackle places, yes. But not that one.

Faded Faded

Work-in-progress

Harrow Road snaps

London Print Studio

Corner of First Avenue

All Stars Gym, where Frank Bruno trained

Half Penny Steps bridge over the Grand Union canal

Willesden Junction from the number 18 bus

Sahar Food Centre, Harlesden from the number 18 bus

Derelict nursery under development, Harlesden

London Plane trees, Stonebridge

Sudbury Hill public realm improvements consultation

Today

Outside Sudbury Hill station

You can view the plans for Sudbury Hill and north Greenford/Ealing Parade and comment on them by following this link to the contractors (Westtrans) website. Chrome can't display the page, so you might have to use Internet Explorer or some other browser to access it.

Kensal Rise Library planning - last day for comments

From the Friends of Kensal Rise Library

Last update before planning comments close......

1. Thank you to all of you that have contacted Brent planning expressing your support for FKRL and those who have signed letters of support.

To those of you who have not yet sent your comments you have until the end of Monday 28th April to do so.
The link is:
https://forms.brent.gov.uk/servlet/ep.ext?extId=101150&reference=115466&st=PL

For the best chance of retaining a library for the community, FKRL are supporting the application in the following way by stating:
Support planning application 14/0846
I give my support re Planning Application 14/0846:
1. For D1 community library and space
2. For FKRL to be tenants of the space
You can do the same and add your own words.

3. We have had emails of support from councillors from all three wards surrounding the library, Brondesbury, Kensal Green and Queens Park. Thank you to all those councillors for your support.
We have had a further email of support from Maggie Gee and her husband Nick Rankin who earlier in the week sent a statement of support. Both supporters and campaigners for the library since 1988. Thank you both for keeping Kensal Rise in your hearts.

4. We have also had support from Marika Giles Samson who some of you may remember was a very active campaigner until her move to Canada - and here is an excerpt:

Does anyone genuinely believe that FKRL has not done all that they have other than for the benefit of the community that they love? Does anyone really think that the decision that we are asked to support is motivated by anything other than a genuine  belief that it is in the best interest of the community? As far as I am concerned, the trustees of FKRL and the members of the campaign have earned all the credibility that they need to make this decision on the community’s behalf. We have no reason not to trust them, and every reason to support them.

Marika Giles Samson

Montréal, Canada

Formerly of 35 Bathust Gardens

5. Yes we have had to compromise but we are hoping that we will manage to have 2/3 of the ground floor (which is about 66% of the previous library space for those of you that like figures).

6. Looking forward to the day when our energies can go into planning an actual library and community space.

Regards and many thanks to the most important support of all - the residents of Kensal Rise and Kensal Green.

Margaret Bailey

Friends of Kensal Rise Library

Going, going, gone

Grange Road

Willesden library centre has disappeared.

Brondesbury Park

The old Victorian library