November 2009 Archives

A burst water main on the edge of Shepherd's Bush early this morrning caused severe flooding and a rush hour nightmare for commuters as roads were sealed off.

The rupture happened at around 4am at the junction of Stamford Brook Road and Goldhawk Road, where several homes had to be evacuated.

Roads close to Stamford Brook Tube station were closed as firefighters and Thames Water engineers worked to seal off the leak and pump away the excess water.

Traffic was backed up throughout Hammersmith and Fulham, down much of Fulham Palace Road and Talgarth Road, before 8am.

Did you get stuck in traffic or see the flooding? Add your comments below.

A controversial decision allowing developers to pull down a Shepherd's Bush industrial park that is home to several thriving businesses could be overturned by central Government.

Plans by Londonewcastle to clear the Goldhawk Industrial Estate to make way for 57 homes and new commercial units were approved by Hammersmith and Fulham Council in September despite fierce opposition from residents, but the secretary of state has now called in the application.

A con artist from Shepherd's Bush who used a forged blue badge to park in disabled spaces was fined nearly £1,000 after being caught out by police and council officers.

Michael Downey, of Devonport Road, was fined £994 at West London Magistrates' Court last month after being convicted of using the fake badge on two occasions.

Two other men from outside the borough were also fined for similar offences following the clampdown.

Amanda Roles, of Hammersmith & Fulham Mencap, said: "It is extremely selfish and inconsiderate. Non-disabled people don't realise how doing everyday normal tasks are so much harder for someone with a disability."

People living in two five-storey blocks of flats have been stuck with no running water for two weeks after engineers failed to fix a burst mains pipe.

Residents of Campbell House and Mitchell House in the White City Estate have been unable to wash, flush their toilets or boil the kettle for days on end since the problem began on November 7, and have had to fill up from a temporary standpipe in the street.

A crack house was raided and boarded up this week after neighbours in the White City Estate complained about a constant flow of drug users visiting the flat.

The closure is the first in the borough in six months and is being hailed as a breakthrough by police, who say they have struggled in the past to gain the trust of people living on the vast estate.

Veteran BBC broadcaster and Shepherd's Bush resident John Humphrys will host a 'quiz the leaders' event in the town hall next week.

Council, health, police and fire bosses will be under one roof on Tuesday evening to face a grilling from members of the public on subjects of their choice.

Jeff Zitron, chairman of NHS Hammersmith and Fulham, said: "Public bodies need to work together to provide good quality, value for money, services. At the heart of getting it right is listening to and talking with residents. The summit is a great opportunity to do just that and I'm looking forward to hearing what local people have to say."

The meeting will run from 7pm to 8.30pm. To register and submit questions in advance visit www.lbhf.ogv.uk

Detectives are hunting a robber who attacked a man from behind, held him tightly round the neck and threatened him with a knife before stealing £120 in cash and a mobile phone.

Hammersmith and Fulham's robbery squad have released an e-fit image of the man wanted for the robbery of the 37-year-old at the back of Winthrop House, in the White City Estate, at about 3am on Saturday, August 15.

Anyone with information about should call Detective Constable Harry McKillop on 0208 246 2678 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Amateur archaeologists have uncovered the first evidence of an iron age settlement on the foreshore of the Thames at Fulham.

Volunteers discovered the remains of a wooden post which is thought to date from around 500 BC - long before any previously known activity in the area.

Plans to demolish a historic music venue and replace it with hundreds of student flats in the centre of Hammersmith have been turned down.

Developers London and Regional had hoped to build shops and 429 flats in a vast project reaching up to ten storeys high on the site of the old Hammersmith Palais in Shepherd's Bush Road.