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The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has rejected plans for a tower next to Shepherd’s Bush Common in west London.
Dorsett Hospitality International had applied for planning permission to demolish the existing former Walkabout building and replace it with a 16-storey tower.
Screenshot showing proposed tower
The council decided that the proposed development was ‘unacceptable in the interests of visual amenity and its impact on the historic environment’. It would ‘far exceed the prevailing height of the surrounding built environment, and would appear as an isolated, intrusive feature, failing to respect its townscape context in terms of scale, massing form and detailed design’.
In addition, ‘it would dominate the skyline in views from Shepherd’s Bush Conservation Area, and would fail to preserve or enhance the quality of the built environment and open spaces which contribute to the character of the conservation area’.
Says Kate Ashbrook, our general secretary: ‘We are delighted that the council has backed our objection and has so roundly condemned this monstrosity. The Open Spaces Society was founded 150 years ago initially to defend London’s commons—and we are still doing so.
‘We said that this ugly tower would dominate the green space of Shepherd’s Bush. It would have an overpowering and unpleasant influence on people’s quiet enjoyment of this vital green lung.
‘It is excellent that the council has agreed with this view. Let’s hope that’s the end of this ridiculous proposal,’ Kate concludes.