by Julia Haythorn | Sep 8, 2025 | AGM, Greening, Our Neighbourhood, Public Space
AGM INVITATION
Thursday, 9th October, 6 pm at the Wellcome Centre, Howland Street.
All members are invited to attend The Fitzwest Neighbourhood Forum Annual General Meeting.
There is also the opportunity to attend via Zoom. Please contact us directly on info@fitzwest.org and we will send you the Zoom link.
A full agenda will follow shortly, but there will be the chance to discuss the plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street and also to hear more about funding opportunities and projects via the Community Infrastructure Levy.
GRAND UNVEILING OF THE HOLCROFT COURT ARTWORK
Tuesday 30th September, 4-8pm
A new artwork, commissioned to celebrate the lives and works of Thomas and Fanny Holcroft, and funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy will be unveiled at the Community Day at Holcroft Court, Carburton Street, W1W 5DF.
Everyone is welcome.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO WATER PLANTERS
The planters which were funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy and Tesco are still thriving, despite the hottest summer on record!
We do however need some more volunteers to help with watering on Gosfield Street and New Cavendish Street. The commitment is very small and any help – even just one day a week for 10 minutes or so – would be brilliant.
Please contact info@fitzwest.org if you are able to help.
by Julia Haythorn | May 2, 2025 | Consultations, Our Neighbourhood, Oxford Street, Planning, Public Space
REMINDER – YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT TOMORROW – 2ND MAY – TO RESPOND TO THE MAYOR’S CONSULTATION
Dear Members
We want to let you know about Fitzwest’s response to the Mayor’s plans to pedestrianise Oxford Street.
Pedestrianisation:
We can not say if it is a good idea or not without seeing detailed plans, as we have identified some issues that need addressing:
- Congestion
- potential for 70 buses per hour both ways down Wigmore/Mortimer Street
- Goodge St/Tottenham Court Road junction – will buses be able to turn left and right out of and into Goodge St?
- taxis and ubers. Where will they pick up and drop off fares? Will it be the end of streets like Wells, Newman, Rathbone, Berners Streets?
- Increased air pollution
- Access to business and homes,
- Access to Oxford Street shops,
- Access to night buses for the many users in our area,
- Access for loading for the businesses on Oxford Street
- Crime and safety during the day and night
- Pedestrian crossing safety.
The Mayoral Development Corporation:
- We disagree with the anti democratic use of the MDC to enable this scheme which will be an expensive quango
- The MDC will have total jurisdiction over all planning decisions – routine and major.
- We think that Westminster Council can do the job more effectively
- We are concerned and puzzled by the large size of the MDC which increases the potential for undemocratic planning decisions in areas around Oxford Street as well as Oxford Street itself.
- The Fitzwest Forum and all its business and resident members worked very hard over a number of years to create the Neighbourhood Plan. This was voted in a referendum of businesses and residents and the MDC will be able to ignore it. We feel Westminster Council is better positioned to make decisions on planning matters including enforcement.
- It will also reduce the amount of CIL money available for local projects designed to enhance the quality of life in Fitzrovia
You only have until midnight tomorrow – Friday 2nd May – to respond to the consultation which is on the TFL website. Here is the link
https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/oxford-street
by FitzWest admin | Aug 9, 2024 | Consultations, Cycling, Our Neighbourhood, Oxford Street, Safety
Great Titchfield Street/Foley Street and Rathbone Place/Rathbone Street traffic consultation
Note: consultation closes on August 13th 2024
Residents and businesses in Fitzrovia West are invited to comment on proposed changes to traffic flows at the junction of Great Titchfield Street and Foley Street, and at Rathbone Place and Rathbone Street. Further details are available and comments can be submitted online at:
https://oxfordstreetprogramme.commonplace.is/
We support the council’s plans to bring in motor vehicle restrictions along part of Great Titchfield Street. The planned changes on Oxford Street would otherwise lead to a lot of extra cars, vans and lorries using Great Titchfield Street as a direct route and inevitably increase all kinds of traffic. You can have your say and read more about it here:
https://oxfordstreetprogramme.commonplace.is/en-GB/proposals/great-titchfield-street-consultation/step1
The public consultation closes on August 13th 2024.
After Dark Survey
Westminster Council have produced an online questionnaire that seeks to gather additional views and insights from residents on their evening and night-time experiences below:
After Dark Survey
The closing date for the online questionnaire is 15th September 2024.
In addition to the questionnaire residents can send any views, comments, data of evidence they wish to share with Westminster Council to aid the development of the Westminster After Dark Strategy via email to westminsterafterdark@westminster.gov.uk<mailto:westminsterafterdark@westminster.gov.uk> by the 15th September 2024.
Marylebone to West-End Cycleway Route Alignment consultation
Westminster Council have launched their Marylebone to West-End Cycleway Route Alignment consultation, and it closes on 30th September 2024.
Visit the consultation webpage<https://westminster.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a50c8b0dd980669ef713b4cca&id=e0c1d663f7&e=07fba93fa4> providing information about the proposed scheme and includes an online survey form for you to leave your comments.
Alternatively, you can email any questions or comments to the mailbox below:
cycleroutes@westminster.gov.uk
by FitzWest admin | Jul 4, 2024 | AGM, CIL, Consultations, Environment, Greening, Our Neighbourhood
Thank you to everyone who attended our very successful AGM last Wednesday 26th June at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre on Howland Street – we appreciated you choosing to spend a gloriously hot evening with us rather than in the park! You can
read the full minutes of the meeting here.
As well as all the usual business of the AGM, we had several interesting presentations. These included an update from Jordan Scammell from the Soho Poly Theatre about their development plans and how the CIL funding has been spent.
You can have a look at the presentation here.
Lee Lyons from The Fitzrovia Partnership and Lucy Mitchell from the New West End Company discussed how they are dealing with issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in Fitzrovia. Councillor Patrick Lilley also shared some of the complex challenges the police are facing and how they are working to deal with it. Greening and outdoor space is always a very popular issue for our members and Mark Gazaleh told us about tree planting and plans for future greening in the area. You can look at this presentation here.
Consultation – chance to have your say
The Fitzrovia Partnership is co-designing a sustainability strategy and action plan for the area and has been engaging the community on its environmental, social and economic priorities to make Fitzrovia a better place to live, work and visit for all.
There was an exhibition and consultation about this at the AGM and residents and businesses gave their opinions. Join The Fitzrovia Partnership for its final sustainability strategy co-creation session on 10th July ay 12.30.
This session will include a wrap-up of insights gained during the recent sustainability drop-in sessions and survey, including feedback from local residents and businesses on how they would like to see better social and environmental value delivered in the area. The session will also provide an opportunity to provide final feedback on our Sustainability Strategy and Action Plan.
by FitzWest admin | Oct 31, 2023 | CIL, Environment, Greening, Our Neighbourhood, Public Space, Rubbish
We are delighted to announce that the long talked about and frequently delayed planters have finally been installed on Hanson street, Great Titchfield Street, and Gosfield Street at the junctions with New Cavendish Street.
These planters are funded by Neighbourhood CIL and the Tesco Bags of Help scheme.
Rebecca Heard of Fine Line Garden Design has done a wonderful job of sourcing hardy and attractive British plants and creating a very appealing planting design. It is designed to look great now, but also to grow and fill in as the months go by.
Lots of volunteers worked hard to get the planting done – including planting lots of bulbs which will come up in the spring.
We are very conscious that maintenance of these planters is incredibly important to keep them looking as good as they do now and we have a whole roster of volunteers who are watering , clearing rubbish that might appear and doing any other maintenance.
Children from All Souls School will be helping as well and it’s great to see all ages keen to be involved.
If you would like to help out and volunteer, then please do email us: info@fitzwest.org
The various locations for the planters were chosen after a public consultation. They needed to be in places where there was space away from utilities and that didn’t get in the way of passersby. It was also hoped they will serve an additional purpose of discouraging on-street dumping. We are aware this may take a little while to settle in but hope that residents and businesses will help by only putting their rubbish out at the time and in the place stipulated by WCC. The times are available here.
Hanson Street Planter
Thanks again to the many people who have helped and supported this project.
by FitzWest admin | May 30, 2023 | AGM, CIL, Consultations, Our Neighbourhood, Oxford Street
First of all, a big thank you to over 40 local residents and businesses and all the West End Ward councillors (Cllrs Toale, Fisher and Lilley) who attended our AGM on 18th May at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre on Howland Street. The high tech facilities meant we were also able to have people attend virtually.
As well as the usual AGM business, Cllr. Geoff Barraclough and some of the Westminster Council Oxford Street team presented initial plans to change the traffic flow at Oxford Circus. There were plenty of questions and comments and an undertaking by the Council that this would be fully consulted on before implementation. There was particular concern about suggestions of changes to traffic flow on Great Titchfield Street and the potential for increased traffic.
Our local police officer from the Safer Neighbourhood teams then gave a presentation about crime and anti social behaviour. This also generated lots of questions and gave residents a chance to chat afterwards.
Finally, there were some updates on projects that have received CIL funding. Donna Yay from Fitzrovia Community Centre explained how the works to improve the accessibility and floor covering would not have otherwise been possible. Gwilym Harbottle told us that the New Cavendish Planters will be installed this summer – and asked for volunteers to be on the planters committee – so if anyone is interested please get in touch with Gwilym at info@fitzwest.org
The AGM minutes are available here.
