Recent Developments

6 October, 2020 | The Plan | 2 comments

We had a good response to the questionnaire and exhibition held on 13 May 2019 and the link below summarises all the responses to the questionnaire:

Results from FitzWest Neighbourhood Questionnaire

Other documents relating to the AGM can be viewed here:

We have also carried out a full consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan which you can find with supporting documents by following this link to the website:

We now intend to seek a ‘health check’ to ensure we meet all the requirements and will then formally submit the Plan and supporting documents to Westminster City Council.

Please get in touch if you have any further comments at info@fitzwest.org

2 Comments

  1. denise julien

    Is FitzFest for all in the area or just for those around Great Titchfield Street?
    Because, it appears that money will only be spent for the Great Titchfield Street area.
    You have had money from Tesco which you still haven’t spent because you are only interested in greening Great Titchfield Street.
    This is not representative off the whole area.
    Denise
    cc Karen Scarborough
    Iain Bott

    • admin

      Gwilym Harbottle who is leading on this project has already replied to your email, however here is the response so that everyone can understand the situation better:
      Tesco gave us a modest grant for greening. What may not have been explained to you is that the grant is for the provision of “a green oasis”, that is a single site.

      Working with a landscape designer we concluded that the best way to spend this sum would be to seek to place some planters on an area of paving. The sum would be enough to provide for the design, purchase, installation and contents of 5 planters to be maintained by volunteers.

      We considered a variety of possible sites in the Fitzwest Neighbourhood Area, the boundaries of which you are familiar with. Many were obviously inappropriate because they were on the public highway.

      Ultimately we concluded that the pavement on the Great Titchfield St side of Holcroft Court was not only one of the least “green” in the area but also one of the few sites with sufficient space for substantial planters off the highway. In addition, it was in the North of the Area, a part of the Area which has received limited attention and funding.

      We initially considered a site just south of the junction between Great Titchfield Street and Carburton Street. We consulted with Westminster officers who encouraged us to proceed on that site. However, shortly afterwards, a builders’ container was placed on it for what we were told would be a long time.

      Accordingly we chose the site on the junction between Great Titchfield St and Clipstone Street, which actually has a better aspect. We consulted with the Holcroft Court Residents Association who agreed that this would be an excellent site. Not only would it improve the area but it would also reduce the incidence of people driving over the pavement and breaking up the paving stones.

      Subsequently, as you know, we consulted on greening the whole stretch of the East side of Great Titchfield St between Carburton Street and Clipstone Street and there was an overwhelmingly positive response. We intend to seek funding for this in due course.

      In the meantime, we liaised with Citywest Homes (the then owner of the land) (“CWH”) and agreed a draft contract with them subject to obtaining planning permission. It was necessary for CWH’s structural engineer to be satisfied that the pavement was robust enough to support the planters. We also needed access to a water supply, storage and refuse space.

      We then applied for planning permission for the site (18/10608/FULL). There were some objections to which we responded. WCC’s officer initially informed us that he would be recommending planning permission. However, he later told us that a stopping up order would be needed and so the application would have to go to committee. We disagreed about the need for a stopping up order. The officer then informed us that he had spoken to the police who were unhappy with the proposals. We are meeting with the police next week. The planning application is in abeyance in the meantime.