Search Results for: save goldhwak road

On Friday I received an alert from FehrTrade reader Catriona that there are plans afoot to demolish part of Goldhawk Road, the best concentration of high quality, low price fabric shops in London (and, arguably, most of Europe)!

Hammersmith and Fulham Council are proposing to demolish 30-52 Goldhawk Road in order to build high-rise flats. Included in this row of shops are my beloved Classic Textiles and A One Fabrics (IMHO, the two best fabric shops in the whole of London!) as well as a fantastic little caff which I’ve stopped in every time I’ve been shopping, and a pie & mash shop that’s been around since 1899. Every single one of these shops is an independent business which will be completely ruined by this demolition.

Other cities around the world are losing their fabric shops as they go out of business due to lack of sales, but Goldhawk Road is thriving and prospering, and I can barely make my way through the crowds most Saturdays!

So I beg of you, fellow sewers – if you’re a Londoner who shops at Goldhawk Road, or you’ve travelled to London to shop here on your holidays, or even if you’d just like the chance in the future to buy fabric at these shops you’ve heard me go on about, then PLEASE make your objections heard now!

Please register your objections by email at SBMarket@lbhf.gov.uk or call Jackie Simkins in the council’s planning department on 020 8753 3460.

As a Londoner, I feel proud of the great things this city has to offer, but I feel ashamed when corporate greed threatens to ruin those landmarks I’ve come to love and enjoy. I’ve often expressed my enthusiasm for the fabric shops on Goldhawk Road in West London, but last year I heard the stomach-sickening news that half the Goldhawk Road shops are under threat from developers.

I hadn’t heard much since then, until a few days ago, when Dilly brought to my attention the good news that the Goldhawk Road shop owners have been granted a Judicial Review of the earlier decision in favour of the developers!

Now, this doesn’t mean it’s being overturned, but it means the case will be looked at again. There’s a good rundown of exactly why this Judicial Review was granted here if you’re interested (there are rumours of corruption…), but what this means is that there’s still a chance that half of Goldhawk Road won’t be demolished in order to build (yawn) more flats.

Some of the shop owners are organising a big celebrity media event next Tuesday, launching an exhibition about the history and cultural importance of the parade of shops, as well as the launch of an online petition. I’m unable to attend the event itself, but if you’re in the area and would like to help drum up support (or if you know any journalists happy to cover a David vs Goliath story!), then please contact Kimikawa, whose details are on their Facebook page (Scroll down to the 22 August comment from Aniza Meghani).