Fitzrovia News

Camden private renters group will hold virtual AGM

Fri, 23 Oct 2020 20:24:43 GMT

Camden Federation of Private Tenants (CFPT) will hold its annual general meeting this month, and like most meetings it will be held online due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. CFPT represents Camden’s private renters, housing association tenants, and leaseholders. They campaign for a better and fairer relationship between tenants, landlords and agents, and for stronger …

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Westminster council seeks views on a new private rented sector strategy

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 19:57:23 GMT

The City of Westminster has the largest private rented sector in England with an estimated 52,700 properties making up 43 percent of all its housing. The sector has grown over the last decade, both in numbers and as a proportion of all housing in the city — up from 41,900 properties, 40 percent of housing …

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Westminster council to hold online event to discuss plans to create a ‘greener and cleaner’ city

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 06:03:24 GMT

Westminster council is hosting an “open forum” event this month to discuss its plans to create a greener and cleaner city. The event will be held online and residents can ask questions to the leader of the council Rachael Robathan and cabinet Members. “We’ll be talking about improving air quality, boosting recycling, the climate emergency, …

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Appeal for blood plasma donations as London moves from ‘medium’ to ‘high’ Covid alert level

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 11:39:05 GMT

The NHS Blood and Transplant service is appealing for donations from people who have recovered from coronavirus to help save lives as London moves from “medium” to “high” alert. “If you’ve had coronavirus, donation is a way you can help London during the lockdown,” says an NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson. “We urgently need people …

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Licensing application: 41 Great Titchfield Street, London, W1W 7PG

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 16:12:54 GMT

An application has been made to Westminster council for a new premises licence at 41 Great Titchfield Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 7PG. Maria Pozzuto Di Iulio has applied for the sale by retail of alcohol on and off the premises, Monday to Sunday from 09:00 to 20:00. The premises is a delicatessen selling hot and …

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Play tells the story of the creative but short-lived relationship between Bridgetower and Beethoven

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 19:01:41 GMT

The premiere of the first act of the new musical drama Silence and Joy by local playwright Sue Blundell will be shown at the end of the month on YouTube. The story begins in April 1803 when George Bridgetower, a young virtuoso violinist, has just arrived in Vienna and is introduced to Ludwig van Beethoven, …

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London Film Festival offers feature-length movies, free shorts, and special events at venues ...

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 17:23:06 GMT

This year’s BFI London Film Festival features full-length movies, many short films to watch free online, and plenty of free events including screen talks (one with musician David Byrne, amongst many others), Q and As and many much more both online and in real life. This Saturday, 17 October, sees a special one-off screening at …

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Westminster council seeks views on revised licensing policy and changes to cumulative impact area

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 11:27:56 GMT

Westminster council is carrying out a review of its licensing policy including changing its West End cumulative impact zone, tackling racial discrimination at licensed premises, and is holding a public consultation before finalising its new policy. While licensed premises contribute a huge amount to the local economy they can also create problems for residents and …

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Lost stash of 400 erotic drawings by Duncan Grant comes to light

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 06:45:00 GMT

In June, 2013, I wrote in Fitzrovia News about an important art collection, then in a private house in Fitzrovia, that included works by Vanessa Bell, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Maurice Denis, Duncan Grant, Amadeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, Graham Sutherland and Alfred Wallis. The collection had been passed down through three generations of gay men: from Eddy …

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Hail to the Chief!? at The Cartoon Museum

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 06:12:00 GMT

Fitzrovia’s wonderful Cartoon Museum in Wells Street has caught the spirit of the times with a very topical exhibition: Hail to the Chief!? It features witty and revealing caricature portraits by award winning political cartoonist Martin Rowson, and insightful and acerbic pen portraits by Andrew Gimson, author of The Rise of Boris Johnson. Rowson’s delightful …

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The art of cycling overnight in central London and raising money to combat youth homelessness

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 21:17:02 GMT

On Thursday night 22-year-old Mo Maynard cycled through London for 12 hours from 8pm until 8am Friday, raised money for charity, and created a piece of digital art at the same time. As she rode through the streets her cycle computer drew a GPS route in the shape of a cyclist on a bike, something …

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Derwent London plans major demolition and redevelopment on Tottenham Court Road

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 07:55:00 GMT

Derwent London, the property development company who eleven years ago said “we want to get rid of the idea that we will come in and knock everything down”, is planning to knock down yet another large building, adding to the pile of rubble it has already trucked out of Fitzrovia. Derwent plans to raze to …

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Starmer adds to criticism of way Camden is dealing with underground hotel planning application

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 14:21:00 GMT

Criticism of Camden Council’s planning department is mounting due to the way it is dealing with an application to increase the number of rooms in an underground hotel below a side street off Tottenham Court Road. Applicants Criterion Capital are currently constructing the concrete bunker in a former car park in Great Russell Street underneath …

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How diplomats saved Georgian buildings on Grafton Way from demolition

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 06:27:00 GMT

Newly released archive material has revealed how an international diplomatic campaign averted the demolition of a row of Georgian houses on Grafton Way, Fitzrovia. Richard Osley reportsin the Westminster Extra that a row of houses were “within a whisker of being bulldozed” in the early 1970 until diplomats from Venezuela appealed to the government to …

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Westminster council is seeking views on busking and street entertainment

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 10:22:48 GMT

Westminster City Council is updating its busking and street entertainment policy, and is seeking the public’s views before finalising the document. “In January this year, we consulted on proposals to introduce regulation in key busking hotspots in the West End,” says the Council. “In response to our proposals, many residents and workers expressed concern about …

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Camden Council seeks guidance on high streets, biodiversity, and planning

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:56:17 GMT

Camden Council is seeking guidance from the public on the future of shopping streets, the state of nature in the borough, and on updating its planning guidance. The council has launched three “commonplace engagements” — a crowd-sourced form of public consultation — where the public can place virtual sticky notes on a map with suggestions …

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Planning applications in Fitzrovia West, September 2020

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:18:23 GMT

There were 10 planning applications validated by Westminster Council in Fitzrovia West during September 2020. Most of the applications are minor alterations and conditions connected with existing planning consents and advertising applications, and there are air conditioning units proposed at Mortimer Street. There is also a planning appeal in relation to an application refused at …

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Planning applications in Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia, September 2020

Mon, 05 Oct 2020 08:51:31 GMT

There were 39 planning applications registered by Camden Council in Bloomsbury ward during September 2020. Most of the applications are for minor alterations and to satisfy conditions, some advertising consents, and there are several pavement licences under the “streateries” scheme. There is an application to demolish and redevelop 52 Tottenham Street, an extension proposed at …

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Licence application: 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 06:22:00 GMT

An application has been made to Westminster Council for a new premises licence at 22 Berners Street, London W1T 3LP. The application made by Fora Space Limited seeks permission for the sale of alcohol on the premises from 10am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 11.30pm on Sundays. The applicant states that …

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Historic toy museum re-opens with guided tours and reduced hours of business

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 15:41:20 GMT

Pollock’s Toy Museum will be re-emerging from its lockdown closure this autumn with reduced opening times but with the addition of weekly guided tours to whet the appetite of fans of historical playthings. Since 1968 Pollock’s Toy Museum has been housed in two historic buildings on the corner of Scala Street and Whitfield Street. It …

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