Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Area application submitted to Westminster Council

By News Reporters

A group of residents and business owners on the Westminster side of Fitzrovia have submitted a Neighbourhood Area application to Westminster Council for designation under the Localism Act. The application which was submitted at the end of September is the first step in the process of creating a community-led framework to guide land development in the area. 

This is the third application to include the Westminster part of Fitzrovia in a neighbourhood area application. An application was submitted last year by the Marylebone Forum, and an application was submitted by the Fitzrovia Forum to create a Camden-Westminster cross-boundary neighbourhood area.

The Marylebone Forum application has been challenged as being unsuitable for Fitzrovia, and the cross-boundary application has run into difficulties because Westminster Council has indicated that it would not support it, and some Fitzrovia residents were also against it as they saw it being dominated by Camden.

A meeting was held on Tuesday evening at the Fitzrovia Community Centre to discuss the various proposals and garner further support for an independent Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Area. Great Titchfield Street resident Wendy Shillam organised the meeting which was chaired by Griff Rhys Jones who is President of Civic voice. The meeting discussed the Marylebone application and the Fitzrovia cross-boundary application. Westminster councillors Jonathan Glanz and Glenys Roberts were also at the meeting.

Ahead of the meeting invitees were told: “Local area residents and business owners formed the Fitzrovia (West) Forum Steering Committee in response to the Marylebone Forum neighbourhood area application. Our consultations have identified broad support for the view that Fitzrovia is distinct from Marylebone (to the west) with different development opportunities and planning issues.  We have also identified broad support for the designation of a Fitzrovia (West) neighbourhood area and the subsequent formation of a Fitzrovia (West) Forum.”