A draft neighbourhood plan for Fitzrovia West has been published and people living and working in the area are invited to comment on and help improve the document before the final version is produced later this year.

Hand drawn map.
The Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Area. Map drawn by Lydia Bevan hand-drawnmaps.co.uk

The Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum — known as FitzWest — is seeking comments before producing a final plan which will have to undergo public examination before being voted on by residents and business owners in the area.

“We have worked very hard to get together a coherent document, that addresses the issues discussed in our consultation meetings and the exhibition we held last year,” said Wendy Shillam, chair of FitzWest, in an announcement.

“We have tried to reflect diverse and sometimes contradictory views, balancing different visions where necessary. Now it is time for the community, our residents, those who visit, run businesses and work in the area to tell us whether we have the correct balance,” she said.

The neighbourhood plan will help to shape land development in the area and also influence environmental improvements. It will become part of a collection of policy documents used by Westminster Council to decide on future planning applications.

“At the back of our minds, as we wrote policies was the prospect of increased access to our area from Crossrail 1 and 2 and HS2, all of which will bring further pressure of development to our area. This wealth of excellent public transport can be seen as a blessing, but also a challenge,” she said.

This is an informal consultation and comments can be made until 30 April 2017. FitzWest is expecting to meet Westminster City Council during this informal stage to agree a timetable with them, which will include some statutory consultation stages, towards creating a final plan.

See Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum draft neighbourhood plan for full details.