Neighbourhood news, features, and comment
People living next to a construction site in Fitzrovia say they have been treated with contempt by property developer Great Portland Estates (GPE) after the FTSE 250 company made numerous alterations to the design of new offices having gained initial planning consent. In November 2014 the PR company Four Communications held an exhibition of plans for the redevelopment of a …
Continue reading "Great Portland Estates accused of misusing the planning system"
Did you know that Doris Lessing lived in Holbein Mansion, Langham Street from 1958 to 1962? She rented a flat from her publisher, Howard Samuels, for £5 a week. Doris Lessing (1919 – 2013) was one of the foremost post-war British novelists, the author of some fifty novels, plays and volumes of poetry and autobiography. She …
Continue reading "Why is there no blue plaque for Doris Lessing in Langham Street?"
If Music, a specialist retailer of vinyl recordings, will be hosting another of its renowned acoustic music events in Langham Street this Saturday as part of Record Store Day. For the past few years Jean-Claude Thompson has been holding a low-key live music event in front of the building containing his second floor record shop. It’s the …
A proposal to redevelop a group of buildings in Fitzrovia would force out existing small businesses and mean a significant loss of small office space if the plans get approval from Westminster City Council this winter. The office to residential conversion includes part demolition and extensions on buildings along the boundary of the East Marylebone and Harley …
There was a time when Fitzrovia boasted more record shops than Soho, apparently. Now since JB's Records moved to Waterloo and On The Beat in Hanway Street has closed there is only one remaining... and on any other day you'd have to look hard to find it. In fact we didn't even know it was …
Continue reading "Live and low-key on Langham Street for Record Store Day"
