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New brewery plans approved by council

Take an Uber boat down the Thames towards Chelsea and as far as the eye can see it is lined with mid-rise and high-rise developments, some prettier than others and some downright ugly. Once all brownfield sites, one-by-one, they were snapped up to make river-view flats. Of course, everyone knew that would be the fate of the Mortlake Brewery when in 2009 Anheuser Busch announced plans to stop brewing on the site. 

Knowing this, Richmond Council developed a plan for the site, a kind of template that prospective purchasers and developers could work with. It included just over 400 dwellings, an hotel, a museum and a primary school. The plan also protected the existing green spaces.  There was local consultation and aim was to build something that would benefit the community positively. 

Spool forward twelve years and the plans that were approved in July by Richmond Council for the 21-acre site now encompass 1071 residential units and buildings ranging in height from three to nine stories. The primary school has been replaced with a secondary school and the old playing field will be lost. 

These new plans were drawn up after a previous set of plans were first approved by Richmond Council in 2020 and then rejected by Sadiq Khan in 2021. The new plans include 258 more residential units than previously proposed. However, a similar percentage (19%) will be ‘affordable’ dwellings.

Why so little affordable housing? Well, a council report said "Low level of affordable housing provision is due to economic viability" and the number "exceeds that which is deemed the maximum and viable quantum". In plain English we think this means the developer says that if there were any more affordable units, the profits from developing the site wouldn’t be sufficient.

 
The Bugle attended the hearing where the Mayor rejected the last set of plans and it’s fair to say he wasn’t complimentary about the percentage of affordable housing on offer back then. He also concluded the larger buildings were too high and incongruous.

Local campaigners are now hopeful that the Mayor will once-again ‘call in’ these plans and, once-again, thwart them.

The developers, on the other hand, are keen to promote the green credentials of the site which now comes with air source heat pumps and 10 acres of public space. However, local campaigners are aghast at the density and height of the development and the impact it will have on local traffic and infrastructure not to mention the beauty of the views from the river towards Mortlake.

You can read more about the arguments for and against the development made at the planning committee here on the Richmond Nub News website and we’ll keep you posted on whether or not the Mayor will ‘call in’ the plans.

No cycling across Hammersmith Bridge until 2024

Picture: Andrew Wilson

As we predicted in last month’s Bugle, hopes that cyclists would be able to use the central span of the bridge by September have turned to dust.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council is now predicting that it might be possible to cycle across the newly stabilised and resurfaced bridge in ‘early 2024’. 

Knife threat in Sainsbury's adds to a growing list of crimes in Barnes

A man armed with a knife stole cigarettes and booze from Sainsbury’s in White Hart Lane last month. Thankfully, no-one was injured but it goes without saying that those who were threatened by the man or who witnessed the theft were badly shaken. The incident happened on Friday July 28 and as far as the Bugle is aware nobody has yet been apprehended or charged in connection with the robbery.

Brazen theft from shops is an increasing problem across the UK and Barnes hasn’t escaped this disturbing trend. Alcohol is the number one target for shoplifters in Marks and Spencers in Barnes and two recent incidents have shown how difficult it is for staff to cope with this threat. In one, a manager bravely stopped two men who had filled a trolley to the gunnels with wine and spirits from exiting the shop and, in another, a member of staff was lunged at by a would-be shoplifter who was using a bottle of Champagne as an improvised weapon.

Following the incident at the White Hart Lane Sainsbury’s, a security guard is now present at the store and store staff are continuing to wear body cameras.

As we reported in the Bugle in June, police have linked shoplifting to drug dealing in the local area and anecdotally mentioned that theft levels have, in the past, gone down after known drug dealers’ premises have been served with ‘partial closure orders’.

Gastropub glamour to come to the Waterman's Arms

After a year of looking forlorn and empty, the Waterman’s Arms is to reopen on September 28 under new ownership. The builders are in to give the both the downstairs pub area and the upstairs restaurant a proper facelift and there are  plans for what sounds like a really interesting menu. 

Downstairs will offer a bar menu of dishes including lamb rib, yoghurt & honey and sourdough charred over the coals finished with rouille and mussels.

A full À La Carte menu will also be available both upstairs and down. Standout dishes from which include Cannelloni, Pumpkin & Radicchio, Spit Roast Chicken with Chicken Fat Polenta and Rainbow Trout with Cicoria & Preserved Lemon. The team are also promising a rotating specials board featuring whole market fish cooked over coals and chops and steaks from the in-house butchery.

As well as the focus on food, the new owners say that the Waterman’s will very much be a proper pub offering a selection of local ales and ciders and a ‘carefully curated’ collection of wines and classic cocktails.

The chef, Sam Andrews has previously worked at the well-regarded Camberwell Arms and Soho’s quirky natural wine bar Duck Soup. The General Manager Simon Walsh most recently ran the operation at Hammersmith’s Anglesea Arms – a fabulous gastropub serving some of the best steak in London.

The new venture has the backing of restaurateur Joe Grossman founder of the Patty & Bun chain. Joe grew up in Barnes and says that taking over at the Waterman’s is “a long-time dream of mine” adding. “as soon as there
was the opportunity to take the space and the prospect of building something truly special within an area I grew up in, there was no looking back. The bones of the place are incredible with high ceilings, beautiful original windows and doors along with a balcony overlooking the water.

“There are not many locations like it in London, it’s completely unique and iconic.We want to build a place that that is built into the fabric of the community and a destination for food and drink lovers to come and discover.”.

All the fun of the Food Fair

Goodness knows, the weather surely has to improve and at the Bugle we’re now pinning all our hopes on an Indian Summer in September. The Barnes Food Fair always seems to be blessed with good weather so we’re looking forward to picnics on the green in the hazy autumn sunshine.

This year it’s going to be held on Saturday September 16. There will be the usual eclectic mix of street food and you can look forward to Italian, Thai, Caribbean, Portuguese and Moroccan dishes. 

The large marquee will feature a huge range of stalls selling specialist foods as well as some quirky items  - if you’re looking for a vegetable shaped rug the Food Fair will be the place to go apparently.

There’ll be Pimm’s on hand outside as well as a stall from local brewery Jefferson’s. To entertain you while you picnic there’ll be music from Fair favourites Verity & Violet and Barnes Green Day. There will even be a wandering ukulele band.

It’s one of the highlights of the Barnes year so do put the date in your diary.

Castelnau, SW13                                                 £13,850,000

Time to 'ponder' again

Cast your mind back ten years, to a time when Hammersmith Bridge was open, and nobody knew what Covid was. Before we all knew what was to come, a large group of Barnes residents got together to think about what sort of place Barnes could and should be as part of The Big Barnes Ponder. Ten years on, it’s time to reflect on what the Ponder achieved but also to think big again and to consider how Barnes can thrive in the next ten years to come.

For those Bugle readers not familiar with the Ponder, it was a huge community event where everyone was asked to think about how to improve Barnes and make it a better place to live. It wasn’t just a talking shop either, all around us is evidence of how projects dreamed about during the Ponder have come to fruition. Some Ponder projects are also still in development.

So, what did the Ponder achieve? Well, there’s quite a big list, from the bike racks in our shopping streets, to the Suffolk Road playground, the mural by Barnes Bridge, de-fibrillators throughout the community, 20mph speed limits on local streets, shop local campaigns and of course the recent major changes to Barnes High Street.

Ponder projects still being developed include a new skatepark at Vine Road and the ambitious plans to turn our abandoned railway bridge into a garden bridge.

So successful was the Ponder that it has won awards and been featured in books. Town Centre Manager Emma Robinson even spoke at an event in the House of Commons to share some of the learnings from the exercise.

Now that ten years have passed, the team behind the original Ponder is planning to do it all again. 

The world has changed, and as we all face new challenges it's time to talk about things the Bugle covers frequently, the threat from crime, the impact of huge new housing developments all around us, traffic and transport, climate change and flood resilience and, of course, supporting our local shops and businesses. Barnes is already a great place to live and needs to continue to be a wonderful place to grow up in and a fabulous place to grow old in; the Ponder is all about ensuring we all have a stake in our future.

The first Ponder has made a genuine difference for all of us and for everyone who has an interest in Barnes the next Ponder is a real chance to have your say about what Barnes will be like in years to come.

The next Barnes Ponder will be held on Saturday October 14. Do put the date in your diary and look out for more information in future Bugles.

The Olympic stars in a new documentary series

Pretty much at the same time as the Ponder was taking place, something else momentous was happening in Barnes, the re-opening of the Olympic Studios as a cinema.

When Virgin Music closed the studios in 2009 and left the building as a stripped-out shell, it looked at one stage as though the space was going to be transformed into flats sitting above a supermarket.

That this didn’t happen is due to the vision of local couple Stephen and Lisa Burdge who have injected new life into to Church Road by creating a quite spectacular independent cinema.

It’s only right and proper, therefore, that the Olympic should be just one of a handful of independent  cinemas celebrated in a new documentary series showing on Amazon Prime.

‘Lumination’ pays tribute to the spirit and innovation of independent cinema owners across the country. Presented by cinema enthusiast Perry J O’Halloran, the five part series takes a tour around 10 of Britain’s best cinemas including the Rio cinema in Dalston, The Edinburgh Picture House and Broadstairs Palace Cinema. Along the way he stops at The Olympic and interviews manager Tom Walsh and archivist Roger Miles.

Temporary CCTV installed in Castelnau

Two temporary CCTV cameras have been installed in the Castelnau area after local residents expressed their concerns about muggings – some at knifepoint – being carried out on people who have walked across Hammersmith Bridge at night. 

Meanwhile, local councillor Marjory Millum this week revealed that the police have interviewed a suspect in relation to the mugging of a child walking back from school in May. Film of this particular incident was shared widely on social media and the resulting outrage led to a packed audience at the Police Liaison Meeting held in May at the Castelnau Community Centre. 

What we do in the shadows

Richmond Council is developing a night-time strategy to understand how it can make the hours after dusk a better experience for everyone living, working and visiting the borough.

The strategy will include ways the council can plan for safety, design, lighting, and transport at night.

In order to formulate its strategy the council needs residents’ input and is asking all of us to tell it what we think of specific places and how they can be improved. Where for example you might feel unsafe or where you think there should be more, or less, activity. 

Just click here to fill out the survey.

More big names for Bookfest

The big names keep on coming as more writers confirm their appearance at this year’s Barnes Bookfest. The latest star names to join the roster are political journalist and broadcaster Robert Peston, who will be talking about his new thriller The Crash, and Ysenda Maxtone Graham who will be launching her new book Jobs for the Girls.

Matt Frei from Channel 4 News is the star name at  the opening event on Friday 22 September, with a review of current affairs.  Anita Rani joins on Saturday to discuss her first novel; Anthony Seldon shares his thoughts on Boris Johnson at No. 10; Trevor Phillips assesses Black Britain seventy-five years after Windrush, and Tom Courtenay reflects on a lifetime on the stage and in film.  

Further events include: Anne Glenconner, of Lady in Waiting fame, in conversation with Gyles Brandreth and Sam Delaney and Irvine Welsh talking frankly about men and mental health. See the full line up and buy tickets here.

A life in crime

Talking of books, we’ve also come across another local author who, like the brilliant Bernard O’Keefe, uses South West London and particularly the river as the setting for their crime procedural novels.

Mortlake-based Biba Pearce is just about to launch a new novel in her Amazon best-selling series featuring Putney based DCI Rob Miller, but if you’re looking to get in at the start of the series we can recommend The Thames Path Killer. The writing is fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat stuff and sounds just the thing to pack in a holiday carry on.

River boats coming to Putney at the weekends

As wonderful as Barnes is, one of the Bugle’s favourite things to do is to be a tourist in our own city. For us, there’s no better way to travel to central London for a mooch around Borough Market or a night out at the theatre than to take the Uber river boat from Putney Pier. Until now, that’s only been possible on weekdays during commuting hours, but all that has just changed with the introduction of a weekend service. Now, on Saturdays and Sundays, you will be able to hop on a boat once an hour and get to see some of the best views in London as you gently cruise to your destination, whether that’s Chelsea, Vauxhall for Tate Britain or Embankment, London Bridge or Tower Bridge. You can even travel as far afield as Greenwich. You can check out the timetable here.

Farmer's Mistress to open in September

A t last, new restaurant The Farmer’s Mistress is set to open at the beginning of September and The Bugle has had a sneak peek at the newly refurbished premises which formally hosted Annie’s and then Camile Thai.

It is going to be a sister business to a brunch specialist café in Battersea but the offering in Barnes will be slightly different. For a start, the restaurant will be open for dinner and, to begin with, that (together with brunch and lunch on Sundays) is all it will offer. Once it’s established though, it’s going to be a great place for weekday and Saturday lunch or brunch too.

The new restaurant is surprisingly spacious with two large rooms and a covered outdoor courtyard. There’s also a rather chic bar where you can enjoy a cocktail or two.

Overseeing the food will be Cornish-born chef Chris Gay, whose background includes stints cooking at Michelin starred restaurants before starting the Farmer’s Mistress with his business partner Joanna Gascoigne. Her focus of fresh healthy food locally sourced food remains the inspiration for the menus across both their venues. The name comes from a desire to create an offering that’s both healthy and indulgent. Founder Joanna says “I wanted to bring a little naughtiness and fun to being healthy. The wholesome healthy 'farmer' alongside the more naughty and indulgent 'mistress'. Why choose between one or the other when you can have both?”

The wine list is exclusively English and Joanna and Chris are also working with English beer and cider suppliers too. As for the food, expect a seasonal changing menu in the evenings and a range of small plates, snacks and large plates during the day. On Sundays there’ll be a brunch menu followed by roasts until 5pm and you’ll be able to choose from beef, pork, chicken or a vegan nut roast.

The Farmer’s Mistress will open for five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday. 

A new restaurant in North Barnes too

New restaurants are proliferating this month, and the last in the trio we’re writing about is Chandelier, a new Thai restaurant based in the parade of shops closest to the bridge on the east side of Castelnau.

The site, which was previously a café of the eggs, chips and beans variety, has been given a spick and span makeover and the Google reviews for both dining-in and taking-away seem promising – giving it a universal five star rating.

With passing trade not being what it was due to the bridge’s closure, all the shops and restaurants in North Barnes are in need of our custom, which should be no hardship because there are some really wonderful things to enjoy. Spoonful and Sips & Bites are both great quirky delis and, if you don’t fancy Thai, there’s a great Georgian restaurant and also the brilliant Indian – Postbox. 

Casting off

White Hart Lane is an interesting example of how shopping streets evolve. Once upon a time it was a classic mini High Street with grocers and clothes shops. Now it’s the place where Barnes goes to be groomed and to hang out. There is an abundance of hairdressers and beauty salons and some fantastic cafés, pubs and restaurants, but look more carefully and different sorts of businesses are filling up shop units when they become empty. You’ll find property maintenance companies and architects and recently these have been joined by a podcast studio.

The Podcast Room has spotted a gap in the market and filled it very successfully. If you live in SouthWest London why would you want to schlep into the West End to record your podcast? The studio offers pro-microphones, cameras, live monitoring and, most importantly, a sound engineer to ensure the highest level of recording quality.

It seems to have found a niche with football-themed podcasts-and some well-known footballers have been seen popping in to record. However, apart from that it’s also the venue for a regular podcast for new mums and a rather eclectic podcast series that seems to cover philosophy, investing and mixed martial arts. It’s a bargain too, starting at £25 an hour for audio recording. So, if you think you’ve got a sure fire podcast idea it won’t cost very much money to set yourself up in competition with The Rest is History or The News Agents or Something Rhymes with Purple.

Fashionably early

You may think that August is too early to remind you about the Barnes Charity Fashion Show, but now’s the time to get the dates (October 11 & 12) in your diary and to also make a note of the day tickets go on sale – September 1. After all the early bird gets the best seats at the oh-so-glamorous shows.

Both shows sold out last year and it’s definitely one of the highlights of the Barnes social calendar, particularly if you’re a keen fashionista.

You’ll find catwalk shows featuring Nina, Ridley London, Iris, SW Ski, Leblon and Anne Gretton Millinary. It’s a prosecco-fuelled evening of fun with a serious side as three very worthwhile charities will benefit FiSH neighbourhood care, Home start which supports young families and St Mary’s Church.

Back in the saddle

The indefatigable volunteers who run the famous Barnes Bike Sale are dusting down their pumps, polishing their spanners and getting ready to run their extraordinarily successful annual fundraiser once more.

Over the years, the team have raised a hugely impressive £100,000 for good causes by refurbishing and selling donated second-hand bikes. It’s such a win-win of an effort. Those of us who have bikes clogging up our sheds after we’ve upgraded or outgrown our old bikes get to donate them to a good cause (or you can part donate and get some payment back) and anyone looking for a newly refurbished bike has a phenomenal selection of bikes to choose from.

This year’s bike sale will take place as usual at St Mary’s Church on September 16 to coincide with the Food Fair. Before that, the team are hosting a series of donation sessions starting on Saturday August 19 and then followed on by dates in September (Saturday, 2nd, Thursday 7th, Saturday 9th and Tuesday 12th).

Find out more on the bike sale’s website.

Riva gets aristocratic seal of approval

Runner up (to Church Road)  in the Bugle's vote for Barnes’ favourite restaurant, Riva always seems to sit apart from other local restaurants.

For a start, it’s one of those places for people who are in the know, and seems to be a secluded celebrity hangout.

It was one the late AA Gill’s favourite restaurants and, once in a while, we hear rumours of very famous clientele from the Beckhams to Hollywood stars. This month it’s had the royal seal of approval – well, royal-ish - with a review by Queen Camilla’s son, Tom Parker Bowles, in the Daily Mail.

It's quite the rave, with Parker Bowles describing Riva as “one of those restaurants you would walk across burning deserts to reach” . You can read the full review here.

In concert

When you’re old or incapacitated going out to enjoy a concert is not an easy thing to do, so it’s nice to know that local care agency Bluebird Care recently organised a special trip out to see Jools Holland and his Orchestra at Kew Gardens.

Jenn Irvine the marketing manager of the agency says “For the majority of our clients, it is extremely challenging or seemingly impossible to leave the house – much less ride in a taxi to an open-air concert – so we think this is quite an accomplishment.”

The trip was a special thank you for their clients and carers and no charge was made for the disability access or carer tickets and and complementary wheelchair taxis were arranged too.

Do a night-time walk for Maggie's

The Maggie’s Centre at Charing Cross hospital is a wonderful place, providing emotional practical, psychological, and financial support to those living with cancer. Since it opened in 2008 it has helped thousands of people navigate the choppy waters of cancer treatment. 

However, it’s a charity that can’t provide the amazing help that it provides without donations and fundraising. The team at Maggie’s has been in touch with the Bugle to ask if we’d mention one of their biggest fundraising events of the year – The London Night Hike which will take place on September 29. Depending on how fit you are you can opt to do a 10 or 18 mile hike around the landmarks of central London. 

If you think you’d like to take part in this sponsored walk and help Maggie’s raise the funds it needs to keep going all you have to do is click here to find out more. 

Church Road resurfacing

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