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Lights, camera, action – film studio launches in Mortlake

A brand-new TV and film studio - The Story Works - has announced that it has signed a lease for the ‘foreseeable future’ with the owners of the former brewery site at Mortlake.

The 22-acre site, says its new lessees, has the potential to be one of Britain’s major film studios competing with the likes of Pinewood and Shepperton offering film production facilities in the heart of London.

While planning battles over the fate of the old brewery have been raging over the past nine years, half of the space at the brewery has been quietly and gradually co-opted for film making. 

The streaming revolution combined with the UK’s reputation as a world leader in film and TV production has seen new studios open across the country to meet demand. The prime location of the Mortlake space has already proved to be attractive to major backers in the film and TV industry such as Disney and Sky/Comcast and A-list actors like Harrison Ford.

Most recently, the Mortlake space has been transformed into a multi-million-pound outdoor set for the forthcoming Disney+ series, ‘A Thousand Blows’, starring Stephen Graham.

It is the Barnes-based producers of ‘A Thousand Blows’ who have seen the potential for the site and pivoted from their normal production roles to become studio owners.  Their company’s serious investment in the site so far looks to be paying off with the news that a major British movie franchise is about to start filming in the space this month.
 
Simon Vaughan, the CEO of The Story Collective says: “We fell in love with the brewery and its amazing buildings while shooting here. Over time this has evolved into us opening our doors as a new film and TV studio. The UK has great crews, craft, talent and tax credits and we have some of the world’s most prestigious and amazing film studios. But never has it been possible to build a major TV series or feature film at studios so close the centre of town.” 

His co-founder Damian Keogh adds “As producers we have spent two years road-testing this unique, historic site. Thanks to the location, the cast and crew on 'A Thousand Blows', many of whom lived nearby, were able to live balanced lives whilst delivering their very best work. The space is substantial and flexible but has a magic quality due to its heritage that has captured our imaginations. We can’t wait to welcome new projects to this very special space.”
 
Kwame Kwei-Armah, a director at The Story Works and outgoing artistic director of The Young Vic, added: “The vision of turning a historic, derelict brewery into such a vibrant creative space, right in the heart of the London, is thrilling and important.”

The Story Works says it is committed to preserving the magic of the historic brewery site which has a thousand-year history of craft and creativity behind it - both as a brewery and a tapestry works. They also say they are going to keep things local, involving nearby Barnes and Mortlake businesses and becoming a major local employer.

What does the studio launch mean for the planned housing development?

With a new major studio ensconced on the site, where does that leave the developers’ plans to convert it into a vast housing complex with 1,075 dwellings and a secondary school? 

Well, there’s no news of the lease for the studio being permanent and the developers still seem intent on gaining permission for their housing plans.

Whether or not the owners can get that permission now rests in the hands of the planning inspectorate who will hear a last and final appeal from the developers at the end of this month. 

Both local campaigners and the Greater London Authority will oppose the development at the hearing, with one of the key issues being the lack of affordable housing proposed (only 7% of the total, versus the mayor’s requirements of 30%). 

However, since the former brewery was purchased in 2015, building costs have soared and the developers say that the site cannot be profitable with more than 7% of affordable housing.

If the planning inspectorate does not approve the current plans, it would leave the developers in an interesting situation. The next steps for them could be more years of planning wrangling seeking approval for revised plans while building costs continue to rise. 

In this case, could selling the site to the studios that are currently leasing it become an option? Or perhaps even if planning permission is given, would selling the site for some sort of other use be the more expedient route for its owners?

Currently, it’s not known if the studio owners are in the market to buy the site, so any discussion of the site becoming a permanent studio would be premature speculation, but if that were to be the case it’s fair to say that local campaigners would be interested to hear more. 

A spokesperson from the Mortlake Brewery Community Group says "We are very pleased to see that The  Story Works have signed a lease with brewery site owners. MBCG and local community organisations were grateful to Damien and Simon for meeting us at different times last year and offering us guided tours of the film sets they created for A Thousand Blows. Locals were delighted to get a glimpse of   Victorian London recreated  and see the brewery buildings being used again. MBCG would be happy to support a permanent film studios complex on the site providing we were able to also retain green space, access to the river and  some mixed development to benefit the community, notably affordable housing and relocation of Thomson House Primary School."
 

The final round

It’s appropriate that the last production made at the Mortlake studios was about boxing as it’s hard not to use sporting metaphors when writing about the fight to save Mortlake from the mega housing development planned for the old Stag brewery site.

It is, of course, a David and Goliath battle with a plucky group of local campaigners opposing plans proposed by a development company owned by a Singaporean billionaire.

The referee is Glen Rollings of the nationwide planning inspectorate, who, on May 29, will commence a three-week-long hearing in which he will hear representations from the site’s owners, Richmond Council (both of whom are in favour of the development) and objections from local campaigners, the Greater London Authority and The West London River Group.

Key parties will be represented by specialist barristers and planning law experts, something that doesn’t come cheap, and the Mortlake Brewery Campaign group is still £6,000 shy of its £45,000 fundraising target. 

It seems there are some very generous and concerned Bugle readers out there as after our story last month a whopping £7,000 in donations came into the campaign but, as we write, the campaign group still don’t have enough money in the coffers to pay their expensive legal counsel.

Francine Bates from the MBCG says “We have been thrilled with the response to our crowdfunding appeal to  ensure MBCG is legally represented by a planning  barrister at the Inquiry. Barnes Bugle readers have been very generous and this has meant we have now appointed Kimberley Ziya from Landmark Chambers (a leading planning set), to act for MBCG at the Inquiry. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far.

"It is likely that the Planning Inquiry will overrun by two or three days into the middle of June. The Inspector has told us that this is a complex case and may require more time. We have therefore slightly increased our fundraising target by £5,000 to ensure we can fully pay our legal and expert witness costs"

The developers, Richmond Council and the GLA have instructed Lead Counsel and the Mortlake Brewery Community Group has instructed Junior Counsel. The sums involved are huge and as we revealed in a previous Bugle the GLA has set aside £450,000 to make its case.

Each group objecting to the plans has a different perspective. The GLA’s main focus is the lack of affordable housing, The West London River Group is concerned about the impact on the riverscape, and the Mortlake Brewery Community Group has multiple concerns from the density of housing, the incongruous height of the buildings and the huge impact on local infrastructure and traffic.

The venue for the hearing will be the Twickenham Exchange. Full details of how to attend are not yet available but keep an eye on the MBCG website for updates.

Bridge repair gets government funding...well, just a bit

Picture: Andrew Wilson

Oh, how we have longed to write a headline about government funding being granted for the repair of Hammersmith Bridge, but sadly this month we’re not revealing the news that the government is coughing up the £83.3 million that would constitute its one third share of the full repair costs.

Instead, in great news for cyclists, the Department for Transport has revealed that it is providing a £2.9 million grant to upgrade the existing cycle lane in the middle of the bridge.

This temporary lane is now due to close sometime around the end of May to allow further stabilisation work on the bridge to be carried out and the new-improved cycle lane (which will be wider than the existing one) will be revealed and open for cyclists to use around November*.

*Or should that be December or January or some unspecified date in 2025? We’ll wait and see.

Hitching a ride

Picture: Duncan Sangster

Our six new cygnets are already causing a stir and causing many of us to become swan paparazzi.

Their every move is being documented, particularly when the proud parents up sticks from the pond and take their little ones for a trip to Beverley Brook. After the long waddle to the Brook the cygnets are naturally tired, so, in time honoured fashion, they hitch a lift on their mother's back and rest while they take in the scenery.

Castelnau, SW13                                                      £7,250,000

Heaven scent

If you went to last year’s Barnes Fragrance Fair you will have certainly emerged smelling wonderful but also left one of its many events with a brand new enthusiasm for artisan and independent perfumers.

It’s Britain’s only fragrance fair and came about almost by accident after Barnes journalist and trend forecaster Amanda Carr decided to collaborate with the indefatigable Anne Mullins - the founder of the Barnes Bookfest.

Amanda is totally immersed in the world of fragrance which she says is about far more than beautiful smells. “Today perfumes are about so much more than simple fragrance” she says “They are also about wellness, and mood; a beautiful scent can be really uplifting”

The event will feature 21 independent perfumers but is much more than a simple shopping showcase. Yes, there will be a fair at the Barnes Green Centre where you can try and buy a range of boutique perfume brands and meet the perfumers behind them, but there’s much more besides.

Next to the Barnes Green Centre there will be a pop-up scented garden courtesy of ånd fragrance, the independent brand created by Lush tycoon Simon Constantine. There will be a scented walk in Barnes with fragrance history expert Olga Petrouchenko who will link everyday smells with extraordinary stories about fragrance and local history. There will even be an appearance by the Barnes Goldens – thirty golden retrievers all wearing a specialist dog scent provided by French perfume makers Polisson.

Meanwhile, over at St Mary’s Church and The Olympic Studios there will be a range of workshops and talks to enjoy. You can make your own perfume with Sarah McCartney, listen to a panel of speakers talking about what’s new and exciting in fragrance this Spring and Summer, have a sensory experience in which fragrance is matched to music, listen to Green & Black’s founder Jo Fairley talk about her life in fragrance and even take part in a wine tasting in which a perfumer and wine expert are pairing wines with the ingredient notes from the boutique fragrance house Olfactive O.

The Barnes Fragrance Fair will be held on Saturday May 18. The fragrance showcase which will be opened by the wonderful Hayley Mills will be held at the Barnes Green Centre between 10am and 5pm and you can find details of all the special talks and workshops here.

Have-a-go builders make citizen's arrest

A man, who last Monday, is alleged to have exposed himself to a woman walking along the towpath by Hammersmith Bridge was held to the ground by two passing builders who detained him while waiting for police to attend the incident.
The citizen’s arrest was caught on camera and the 12-minute video captures some quite fruity language from the person restraining the suspect. 

The video has been posted on social media and has gone viral having now been seen by over 300,000 people. 

The incident has once again ignited local debate about the incidence of crime near the bridge and also highlighted that it is possible for ordinary citizens to detain suspected criminals if the police aren’t on hand. You can see some useful information about what is permitted under the rules of citizen’s arrest here.
 

The man was eventually apprehended by police officers based in Hammersmith who were closest on hand to the incident and the police have issued this statement.

Police responded to an incident on the evening of Monday 29th April, involving a male who had exposed himself to a female near Hammersmith Bridge. Thanks to assistance from members of the public, a suspect was detained at the scene and arrested. No weapons were involved in the incident, the investigation is ongoing.

Helping keep Barnes safe 

T he local Safer Neighbourhood Team and Police Liaison group have come up with a handy one page guide to help you protect yourself against crime. It's also full of useful telephone numbers and contact details enabling you to report crime at the right time to the right people. It also outlines how you can share your broader concerns about crime with the police. Just click below to download this useful fact sheet.

Padel comes to Barnes

Padel is a fusion of tennis and squash and it's currently THE game to play. In Spain, where there are now 5 million players, it has overtaken tennis to become the country’s second biggest participation sport after football.

Anyone of any age can play and after you’ve learnt the rules you can progress very quickly. The court measures 10m by 20m which is about a third of the size of a standard tennis court. There are high fences which mean that there’s no chasing of wayward balls and this means you get to have long and fast rallies keeping you constantly on the go. So, as a game, it’s a great workout.

If all of that sounds tempting to you, the good news is that Barnes now has four new Padel courts at the Rocks Lane Multi Sports Centre.

If you fancy having a go there are Padel Social events on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and the courts are available to book seven days a week via the Playtomic App

Follow @rockslanepadel on Instagram for more info  

Shaking up the Bookfest, the King of Cool

Anyone who has been to a book festival knows the score: best-selling authors, a readerly audience, a hint of academia. What they don't necessarily expect is one of the most revered figures of the New York post-punk scene.

However, that's just what you'll find at this year's Barnes Bookfest.

Thurston Moore, one third of Sonic Youth, a band that defined cool in the late 80s and early 90s, is going to be talking about his memoir Sonic Life.

It has garnered great reviews with particular praise for its vivid prose, and anyone with an interest in artists from Patti Smith to Nirvana will want to read the book and come along to his talk.

He'll be joining an eclectic line up of authors including Miriam Margoyles and David Gower at the festival in September and his talk is going to be one of the highlights, a must for anyone who remembers the experimental wildness of the heyday of Sonic Youth with wistful nostalgia.

The Barnes Bookfest will be held over the weekend of September 20 to 22, look out for more details in future Bugles.

Discover Barnes' secret gardens

There are now 25 beautiful gardens taking part in next month’s Barnes Open Gardens extravaganza. It may have been a wet and chilly spring but all that rain has generated an abundance of verdant lushness and by Sunday June 2 all the participating gardens should be at their early summer best. Expect stunning roses, specimen trees and shrubs, well stocked herbaceous borders and the greenest of lawns. 

Wandering around other people’s beautifully tended gardens is a joy, particularly because you haven’t had to do the tending yourself. It’s also a wonderful way to pick up inspiration for your own garden.

Tickets to see all 25 gardens cost just £10 each and all the money raised goes to the brilliant local charity FiSH which provides support for older members of the community in Barnes, Mortlake and East Sheen.

Use them or lose them

Remember the 209? It used to be one of the most frequent of local buses but now that there are only two an hour, some people have stopped using the service and taken to popping into their cars instead. Between 2021/22 and 2022/23 passenger numbers on the 209 fell from 161,927 passengers to 149,861 and TfL expects even lower figures for 2023/24.

Once passenger figures start to fall like that TfL’s response is usually to cut back services even more – citing lack of demand.

For that very reason, the Transport Around Barnes group of volunteers that came together after the recent Barnes Ponder are keen to get us all back on the buses. Their message is simple ‘Use them or lose them’.

If we want to keep our buses we need to use our buses they say. The ponder High Streets and Shopping group is also urging us to hop on a bus to explore different parts of Barnes. Emma Robinson the Town Centre Manager says. “If you live in Little Chelsea why not explore the lovely food shops and restaurants near Hammersmith Bridge, the 533 or 209 can take you there in minutes and you'll avoid the hassle of parking when you get there. Similarly, if you live in North Barnes why not check out White Hart Lane, it’s full of brilliant new businesses from food to beauty that are really worth visiting.”

There's no business like showbusiness

On Saturday June 8 the West End is coming to us, so we don’t have to go to the West End. That’s because a company of some of London’s best musical theatre performers will be belting out some classic tunes in a brilliant open-air performance on Barnes Green.

There are songs from We Will Rock You, Carousel, Les Mis, Frozen, Phantom, Guys & Dolls, Moulin Rouge and much, much more.

It’s going to be marvellous darling and a lovely way to spend an early summer’s afternoon. Bring a picnic.

You can catch Songs for Musicals between 1.30pm and 3.30pm on the Open Air Stage at Barnes Green.

Buy your tickets here.

You've earnt it

There’s nothing better than the buzz you get from volunteering, but what if you got an extra thank you for giving your time? That’s the idea behind Earnt, a start-up that’s the brainchild of Barnes local Lauren Scott-Harris.

The Earnt project is now making waves as far away as the USA but this month it’s coming back to Barnes by recruiting up to 100 volunteers to help spruce up Barnes Primary School. School budgets are tight and essential maintenance is often overlooked when there’s little money to go round. However, with a bit of help from locals, the playground garden areas could be litter free and weeded, paths could be jet washed, hedges could be trimmed, windows could be cleaned and areas that are looking worse for wear could get a new coat of paint.

All you need to do is commit three hours of your time on Saturday June 8 and in return you can choose your own reward, anything from a free pizza from the Crossing every time you visit for one month, to a big discount on a massage at the wonderful Blossom Spa on White Hart Lane. Other local businesses participating include Ticho Wellness (a free yoga class), Harty’s Deli (a free cookie and coffee when you buy a sandwich) and Osteria Otello who will throw in a free dessert with every main ordered. Over at the Brown Dog you can even claim your own special tankard behind the bar and get your first pint free on Tuesday and Thursday nights for the whole month. You can find out more on the Earnt website.

Lunch with Lineker

Two of Barnes’ finest have joined forces to help raise funds to fight Leukaemia. Phil Howard is a Michelin-starred chef and in June he and his teammate Ian McMahon are going to be cycling the entire Tour de France course, the week before the professionals start the race.

It’s no mean feat for a cyclist like Phil in his 50s. The course is 3,500km with 55,000 metres of climbing.

Gary Lineker needs no introduction but he’s a long-time supporter of Leukaemia charities and he’s teaming up with Phil and his co-rider Ian McMahon to help him reach his fundraising goal.

So, on May 16, Phil will be hosting a very fancy lunch at his Chelsea restaurant Elystan Street, co-hosted by Gary and fellow football legend Geoff Thomas. Gary Lineker will be the after-lunch speaker.

It’s a win-win, fans of Gary will get to chat football and lovers of great food and wine will get to have an amazing meal courtesy of one of Britain’s best chefs. It’s a four course lunch starting with a Champagne reception and tickets cost £250 each.

To book email reservations@elystanstreet.com. Or if you would prefer to simply sponsor Phil you can donate at his Just Giving page.

Oh baby!

B arnes has got a brand new baby shop filling a long empty gap in the market. Babymoon which you will find next to Pizza Express on Barnes High Street is the creation of midwife Sophie Grotkamp. 

She says she wants to create a space where new parents can find everything they need in the early days, there are baby clothes made with organic cotton plus some beautiful toys and other baby products. 

The shop is now open and doing a roaring trade both from new parents and indulgent grandparents and, in the next few weeks, the upstairs part of the shop will become the place to go for pregnancy and post-partum services. These will include reflexology, massage, sleep coaching, lactation consultancy and Sophie’s own midwifery services.

If you want to get ahead, get a hat...

Barnes is a hotbed of wonderful hat-making talent. There’s the brilliant Anne Gretton and the wonderful couture milliner Siana Yewdall on the Terrace but now there’s a new milliner in town throwing her (ahem) hat into the ring. 

Charlotte Beazley had a successful career in the City of London for 15 years until she suffered a life-changing brain injury in 2015. After her accident she decided to revisit an old ambition to become a milliner and undertook serious study. She started entering and winning millinery competitions, and a new business was born.

Now Charlotte makes bespoke hats for weddings, christenings, Ascot and much more. You’ll find her creations online or at The Barnes Sewing Room off Barnes High Street and she offers both ready to wear hats or bespoke millinery. 
 

Can you help the Bike Sale team?

For over fifteen years, the Barnes Charity Bike Sale has taken in pre-loved bikes, given them a bit of TLC and sold them on to new owners, with the proceeds going to charity. This year the sale will be on the morning of Saturday September 15.

The volunteers behind the sale have got in touch with the Bugle to say that they could do with some extra pairs of hands. Mostly on their social media presence, but if you have bike repair or general admin skills, they would also love to hear from you.

They are looking for help mostly in late August and September.   So, if you have a few hours to offer every so often and would like to get involved do get in touch: bikes@stmarybarnes.org 

If you’d like to chat to one of the team, please ring Judy Gowing (07703 312913) or email bikes@stmarybarnes.org

Tickets selling fast for the Children’s Literature Festival

It seems our local children’s literature festival is a huge draw. When the organisers from the June festival opened ticket sales at the end of April over 4,000 tickets were sold in a single day.

So if you think your kids will be interested in one of the 80 different, talks, performances and events that make up the festival now’s the time to check out the programme and book your place.

There are so many highlights that we can’t list them all however one of the brilliant innovations this year is a collaboration with the team behind every teen and tweenager’s favourite TV programme Taskmaster. Elsewhere on the festival schedule there are appearances by authors and illustrators including Michael Rosen, Jacqueline Wilson, Liz Pichon, Alex Schleffler and Sophie Dahl.
Some star podcasters will also be along for the ride including the Horibble Historian and host of the BBC Podcast Your’e Dead to Me, Greg Janner, and Radio 4’s science sleuth Dr Adam Rutherford.

Family friendly theatre performances include The King's Pants children's opera, Paddington Bear’s First Concert, The Velveteen Rabbit family concert and a very special appearance by everyone’s favourite family cat, Mog, created by our local children's literature legend Judith Kerr.
 
Children can also get involved in creative writing, comics creation with Marvel artist, RAMZEE and the BAFTA-award winning The Brothers McLeod, and art workshops with renowned artist and activist Bob & Roberta Smith. 

There are Manga illustration masterclasses, clay-mazing workshops with Aardman Animations, Dungeons & Dragons, video games with WiFi Wars and there are lots of free things to do too.

Find out more on the Festival website.

Off the couch and on with running gear

A group of novice runners has just celebrated achieving the personal fitness goal of running 5km non stop. Led by coach Marjie Millum the six novices left the couch behind by using interval training (alternating running with walking to build up their stamina).

So successful was this inaugural course that Marjie and other volunteers from Barnes Runners are going to do the whole thing again with a new group of couch escapees, starting with an initial training session on the evening of June 11.

The course is absolutely free, so what’s stopping you? If you would like to take part just email info@barnesrunners.com.

Riverboat service extended

Sadly, the Thames by Hammersmith Bridge is too tidal for a regular ferry service into town to be possible but if you can get to Putney Pier, the Uber boat service is a wonderfully relaxing way to travel to the centre of town. It’s not super swift, but goodness the views are spectacular, and if you’re heading for anywhere along the river (Battersea Power Station, Tate Modern) it’s the most direct route you can take.

Up until recently the service has only been available during commuting hours on weekdays but all that has just changed and now services from the pier run hourly between 10.30 am and 5pm. So, if you work from home and need to go into town for a lunch meeting now you can do it in style.

You can see the timetable by clicking here.

Because you care

If you’re caring for a family member and think you would like to meet up with fellow carers in Barnes then you can join a monthly meeting and share stories advice and more over a hot drink and biscuits. There’s no need to book and you can bring along the person you care for too.

The meetings are held once a month at our local not-for-profit care home Viera Gray House and are held on the first Thursday of every month. Just email vieragray@greensleeves.org.uk or call 020 8748 4563 to find out more.

A bird in the hand

Picture: Andrew Wilson

After bringing out a successful series of greetings cards last year (Wild Flowers of Barnes Common) the team at BarnesCommon have launched a new set of cards, this time featuring local birds. Created by artist Yvonne Langley the cards feature species including Green Woodpecker, Robin, Kingfisher, Wren, Tawny Owl and Great Spotted Woodpecker. All the proceeds from the sale of these cards will fund the charity’s work in the community, nature conservation, wellbeing and lifelong learning.

You can buy them at at the Pavilion on Vine Road Rec during working hours Monday to Thursday, or from the Vine Road Community Café on Saturday and Sunday 8am-2pm. One card costs £3, or choose your four favourites for £10.

About the Bugle

The Barnes Village Bugle is an independent publication. People often think it's produced by the Barnes Community Association, but no, they have their own excellent email Prospect Plus. 

At the Bugle we endeavour to simply report what's going on in Barnes in as comprehensive and entertaining a way as possible. We have no agenda apart from spreading the word about the huge number of genuinely interesting things happening in and around Barnes and sharing information about local campaigns and news events.

If you have a story you would like to see featured in the Bugle do email us by clicking here.

We can't guarantee that we'll run it, but if we think it's going to be interesting to our readers then we'll publish your information.

If on the other hand you want to publicise a commercial venture then it's easy to advertise with us. Our mailing list has nearly 5,000 subscribers so you'll reach lots of people in Barnes very inexpensively.

The Bugle is a labour of love, not a profit-making venture. We pay to send it out and our mailing costs are covered by the fantastic support we get from Winkworth and our other advertisers. We'd love to get more advertising as that would at least go some way into covering the costs of our time, so if you advertise with us you'll not only be reaching a large audience you'll be keeping a local resource going.

At the Bugle we endeavour to check information for accuracy to the best of our abilities. However we are reliant on information provided to us by third parties. On occasion, dates and times of events may be subject to change and we would urge Bugle readers wishing to attend events, or use a service mentioned to verify information in advance. Where possible we provide links to websites to allow readers to double check the most recent information available, as details can be subject to change.

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