That Was The Year That Was..

The most read Chiswick news stories From 2015

January

Sainsbury's Aim to Block Lend Lease Development
It would 'prejudice' development of car park 'an emerging policy requirement of the Council'

Woman Attacked And Robbed At Strand On The Green
Police appeal for witnesses to incident in passageway near Bell & Crown pub

Sam's 'Al Fresco' Dining Project For Chiswick
Plan for pedestrianising Barley Mow goes before Planning Committee

Sam Harrison

February

Chiswick Pays Tribute To Anne Naysmith
As preparations get underway for funeral which is expected to attract huge crowd

chiswick ann naysmith

Picture: @janeyjones1

Packhorse & Talbot Saved For Now
Council must consult on CHR Conservation Area following High Court judgment

Flats The Winners in Local Chiswick Sales
Average price dips below a million pounds for houses

March

Chiswick High Road Fines Top One Million Pounds in a Year
The highest amount raised from any road in the UK according to report

Chiswick High Road Fines Top One Million Pounds In A Year

Landlord 'Does Not Know' Why Picturehouse Cinema Is Delayed
Both sides appear to blame each other as 'discussions' continue

Chiswick High Road Moves Closer To Being A Conservation Area
Heathfield Terrace to Chiswick Lane will get extra planning protection

April

Clare Balding Reveals She Got Married
Upgraded civil partnership with Alice Arnold in quiet ceremony

clare balding married

'I'm Not A Robot Politician' Says Ruth Cadbury
Local Labour candidate defends herself after her memory lapse on party manifesto

Superdrug To Close Its Chiswick Branch In June
Another well-known business bids farewell to the High Road


May

Labour Win in Brentford and Isleworth
Ruth Cadbury unseats Mary Macleod by just 465 votes

Ruth Cadbury celebrates her victory

Ruth Cadbury celebrates her victory with her mother and family

Labour Take Ealing Central and Acton
Rupa Huq ousts Angie Bray by just 274 votes

Chiswick Moran Becomes The Clayton Hotel
Name change after Dalata hotel group takes over

June

Mounting Concern In Bedford Park About Wheelie Bins
Petition launched to have the area considered a special case

Chiswick Memorial Planned To Honour WB Yeats
Campaign launched for statue to mark the Nobel Prizewinning poet's links with Bedford Park

Tricorn Tower Skyscraper Plan for Chiswick Roundabout
Galliard confirm they have acquired London Octopus site

Tricorn Tower plan for Chiswick Roundabout

Tricorn Tower plan for Chiswick Roundabout

July

Third Runway Would Have Major Impact On Chiswick
Increased noise and local traffic congestion predicted

Third Runway Chiswick

Neil Wallis 'May Have To Leave Chiswick'
Praises local community for support but says his finances are ruined

Chiswick To Get A Premier Inn
Plans to convert vacant building at Hogarth Business Park

August

Disappointment in English Language Hits Chiswick School GCSEs
School sees first overall dip in results for seven years

Residents Cry 'Foul' Over Stadium Development Consultation
Originally less than a week's notice was given to respond to revised proposals

Overview of completed development at Lionel Road South

Overview of completed development at Lionel Road South

Rena Salmon Suffers Heart Attack on Day Release
Gunned down husband's mistress on Chiswick High Road in 2002

September

Has Hounslow Council Changed Position On Heathrow?
Anti-expansion campaigners want clarification of its position

Brew Cafe To Open A Branch In Chiswick
Will the new restaurant be all the rage with locals?

All Bar One Finally Calls 'Time'
Will remain as a bar and restaurant under new ownership

October

Rent Increases 'Driving Out' Independent Shops
Veteran trader slams 'lack of concern' for local economy by some agents

Skyscraper To 'Tower' Over Chiswick Roundabout
Just how tall will the development be on former Octopus site?

Man Arrested in Connection With Kew Bridge Stabbing
Both victims left in 'serious but stable' condition in hospital

November

£4,000 Stolen from Elderly Woman on E3 Bus
70-year-old victim had just withdrawn cash from Chiswick High Road bank

Jeremy Clarkson's 'Move' To Chiswick
Former Top Gear presenter and team take new base in Power Road

Dr Who Never Had This Trouble With The Tardis
Controversy over David Tennant's plan to extend his Chiswick home

Actor David Tennant is seeking to extend the family home in Chiswick

December

CPZ 'Creep' Looks Destined For Grove Park
Lionel Road stadium and displacement parking causing fresh concern

Wheelie Bins Protest Taken To Hounslow Council Leader's Front Door
Locals dump the new bins outside Cllr Steve Curran's house

wheeledbins

The bins piled up outside the house

Roebuck Bar Staff Member Has Lucky Escape in Paris
Lydia Vassallo was in the Bataclan concert hall during attack

December 26, 2015

Related links
Year Summary
Top Twenty News Stories on ChiswickW4.com in 2015
1 Anne Naysmith Killed on Chiswick High Road
2 Woman Robbed And Stabbed At Dukes Meadows
3 Chiswick Pays Floral Tribute To Anne Naysmith
4 Two Women Sexually Assaulted on Chiswick High Road
5 Sam's Brasserie to Close After a Decade in Chiswick
6 Mystery Over Armed Police Raid House on Fielding Road
7 £4,000 Stolen from Elderly Woman on E3 Bus
8 Search Continues For Missing School Rowing Coach
9 Chiswick Bids Farewell To Anne Naysmith
10 Woman Dies After Chiswick High Road Bus Fall
11 Chiswick Woman Killed By Bus Outside Westfield
12 Two Well-Known Local Restaurants Facing Closure
13 TV Chef Rick Stein Buys A Home In Chiswick
14 'Bog Standard' Chiswick Property Sees Further Price Rises
15 Dr Who Never Had This Trouble With The Tardis
16 Chiswick Woman Charged After Machine Gun Found in Car
17 Avant Garde Design for Chiswick Roundabout Bus Garage
18 Land Rover Gets Stuck on Foreshore By Chiswick Mall
19 Spanish Restaurant La Mancha To Close
20 More Noodles And Ice cream For High Road

Some of the big issues for Chiswick residents in 2015 were the death of local resident Anne Naysmith, wheelie bins, the Lend Lease development in front of Sainsbury, the news of a possible 42-storey tower to replace the Octopus , continuing controversy over a third runway for Heathrow Airport ( a new group CHATR) was formed in Chiswick to fight airport expansion.

The Brentford Football Stadium development at Lionel Road, and its enabling development, and speculation over whether the proposed Picturehouse Cinema would ever go ahead, were also talking points for local people.

Chiswick got a new MP in the General Election when Ruth Cadbury of the Labour Party replaced Mary Macleod. Angie Bray lost out to Rupa Huq in Ealing.

Parking in Chiswick , new restaurants, crime stories and traffic were also popular local reads throughout the year. Property sales continued to make headline as the

Restaurants arriving to Chiswick included Foxlows which replaced Sam's Brasserie, and Brew into the former La Mancha site. Yupa Thai also closed. Some new coffee shops included Chief Coffee, Tamp, and The Coffee Traveller and Urban Pantry. Vinyl and Brew also opened.

Chisou closed and is to be turned into flats. A local fight for the Pissarro site to be retained as a restaurant continues.

Some familiar shops disappeared from the High Road, including Superdrug, which has reopened as Zakti, Thomas Kinkade and Noa Noa. Dynasty relocated to Twickenham. Mountain Warehouse opened.

Local groups in Chiswick continued their hard work, from the High Road Action Group to local councillors and residents' groups trying to improve their local area. The Bedford Park Festival continued to attract lots of local support.

Chiswick celebrities continued to make news- David Tennant failed in his attempt to extend his family home in Chiswick, Clare Balding got married as did Declan Donnelly (of Ant and Dec).

Local artists Alfred Daniels and William Bowyer died.

Independent traders in Chiswick held a Street Party to publicise the benefits of local shopping and there was a successfulFood Market for the first time held in the car-park outside the police station.

Crime in Chiswick throughout the year ranged from burglaries to phone snatches and street scams, and the area retained high figures for theft from motor vehicles.

Local schools continued to do well, although at the end of the year Chiswick School received an Ofsted report which said it 'required improvement', while Strand on the Green Junior and Infant schools started a campaign against amalgamation into one new school.