Central line station

Hammersmith & Fulham Council is permitting 24/7 working on the station site because of fears that it will not be ready for opening in October. London Underground admit that work will not be finished but intend to open the station anyway.

For residents living near the site, especially in Shepherds Bush Place, this means constant noise, dust and movement of heavy machinery. The public highway in Plimley Place and Shepherds Bush Place has been taken over as a building yard restricting pedestrian and vehicle access. The station has been constructed to a height of 9m - a metre higher than allowed for in planning permission. Two-storey portacabins which look directly into homes and gardens are set to stay for at least another year.

Prospects of having a lift at the station look in doubt again. Despite a promise from the GLA and it being shown on plans, LU quietly dropped the lift proposal until embarrassed at a public meeting by respresneatives of local disability organisations. However, last week they announced the cost of the new lift would be £100m - a ridiculous sum which the TfL board is hardly likely to approve.

When the works are complete residents are concerned that: there will be insufficient public toilets to prevent their streets being used as urinals as at present; that acoustic or visual barriers will not protect them from noise, light pollution and overlooking; that there will ber regular commercial traffic accessing the station via Shepherds Bush Place; that completion of the terrace on the east side of Shpherds Bush Place will not go ahead.

Bus services

Several services are currently re-routed because of building works at the bus station. Two new routes, 228 and 316 will bring Shepherds Bush residents into the Westfield development from the west and east respectively. What is less well known is that many existing routes, includind the 207 and 49 will alter when Westfield opens. Passengers will have to access these from the new bus stations on the Westfield site rather than from around the Greeen. This is likely to lead to more loss of trade to existing businesses.

Wood Lane

Thames Water, whose mains repair work is the principal reason for the works in Wood Lane, did not ask for the road to be shut to northbound traffic. This was proposed by Hammersmith & Fulham council to allow the works to be completed in time for Westfield's opening. This raises further questions as to whose interests the council thinks it is representing.

The closure of one lane in front of the Central Line station (the route of the diversion from Wood Lane) is causing further delays, and there is little sign of work taking place here. The council is investigating closing the cut through for buses and introducing two-way traffic on the west side of the Green. These and the proposal to alow buses to turn right out of the bus station against the flow of traffic on the north side of the Green could all lead to further congestion.