High Road House Ordered to Remove Canopies
Council's decision sets unsettling precedent for High Road traders
|
High Road House has been served notice by Hounslow Council to remove not only their fences from around their outdoor seating but also the turquoise canopies that replaced Foubert's iconic yellow ones. The council stated that they are an "alien feature" on the High Road and "not in keeping with the general image of the High Road".
The order to remove the outside fencing and canopies came after complaints from four residents to Cllr Robert McGregor.
Upset by the move, High Road House owner Nick Jones accepted that perhaps they had “pushed the planning boundaries a little” with the demountable fencing but was disappointed that a signed petition of over 200 local brasserie regulars and a letter from Chiswick resident Colin Firth was not considered in the decision making process.
He said “We are trying to bring something different to the area, a bit of individuality. With White City opening in two years, I would have thought that the council would be encouraging Chiswick's points of difference not trying to eliminate them.”
Nick Jones raises a valid point to which a brasserie regular added “Shouldn’t the council be protecting Chiswick’s distinctiveness by supporting these independents and prominent establishments from the onslaught of mega mall mentality and community cloning?”
The issue of pavement width is understandable when the water works took up so much of the pedestrian area but these were not the fault of the brasserie who suffered significant financial losses along with a fair few others throughout the disruption. Indeed High Road House paid £26,000 towards pedestrian improvements as part of their planning permission as well as sponsoring an information plaque for Hogarth statue.
Canopy removal may sound inconsequential to those who aren’t investors or customers of High Road House, but the decision has many repercussions for the High Road’s trading community.
It was understood that the same group also made a complaint to the council about the stalls set outside the grocers T Adamou & Sons. This has since been denied by the residents association involved.
December 6, 2006