Early October 2026 round up of news, public consultations, and local democracy reports from The Fitzrovia News

View from the south looking along Bouverie Street of the proposed new hospital. Image: Imperial College Healthcare. New designs have been published for the redevelopment of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington as Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust pushes ahead to upgrade its crumbling estate. St Mary’s, which has some of the oldest buildings in the NHS, is inviting patients, staff and the wider community to comment on the proposal, with the intention of submitting a planning application to Westminster City Council in spring 2027.

Green Party assembly member Behali Hamdache. Photo: GLA. London needs devolved powers on par with Wales and Scotland to solve the capital’s housing crisis, ministers have been told. Green Party assembly member Benali Hamdache said City Hall’s fiscal powers were “far behind” comparable European counterparts like Madrid and Berlin. Prime minister Andy Burnham has granted mayors across the country further powers since coming into office, such as the ability to levy an overnight tourist tax on visitors and, and has announced plans to allow authorities to retain a portion of income tax raised in their areas.

Nebbia E Luce at 51 Cleveland Street seeks a premises licence. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Nebbia E Luce Ltd has applied to Westminster City Council for a new premises licence for the ground floor and basement at 51 Cleveland Street in Fitzrovia West. Permission is sought for the sale of alcohol to drink both on and off the premises from 9am to 11pm, Monday to Sunday.

How the Camden New Journal broke the news this week. The multimillionaire and green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince is to invest in the Camden New Journal along with its sibling titles, Islington Tribune and Westminster Extra, as part of a "rescue package". In an announcement across the three titles this week, Vince says he greatly admires their reporting and wants to do everything in his power "to help secure the future of the journalists who go above and beyond to ensure London is properly served with news and campaigning and investigative reporting at its heart".

Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC) is inviting local residents to visit a drop-in event to find out more about the forthcoming pedestrianisation of the shopping street. "The first change will be seen on the section of Oxford Street between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street, which is on track to go traffic-free by late October, in time for the busiest shopping period on the street," says OSDC.

1 Stephen Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Envy Post Production Ltd has applied to Camden Council for a new premises licence for the offices at studios 2 to 5 at the ground floor and basement of 1 Stephen Street in Fitzrovia. Permission is sought for the sale of alcohol to drink on the premises from 6pm to 8pm on Thursdays, and 5pm to 11pm on Fridays. APP\PREMISES-NEW\140186, 1 Stephen Street, London W1T 1AT. A public consultation on the application is open until 20 October 2026.

Westminster City Council has been told to increase compensation payment to a visually impaired man who was left living in a hotel with no cooking facilities for 13 months longer than he should have been. Mr B was left in financial trouble because he was forced to rely on takeaways every day, and the temporary accommodation was far from his support network which made attending hospital appointments difficult.

The BT Tower as seen from Howland Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. MCR London Holdings Ltd has this month lodged a planning application with Camden Council for a hotel-led scheme on the site of the BT Tower in Fitzrovia, revealing for the first time the important details of the redevelopment. "The application proposes a retrofit-first, heritage-led conversion of the Grade II-listed Tower, together with the adjoining Podium and Howland Building, which would open the site to the public for the first time in nearly 50 years," says MCR.

Westminster City Council has validated seven planning applications so far during September 2026 in Fitzrovia West. OSDC planning applications were not available to view due to a fault with its website this morning. Planning applications (WCC) Status:PendingThis item is open for commentsDetailed drawings and sample of Stone (with quarry specification) for plinth, showing material and finish to match existing historic plinth; Section details of plinth, its depth, railing details and method of fixing them to plinth; pursuant to condition 3 (part 1 and 2) of planning permission dated 18th August 2026 (26/04428/FULL)

Noise from trains and maintenance work is bugging residents in Warren Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Residents and politicians have hit out at TfL over “disruptive” Tube noise they say has been plaguing streets on the border of Camden and Westminster for several years. The sounds and vibrations from the Victoria line coursing through Fitzrovia and the wider Warren Street Area have been shaking bed frames, waking people up in the early hours of the morning and keeping them up at night during Night Tube hours.

At this evening talk in Camden Local Studies and Archive Centre this month, Jerry White will explain how London was transformed by the French Revolution and the wars that followed it. During this time, London remade itself on the ground, adding suburbs east, west, north and south. The area of present-day Camden was involved in this expansion: Camden Town, Somers Town, Bloomsbury, and to the east of Regent’s Park took shape at this time.

An exhibition of works by British-Nigerian artist Niyi Olagunju is on at Tefeta gallery on Charlotte Street, Fitzrovia, this month. Baga Nimba III presents Olagunju’s transformations of Baga Nimba forms through wood, bronze, chrome and gold. Baga Nimba III by Niyi Olagunju, until 3 October 2026, open Wednesday to Saturday, 12noon to 6pm at Tafeta, 83 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4PR.

British-Romanian collective BÈZNĂ Theatre presents a multimedia investigation into the relationship between mainstream media, public opinion, and state crime, in a performance at the New Diorama Theatre, Regent's Place, this autumn. Created in collaboration with Shadow World Investigations, International State Crime Initiative, and testimony from Palestinians in Gaza, The First Year (of the Gaza Genocide in the Media) is a wildly theatrical interrogation of the widening gulf between what we're told, what we witness, and what we choose to believe.

Later hours sought at Marquis of Granby, 2 Rathbone Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Mitchells and Butlers Leisure Retail Ltd has applied to Westminster Council for a variation of the premises licence for the Marquis of Granby at 2 Rathbone Street in Fitzrovia West. Currently the public house has permission for licensable activities (25/06312/LIPDPS) including the sale of alcohol to drink both on and off the premises from 10am to 11pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 12noon until 10.30pm on Sunday.

All Souls Primary School in Fitzrovia. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Declining pupil numbers in Central London is having a disastrous impact on school budgets with around 40 per cent of primaries running a deficit. Fourteen out of 34 primary schools in the City of Westminster are in the red financially, with one school’s shortfall exceeding £1.2mn. The council report data comes as over a quarter of Westminster’s primary school places are empty driven partly by declining birth rates and families leaving Central London due to the high cost of living here.

The Euston area covered in the strategic plan. Image: Camden Council. Plans to modernise one of London’s busiest intercity stations are set to be decided by the Planning Inspectorate amid local concerns over the future of a historic square and the impact of demolitions. Since 2015, proposals to regenerate Euston station and its surrounding neighbourhoods under the Euston Area Plan (EAP) have undergone various changes and delays, as the government has paused HS2 works and planners were forced to abandon “unfeasible” designs for the interchange.

The Green Party election leaflet delivered over the weekend. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Both the Greens and Labour have confirmed their candidates to fight the Holborn and St Pancras by-election to be held on Thursday 8 October 2026. But it was the Greens who got off to a head start in Fitzrovia East, being the first to shower the neighbourhood this weekend with election leaflets carrying a message from their candidate, and party leader, Zack Polanski.

Gallery and sake tasting venue at 90 Cleveland Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Japan Selective Limited has applied to Camden Council for a new premises licence at the ground floor and basement of 90 Cleveland Street in Fitzrovia. Permission is sought for the sale of alcohol to drink both on and off the premises from 7am to midnight, every day.

Huong Viet, 1 Percy Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. 7CC Ltd has applied to Camden Council for a new premises licence for Huong Viet, 1 Percy Street, Fitzrovia. Permission is sought for the sale of late night refreshment, and alcohol to drink both on and off the premises, from 10am to 1am the following morning, every day of the week.

Camden Council has registered more than 20 planning applications in Bloomsbury ward, which includes Fitzrovia East, so far during September 2026. (This page will be updated until the monthly list is complete.) Among the monthly list of applications are: Refurbishment and alterations, including listed building consent, for a hotel-led development at the BT Tower on a site bounded by Maple Street, Cleveland Mews, Howland Street and Cleveland Street…

Later hours sought at Gaucho Grill, 58-62 Charlotte Street. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Jade Hospitality Ventures Ltd has applied to Camden Council for a major variation of the premises licence at the ground floor and basement of Gaucho Grill, 58-62 Charlotte Street, on the corner of Tottenham Street in Fitzrovia. Permission is sought to extend the hours for the sale of alcohol, late night refreshment, and other activities.

"It's Green or Labour here," says the Green Party leaflet delivered through doors in Fitzrovia over the weekend. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. The Greens and Labour were out in force over the weekend with residents across the Camden side of Fitzrovia receiving the first leaflets seeking their support for the forthcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Less than a week after Keir Starmer MP announced that he was standing down early from his seat both the Green Party and Labour have gone into full battle mode.

Cause of air pollution in Camden summarised in the draft Clean Air Action Plan 2027-2030. Source: Camden Council. Commercial cooking from restaurants, hotels, pubs, and takeaways is the largest single source of PM2.5 pollution in the London Borough of Camden, states a new council report as part of a public consultation on an updated clean air action plan. Buildings used by businesses "are now the largest source of air pollution, both from the way they are heated and also from kitchens", says Camden.

Police officers remain at Whitfield Gardens on Thursday, the day after the attack. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. The Metropolitan Police have opened an investigation after a man was attacked and seriously injured in Whitfield Gardens, Fitzrovia, on Thursday morning. According to a report by London Now, a man in his 40s was taken to hospital with multiple injuries. Whitfield Gardens public park remained cordoned off with blue police tape and officers were still in attendance on Friday afternoon.

Zack Polanski arriving at London City Hall. Photo: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon/LDRS. Zack Polanski will step down as a member of the London Assembly if he is elected as an MP in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has learned. The Green Party leader, who has sat in City Hall since 2021, has declared his interest in running in Sir Keir Starmer’s former constituency…

Hina Bokhari says the Mayor should be using his budget "for messages Londoners actually need to see". Photo: GLA webcast. The Mayor of London has been accused of spending £1.35mn of taxpayer money on self-promotion rather than spreading information that Londoners need. The Greater London Authority (GLA) has a substantial central marketing budget spent on “services and tools required to deliver effective marketing communications, digital communications and engagement campaigns”.

Oxford Street at the junction with New Bond Street and Vere Street in March 1924. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Oxford Street began as a Roman road leading westwards and, with developments to the north by the Cavendish-Harleys, took on its main function as a shopping street from the 1770s. The last public execution at the Tyburn (now Marble Arch) was in 1783.

Westminster Council is one of three Conservative London boroughs which have asked prime minister Andy Burnham to reconsider plans to slash their funding by millions of pounds. The Fairer Funding Review, brought in by Sir Keir Starmer, will change the way that council grants are calculated. Some London councils are set to lose around £100mn in central government funding because of the changes.

Sagal Abdi-Wali speaking at Camden Town Hall. Image: Camden Council webcast. The leader of Camden Council is reportedly leading the pack to become Labour’s candidate in the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election triggered by Keir Starmer’s resignation. Cllr Sagal Abdi-Wali was chosen by the local Labour group in May to lead the council but could end up stepping down after a few months in the role if she secures the nomination and wins the parliamentary seat vacated by former prime minister Keir Starmer.

Zack Polanski, Green Party leader and London Assembly member. Image: GLA webcast. Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and a member of the London Assembly, has announced that he wants to be a candidate for the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, after Keir Starmer announced he would be resigning his seat. Polanski told the…

Green leader lays out hopes for by-election

Green leader lays out hopes for by-election

Green leader lays out hopes for by-election

A section of Goodge Street will be closed for carriageway resurfacing on 21 September 2026. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Goodge Street will be closed to all vehicles between Charlotte Street and Cleveland Street for carriageway resurfacing work on Monday 21 September 2026. In a letter sent to residents and businesses in Fitzrovia, Camden Council says the street will be closed "from outside number 64 to outside number 45", and the work will be done between 8am and 6pm. Traffic diversions will be in place and all parking will be suspended during the carriageway resurfacing work. goodge-street-surface-45-64Download

Residents living near an indoor food court have told Westminster Council they are being plagued by a continual smell of cooking they claim is clinging to their clothes. The Food District is an indoor food court located between Paddington and Marylebone, on Edgware Road, offering cuisine from 15 different regions across the world. Food Entrepreneur Shaz Khan, who is behind the enterprise, is also known for the similar market-style food court 5 Continents, in Stratford.

Jollibee, 52 Oxford Street and 1-2 Rathbone Place. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Bee World UK Limited has applied to Westminster Council for a new premises licence for Jollibee at the ground floor and basement of 52 Oxford Street and 1-2 Rathbone Place, in Fitzrovia West. Permission is sought for the provision of late night refreshement from 11pm to 3am the following morning from Monday to Sunday.

Drunch and Kave, 71 Great Titchfield Street, seeks later hours for the basement. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Nimet Oner has applied to Westminster Council for a variation of the premises licence for Drunch and Kave, at 71 Great Titchfield Street in Fitzrovia West. Permission is sought to vary the premises licence in respect of the basement floor to extend the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol, playing of recorded music, live music, and late night refreshment until 1.30am the following morning on Thursdays to Saturdays -- an hour later than permitted on the existing licence (

Festus Akinbusoye. Photo: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon/LDRS. A ward councillor in City of Westminster has launched his campaign to be the Conservative candidate for Mayor of London in 2028. Festus Akinbusoye, who has previously run as a parliamentary candidate for the party, has today thrown his hat into the ring in a contest involving high profile names. The Tories have fallen short to Sir Sadiq Khan in each of the last three elections since Boris Johnson stood down as Mayor of London.

Virginia Woolf was the most famous but by no means the only woman scribbler who lived in Fitzrovia. Among them we can count Fanny Holcroft, eighteenth century playwright and anti-slavery campaigner; Nancy Cunard, poet, founder of a modernist Publishing Press, and an activist in racial politics; and Una Marson, also a playwright, and the first black woman employed by the BBC.

Westminster Council has written to the Mayor of London and the Government demanding that a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) be carried out before part of Oxford Street is pedestrianised this autumn. “This scheme will have an impact way beyond Oxford Street affecting bus routes and traffic flow right across the capital," says Cllr Tim Barnes, deputy leader of Westminster Council.

Filming is due to take place on Fitzroy Square and on the corner of Conway Street and Grafton Way. Photo: The Fitzrovia News. Filming is scheduled to take place on Saturday 5 September at Fitzroy Square and at the corner of Conway Street and Grafton Way, says Camden Film Office. There will be traffic management and some parking bays suspended. Alternative spaces will be assigned for any suspended resident bays.

Westminster City Council's planned new waste depot in South London will cost nearly £7mn more than originally planned, according to a Cabinet member report published this month. Originally estimated to cost £6.6mn, the project is now predicted to cost over of £13.5million. Westminster City Council is building the facility at Mandela Way, just off Old Kent Road in the London Borough of Southwark, in its transition to a fully electric waste fleet.

New report calls on the Mayor and the Government to urgently do more to prevent heat-related deaths. Image: GLA. Mass retrofitting of London’s overheating homes must be done quickly to avoid putting over one million children at risk of health issues, the Mayor has been warned. This summer is on course to be the UK’s hottest since records began, according to the Met Office, with longer and more intense heatwaves predicted in future.