Locals living by Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush, say they want the vacant unit to be occupied, just not by another fast-food joint
West London residents living near a former KFC are urging the landlord not to re-let the vacant property to another fast-food operator.
They fear it would signal a return to issues of littering experienced under previous management of the unit on Uxbridge Road, Shepherd’s Bush. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has spoken to several residents, all of whom say while they want to see the empty unit re-occupied they are concerned about a potential new takeaway.
One said that prior to the KFC closing he would have customers “sit outside my house and just throw the rubbish in the street”.
Land Registry records show the site is owned by a Raja Adil. The LDRS has approached both Adilsons Properties and The Adil Group, which are run by Mr Adil, but received no response.
The unit on Uxbridge Road was run as a KFC until earlier this year. Having operated from the same site for several decades, residents told the LDRS it was in the last 20 years or so that issues began to arise.
These primarily revolved around rubbish being strewn down their streets, with the KFC reportedly attracting crowds who would park up and leave their litter behind.
Joy Nichols, 76, said: “People would come from miles around just to buy from here and it was like a landmark. If I was in East London and I wanted to get home one night and I hailed a cab and I said Uxbridge Road by the KFC, ‘Oh yes I know there’.”
One resident, who did not want to give his name, said the nature of the site combined with fewer litter picks meant the rubbish worsened.
“It became more of a drive-in than a takeaway, and that was one of the issues that people used to get their stuff and then they wouldn’t just bugger off. They’d park up, eat and then chuck out of the car despite the litter bins that KFC did provide.”
Brian Sherry, 76, who has lived locally on and off for more than 60 years, said: “The biggest problem for me was the rubbish. They would sit outside my house and just throw the rubbish in the street.”
It is understood that while open the former KFC took part in a number of community programmes, including a food donation scheme, and that litter picks were organised by the premises. Since KFC vacated the unit, residents however say the area has notably improved.
A survey of 74 locals run by campaigners indicated the vast majority said there had been less litter, and most reported “an improved sense of safety”.
Mr Sherry said: “[The rubbish has] not gone completely, but it’s not near as bad as what it was.”
The site is now being marketed by agents Four Prop with it being described as a “restaurant to let”.
Residents are calling on Mr Adil as the landlord to put it to another use, noting the proximity to local schools and a wish not to return to the issues faced when it was occupied by KFC.
While not united over what they wish to see it become, the residents the LDRS spoke to were clear they do want the space to be occupied, but not by another takeaway.
There is some concern that under planning laws a new operator would be able to take on the existing use without a fresh application having to be submitted with the council. Residents also fear another takeaway would undermine a sense of momentum they believe is making the locality more desirable.
One example of this is the forthcoming opening of Talli Queen, a restaurant headed by chef Avinsha Shahidhara.
Residents say they have written directly to Mr Adil asking him to “consider the community’s experience” though they say they have received no response.
Caroline Scott, who lives locally and has been working on the campaign, said: “We have the evidence, we have the police data, and we have the overwhelming support of the local schools and this community. What we don’t yet have is the legal mechanism to make it stick. That has to change.”
Cllr Zarar Qayyum, Hammersmith and Fulham Labour’s business lead, says: “Uxbridge Road is undergoing a transformation. We are seeing new businesses open that offer residents a greater diversity of options, alongside a range of improvements that are making the street safer, cleaner, and more accessible for everyone. Hammersmith and Fulham Labour’s manifesto has firm commitments to accelerate these improvements.
“There is a growing trend of the street attracting ambitious new businesses. The successful Hawthorn pub is a recent example, and we very much look forward to the arrival of the new Talli Queen Indian restaurant in the coming months along with the redevelopment of Shepherd’s Bush Market.
“The vacant site at 171 Uxbridge Road represents another opportunity, and I hope it follows the same positive trend and attracts an ambitious tenant to be part of this exciting chapter for the street. We are ready to work with residents to achieve that result.”
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