Wetherell Mayfairs Fitnes Properties

A short walk from Soho House and Dean Street Townhouse, Little House Mayfair is one floor of a small building on a quiet corner in Mayfair. Open for breakfast every morning until late every night, the House gives you a cosy new private space for eating, drinking, working and meeting.

The club features exposed brick walls and a salon bar, creating a warm intimate atmosphere where members can eat, drink, and socialise. There is a feeling of faded glamour running through the house, with a mixture of new and vintage furniture alongside deep dining booths and fireside sofas.

The signature “little menu” draws inspiration from New York and Italy with a small, seasonal menu on offer. Little House also features an art collection of international talent including Jenny Holzer and Taryn Simon, curated by Jonny Yeo and Francesca Gavin.

For further information please call the Membership Secretary on 020 7851 1161
Little House Mayfair.com

Rocket is another brilliant Lancashire Court venue.  Perfect for ladies who lunch or a relaxed dinner, the menu is a great mix of salads and pizzas . With a lively bar on the ground floor and a light and airy restaurant on the first floor, you will be able to stay from brunch to nightcap whilst only moving a few steps.

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Mews of Mayfair - Mutiny in Mayfair

Tucked behind New Bond Street in the rather special Lancashire Court, Mews of Mayfair is the perfect hideaway. If you’re lucky enough to find a pavement table that is free and if the weather is good enough, grab it.

It could be a bit of a squash as you almost touch shoulders with the guests from the opposite restaurant but it is the perfect spot for people watching.

Mews is split into 6 venues: The Art Gallery; The Dining Room; The Chef’s Dining Room; Le Cave; The Lounge; and The Cocktail Bar.

The Cocktail Bar is part grand chateau, part hunting lodge. It has plush oversized furniture, objets d’art, hunting trophies and low chandeliers. Drinks are ordered perching on the high leather bar stools or by friendly table service. On the extensive drinks list, my favourite is the rum and fresh pineapple cocktail called Mutiny Mews. It’s clean and tropical, with a good kick to it. They are terribly moreish especially when accompanied with a dainty takeaway box of wasabi peas and a scattering of queen olives.

The basement lounge bar is a perfect place to continue your evening when the cocktail bar closes at 11pm.  Cool and bijou, yet unpretentious, there is no guest list. The kooky decor details from upstairs continue with the DJ panel hidden in a grand piano. The highlight of this venue however, is the private cave-like bunkers where you can huddle, schmooze or flirt to your heart’s content; but still feel the buzz of bar.

I have yet to try the masculine Le Cave wine and cigar shop as well as the main or private dining rooms. But if the delicious canapés are anything to go by, these will be a treat to look forward to.

10 - 11 Lancashire Court, New Bond Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 1EY  Tel: 020 7518 9388
Midday to 1am (last entry 11pm)

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Fusing London's pleasure-seeking social appetite with New York's inimitable style, Automat is an American Brasserie in Dover Street that draws on those facets of New York's cultural and social life so beloved by Londoners, presenting a brand new venue for relaxed, stylish dining. Menu highlights include classic Caesar Salad; Nebraskan Corn fed Beef Burgers and  Macaroni cheese

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A Mayfair estate agent hailed for leading the successful campaign against West End parking charges today spoke of his David and Goliath battle against the "tax on nightlife".

Peter Wetherell was the only objector to put his name to the High Court legal challenge to Westminster council's plan to make drivers pay to park in the evenings and on Sundays.

Today he called on campaigners not to give up - and warned Westminster that he would be back to fight if the council tries to introduce the fees next year. It comes after Westminster leader Colin Barrow announced that the charges would now be delayed until after next summer's Olympics, following a High Court judge's decision to allow a judicial review of the plan.

Today a quietly triumphant Mr Wetherell told the Standard: "We must not relax our vigil. There is still a risk that the present will be taken away again next year if Westminster council have their way. Let us all try to exert a moral authority against the council and tell them that the residents, businesses, workers and visitors do not want this for Mayfair.

"All I will say to Westminster City Council is listen to the Mayfair community, or else... I'll be back."

The 58-year-old, who is married with three children, began a petition in October against the plan to introduce the charges of up to £4.80 in the evenings and on Sundays from January 9. The move would have meant removing almost 2,000 free spaces from the West End. By November 1, his judicial review application was lodged at the High Court, backed financially by restaurateur Richard Caring, demonstrating that the campaigners meant business. Dozens of staff at Mr Caring's restaurants and clubs celebrated the court ruling last night.

One said: "It is great to have a boss who puts his money where his mouth is and is prepared to fight for our right to come to work - and not be taxed for it."

Mr Wetherell, who has worked in Mayfair for 40 years, was also supported by politicians and business leaders ranging from Boris Johnson to Peter Stringfellow. They believed Westminster would use the new charges to raise revenue and plug a "black hole" in the parking budget. Mr Wetherell said: "It appears that rather than find a solution to an identified problem, they decided on a policy and then sought to find the justification - and settled on 'traffic stress', which local residents tell me simply doesn't exist.

"I have never seen stakeholders so united against anything. Sadly, I have also never seen Westminster so intransigent either. But the long struggle against the charges was not easy. As soon as I was named on the judicial review application I became a target. It was made plain to me by the council that I would suffer the consequences of continuing in opposition.

"The council were demanding 'cross undertakings in damages', which means that I would have been liable for losses of income if the scheme is delayed. Had they succeeded in doing this, I could have ended up bankrupt. I have three young children."

A judge ruled on Wednesday that the council had a case to answer and ordered the postponement of the new charges until after a full hearing.

Your say: 'So many reasons it was a bad idea'

Mary Kate Murphy, 24 Hotel manager:
"It's fantastic the council has decided to put it off."

Adil Moollan, 28, Obstetrician from Swiss Cottage: "You couldn't even list the reasons why this would have been a bad idea on a piece of paper - there are so many."

Louise Kenny Surgeon from Acton: "They are right to scrap the charges. It's not safe to make female workers take the night bus home from work."

Luigi Polledri Owner of Bar Italia and Little Italy in Frith Street: "It's a sensible decision in the current economic climate."

By Mira Bar-Hillel and Jonathan Prynn
The Evening Standard - 16th December 2011
Click to see original article

Westminster Council spent £400,000 preparing to charge drivers for weekend parking before consultations were complete, BBC London has learned.

The authority has faced protests over plans to charge for West End parking during weekends and evenings.

It has now emerged the six-figure sum was spent on signage despite residents' opinions still being sought.

Labour said residents had been treated with "contempt", but the Conservatives said the costs would be recouped.

Critics say the outlay on signage shows the consultation was meaningless in the first place and the council had already made up its mind to bring in the new charges.
'Total contempt'

It comes after a High Court judge allowed a Judicial Review into the scheme, saying it was possible the council's consultation period had been too limited.

The leader of Labour in Westminster, Paul Dimoldenberg, said: "Westminster's consultation has been shambolic and no wonder the High Court was so scathing of the council's efforts.

"The council has treated residents and businesses with total contempt with £300,000 having being spent on new parking signs even before the consultation period was over."
Continue reading the main story
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Ordering the signs before the consultation had ended shows blatant contempt for the process”

Paul Pearson Parking campaigner

In his ruling, Mr Justice Collins wrote: "The consultation [carried out by Westminster Council] was arguably far too limited.

"There is a real risk of substantial damage to businesses and churches if it goes ahead."

The council first consulted the public and businesses last winter, and then in again early summer.

The BBC has obtained a series of emails showing that, following those two consultations, it placed an order for nearly £300,000-worth of signage and legal documents to enforce the new policy.

Another £100,000 was spent on other associated start-up costs.

But other consultations with residents were still continuing.

A letter sent to interested parties on 14 November reads: "The purpose of this letter is to provide you with information about a number of traffic regulation orders which the council intends to make to provide you with an opportunity to give us your comments, and to explain what further consultation will take place."

The letter concludes that the council would be "happy to receive any representation in writing by 2 December".

By this time the new signs had already been ordered.
'Other people's money'

Paul Pearson, who has been campaigning against the fees, pointed out that if the council loses its High Court case the money will have been wasted.

He said: "They should have waited - they risked other people's money when all they had to do was wait a while longer.

"Ordering the signs before the consultation had ended shows blatant contempt for the consultation process - they clearly had no intention of listening to what people had to say and this is wrong."
Pay and display machine The charges would operate until midnight Monday to Saturday, and 13:00 to 18:00 on Sundays

The leader of Westminster Council, Councillor Colin Barrow, said: "The judge rejected 10 of the 12 grounds for Judicial Review submitted by the applicants, but it does also require us to postpone implementation of the scheme, pending the full hearing.

"We are confident that we will be successful at such a hearing on the strengths of our arguments, the comprehensive consultation and the need to make central London less congested."

He continued: "Westminster Council has spent a total of around £400,000 on the changes to hours of parking controls in the West End.

"Should the scheme be implemented later in 2012, we anticipate recovering all but £25,000 of these costs."

The levy, from £2.20 to £4.40 an hour, would operate until midnight Monday to Saturday, and from 13:00 to 18:00 on Sundays.

Following the High Court ruling the scheme has been delayed from its intended start date of 9 January until after the Olympics.

By Ed Davey
BBC News, London - 15th December 2011
Click to see orignial article & video

At last, Westminster council has been made to see sense. It has been obliged to suspend its plans to charge for parking in the West End in the evenings and on Sundays, as a result of a High Court ruling that the plan would "damage businesses and churches". The council has postponed introduction of the charges for at least nine months from January.

Londoners will breathe a sigh of relief. Rarely has a single scheme united so many disparate individuals and groups in opposition. Church figures, waiters, croupiers, business proprietors, chefs, theatregoers, shoppers, politicians and Peter Stringfellow all condemned the scheme. It would have driven shoppers from the West End, made play-going prohibitively expensive, forced struggling restaurants out of business, imposed huge costs on low-paid workers who have to travel late at night and taken much of the fun from theatreland.

This paper recognised, as the council did not, the strength of public feeling on the issue and how calamitous the effects would be. It would have taken an estimated £800 million a year out of the economy of the West End and cost perhaps 5,000 jobs.

The sleight of hand underlying the proposals was repugnant. The council argued that the move was an effort to reduce congestion. In fact, it was a general revenue-raising measure. Westminster needs money because it has for years kept its council tax rates unsustainably low. Now it faces financial difficulties. But the relatively small sums that the new charges would have raised pale in comparison with its cost for businesses, some of whom would not have survived a charge that would deter people from coming into the area. This was a tax on entertainment.

The other disappointing aspect of this affair has been Westminster's refusal to listen to argument. The people, businesses and institutions most affected by the move made it very clear how disastrous the charge would be. Yet Conservative councillors would not budge, notwithstanding the doubts voiced by Government ministers from their own party.

Londoners should be grateful to Peter Wetherell, the businessman who brought the judicial review which resulted in today's ruling. Now the council has been given time to consult further on the plans. But we very much hope that Westminster will now make clear that it is not just suspending its plans but dropping them entirely. It will simply have to find some other way of raising money than taxing the West End out of business through parking charges.

By Evening Standard Comment
The Evening Standard - 15th December 2011
Click to see original article

London Mayor Boris Johnson has called Westminster City Council's decision to bring in night time and weekend parking charges as "completely mad".

He said the move will be "damaging to business", and added that he was "examining legal options" as he does not control parking on council roads.

The levy, from £2.20 to £4.40 an hour, will come into effect from 9 January.

The council said the charge was not to "generate revenue" but to keep the streets "clean, safe and vibrant".

The new parking charges would operate until midnight Monday to Saturday, and 13:00 to 18:00 on Sundays.

Church groups and businesses have opposed the plan and a recent study commissioned by West Ending Campaign - West End businesses against the charge - claimed they could lose up to £800m a year and 5,100 jobs could be at risk.
Residents 'favour' charge

Mr Johnson said: "I think it is completely mad what Westminster are doing.

"It is not what the city needs right now, it will be damaging to business.
Continue reading the main story
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Around 80% of visitors to the West End use public transport at night”

Colin Barrow Westminster City Council

"Unfortunately I do not control those roads, TfL [Transport for London] alas only controls 5% of the roads in London.

"It is very difficult with the current constitutional arrangements in London which means effectively that a borough can do what it wants in respect of its own parking.

"But we are continuing to examine the legal options available to us."

The mayor accused the council of bringing in the charges because "they need revenue from parking".

"A substantial proportion of Westminster residents are actually in favour of this measure because they don't give a monkey's about the people (who) have to pay to park in Westminster and I think that is quite wrong because Westminster is the heart of the London economy," he added.
'Improve environment'

Councillor Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster City Council, said: "The council does not and cannot legally run its parking service to generate revenue.

"But we do want streets that are clean, safe and vibrant.

"We hope that extending the hours of parking control in part of the West End will continue to improve the environment, manage traffic and ensure parking spaces are available to visitors in the future.

"Around 80% of visitors to the West End use public transport at night, rising to over 90% in the daytime.

"We will be campaigning for further improvements in public transport including later running tube trains, rolling out more cycle hire stations and improving our public realm."

The BBC London Website - Friday 9th December 2011
Click to see original article

A HIGH Court battle against Westminster Council’s West End parking fees is under threat amid fears about burgeoning costs.

The council has warned campaigners behind an impending judicial review that it will seek compensation if judges delay the introduction of the fees.

The city council is set to start charging motorists up to £4.80 an hour to park in the West End during evenings and on Sundays.

Solicitors warned that any granting of compensation to the council on the basis of loss of revenue from parking fees could have a “chilling effect” on future attempts to overturn decisions by local authorities.

Westminster Labour group leader Paul Dimoldenberg added: “This is bully boy tactics from a council that is on the run.”

Both the council and lawyers acting for Peter Wetherell, the estate agent and self-styled “Mayfair Guru” who is bringing the review, are now desperate to have a ruling on the case before January 9, when the charges are due to begin.

But they fear the case may not be heard until well into the new year because of the Christmas holiday, potentially resulting in a much higher bill should they lose.

The council has faced an outcry about the fees from restaurateurs, actors, musicians and others in the entertainment industry who have branded them a “tax on night-life”.

A report commissioned by one group opposed to the fees this week warned the charges could cost businesses up to £800million a year and lead to 5,000 job losses.

In a bid to appease night workers who fear their commute will be made more dangerous, the council this week announced that car parks in the West End would be offering spaces for £2 per hour between the hours of 6.30pm and 7am and at a flat-rate of £8 per night.

But Mayfair casino worker Elena Wilson said this was “no comfort”.

She added: “The council are contradicting themselves.

They say if there is an impact on night workers in the first two months they will address it, but they have already established there will be an impact on night workers and they are not addressing it.”

West End ward councillor Glenys Roberts, who broke ranks with her Tory colleagues to oppose the fees, said she wanted transport chief Councillor Lee Rowley to “get in a car with me so I can show them how traffic works”.

She added: “I am one of the only councillors who lives in the West End.

I have brought up a family here. I have done the school run. I have had to organise carers and doctors for a terminally sick person.

“It’s in doing all these things that I understand how traffic and parking in the area works.”

Cllr Roberts’s fellow West End councillors Jonathan Glanz and Frixos Tombolis are understood to be facing the brunt of a revolt by grassroots Tories in the area understood to be angry about the imposition of the charges and direction of the local party, which they see as too influenced by the “remote” Conservative Association.

Mr Wetherell has instructed David Elvin QC to fight the court bid for him, and the West End Extra understands the council’s decision will be challenged on the basis that evidence of congestion on the roads, provided by consultants, is insufficient.

By Josh Loeb
West End Extra - Friday 9th December 2011
Click to see orignial article

Plans to introduce night-time parking charges in Westminster could cost businesses up to £800m a year and lead to 5,000 job losses, a report said.

The study commissioned by West Ending Campaign said if the charge is £4.80 an hour it could drive customers away.

Simon Thomas, leader of the campaign, said businesses could close if customers were "unable to park free".

Westminster Council said the study was "completely flawed" as it charges £2.40 an hour for most of the week.
'Downward spiral'

West Ending Campaign commissioned the research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

The study found there could be an £800m fall in customer demand in the West End a year for theatres, pubs, restaurants, casinos and hotels, leading to £714m lost profits per year.

At least 5,100 jobs could be at risk as businesses try to cut costs to recoup lost profits, it claimed.

A night-time and weekend parking charge could lead to an annual additional labour cost of £125m for businesses who could end up raising prices or force businesses to close, the report said.

Simon Thomas, who owns Leicester Square's Hippodrome Casino, said: "If doors start closing in the West End through lack of customers unable to park free at night then there will be less to attract people into the centre, then more places will close etc etc..... it's a downward spiral.

"It doesn't take a genius to work out that if you make it £25 more expensive to have a night out in one place, prospective customers might just choose somewhere else to go."

But Westminster Council highlighted that the impact on businesses was based on an assumed £4.80 an hour charge and the researchers also assumed that people visiting the West End would all come in their cars.
'Only assumption'

The report, however, states that for the purposes of the impact assessment, the assumption was made that 20-25% of the "night-time population" travels by car.

Councillor Lee Rowley, Westminster's cabinet member for parking and transport, said: "This research is completely flawed.

"The report admits within the first four pages that the figures are just plucked from thin air using the term 'rough and ready'.

"And in the conclusion it says the findings are based only on 'indicative analysis and assumption'."

He added the local authority was yet to conduct a detailed research on the impacts of the parking changes.

The BBC London Website - 7th December 2011
Click to see the original Article