Westminster & district · Local news you can trust
From 31 October, objection numbers and ward councillor requests can no longer send a Westminster planning application to committee. Councillors vote Wednesday.
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Parking
Westminster parking fines: 3 bailiff firms from 1 Nov
Westminster issued 650,100 parking tickets last year and about 11% reach a bailiff. From 1 November three firms replace Marston alone. The fees that get added.
Oxford Street
Oxford Street: government rejects council's EIA demand
Westminster says ministers ignored its concerns and cleared Oxford Street without a full environmental assessment. Its lawyers said a challenge would fail.
Trading Standards
Fake squishy toys: 200 seized from a Victoria candy store
Westminster trading standards took nearly 200 fakes off one Victoria shop after a mother reported a chemical smell. What to check before you buy a squishy toy.
Local Info
Westminster roadworks: Kilburn Lane closed, Westway one lane
Kilburn Lane is shut both ways at Herries Street for emergency Thames Water works, past its listed end date, and the Westway is one lane to 5 December.
Local Info
Westminster Recycling Centre: There Is None in the Borough
Westminster has no recycling centre. Residents use Smugglers Way in Wandsworth, car visits must be booked, and you need ID showing a Westminster address.
Transport
Oxford Street pedestrianisation misses its summer deadline
The Mayor's target was traffic-free by the end of summer. On 1 September buses 94, 139 and 390 still stop at Selfridges, and the council wants a full EIA.
Westminster City Council
Westminster waste depot in Southwark needs £7.97m more
Westminster approved £7.97m extra on 26 August, taking its Mandela Way depot to £13.5m. Ground conditions drove the rise, and the site is in Southwark.
Local Info
Westminster Bulky Waste Collection: £36 for Six Items
Westminster bulky waste collection: £36 for up to six items, £6.40 each after, free on Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, plus the free Saturday route.
Local Info
Westminster Council Tax Discounts: 25% Is £261.96
Living alone in a band D Westminster home takes £261.96 off the 2026/27 bill. Every discount and exemption, plus the two-year review that removes one.
Local Info
Westminster Bin Collection Days: It's a Time, Not a Day
Westminster bin collection days work differently: each street gets a time window, not a weekday. How to find yours, and the 30-minute rule that loses bags.
Licensing
Mistress of Mayfair licence suspended: decision by 10 Sept
Westminster suspended the St James's Street venue's licence on 17 August after a police expedited review. It must decide by 10 September whether to revoke it.
Housing
Westminster loses 16 Marylebone affordable flats on appeal
Sixteen Marylebone flats, ten at social rent, are no longer tied to affordable housing. A clause written to reassure lenders freed them, and Westminster pays.
Almost nobody says they live in Westminster. They say Marylebone, Pimlico, Bayswater, Paddington, St John’s Wood, Belgravia, Soho or Queen’s Park. The word means Parliament and the Abbey to the rest of the country, and a council to the people who live under it.
That council is worth paying attention to. It runs controlled parking zones and permits across nearly the whole borough, licenses the West End, and works through a planning caseload in which most buildings are listed or in a conservation area. All of it is published. We read it and write down what it says, with a link to the document on every fact.
More in Local Info, News and What’s On.
Every fact is linked to the official source it came from.