
EXCLUSIVE JD Wetherspoon unveils latest pub opening in affluent London suburb - is one coming to a town near YOU?
The popular chain revealed the 'Walham Green' on Fulham Road in West London will be the first of its six new pubs to open in England over the coming months.
The pub on Fulham Road, near Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge stadium, will be in the Grade II-listed former entrance building and ticket hall of Fulham Broadway station.
The District line station was originally opened under the title of Walham Green in 1880, named after a village which grew into the area that became Fulham Broadway.
Stamford Bridge was redeveloped into a football stadium for Chelsea in 1905 and as the area's population grew, a rebuilt version of the station was opened in 1910.
This redesign by architect Harry Wharton Ford included a new Edwardian baroque-style entrance building including a ticket hall, shopping arcade and offices.
The station name was changed to Fulham Broadway in 1952 after a local campaign, before the entrance building was closed in 2003 and sold to a private developer.
This area was subsequently converted to a TGI Fridays restaurant and then a food market – before it was purchased by Wetherspoon, who will open their pub on July 8.
The present station entrance is in the Fulham Broadway shopping centre adjacent to the pub, which is on two floors and has an outside roof terrace on the first floor.
Wetherspoon said the pub is creating 90 new jobs and will be managed by Ryan Way, former manager at The Watchman in New Malden, South West London.
Mr Way told MailOnline: 'Myself and my team are looking forward to welcoming customers into Walham Green and we are confident that the pub will be a great addition to Fulham's social scene.'
The venue will be open from 8am until 11.30pm Sunday to Thursday and from 8am until 12.30am on Friday and Saturday. Food will be served from opening until 11pm daily.
A Wetherspoon spokesman said: 'The new pub will specialise in real ales and traditional ciders, as well as craft and world beers, serving a wide range of different draught ales, as well as bottled beers, including those from local and regional brewers.
'It will be open for family dining, with children, accompanied by an adult, welcome in the pub up until 10pm, throughout the week.
'The pub will be wheelchair accessible and have a specially adapted toilet for people with disabilities.'
Historical photos and details of local history, as well as artwork and images of local scenes and characters of the area, will also be displayed in the pub, and artwork commissioned by local artists.
The chain also promised that retro train station signage will be on display inside and outside the pub, recalling the building's previous life as part of the station.
Wetherspoon, which has nearly 800 pubs across the UK, is also planning to open The Dictum of Kenilworth in the Warwickshire town on July 29.
This will be followed a second new pub in the capital - The Sun Wharf in London Bridge, which will begin serving customers on September 2.
A third new London pub - The Sir Alexander Fleming at Paddington Basin – will open on September 23; then Sigered, King of Essex will open in Basildon on September 30.
The final planned opening by the chain this year is The Chiltern in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire - opening on December 2.
Wetherspoon has previously warned over a £60million jump in labour-related costs since April, amid increases in employers' national insurance contributions and the minimum wage.
Sigered, King of Essex will open on September 30 on East Walk in the town of Basildon
Chairman Tim Martin has cautioned over the impact of the surging wage bill and in January called on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to cut pub food taxes before the jump in costs linked to last October's Budget.
But the business said in May that it expects a 'reasonable' full year result despite soaring staff costs as good weather helped buoy sales.
It reported like-for-like sales up 5.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to April 27. Comparable sales rose 5.1 per cent overall in the group's year-to-date.
Wetherspoon will reveal its fourth-quarter trading statement on July 23, before its preliminary results announcement on October 3.
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Telegraph
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
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It's not like the old East End anymore. 'From when I was growing up to now, it's not recognisable anymore. 'This is the oldest cab office in Bethnal Green - our customers have moved out from here. 'There's a lot of drunken behaviour and people doing balloons, driving up and down in their cars all night. 'There's more CCTV on the road, so in that sense they are doing well. 'But everything has changed here man, it's not like the old school.' 18 18 18 Staff members at Trotters Jewellers, which has been on the high street for 35 years, added that the face of the high street had changed "to the extreme". They explained: "It's changed to the extreme, it's not like the old East End anymore. 'We're one of the most established businesses, but also one of the lasting few. "Of course, it's changed totally. It's not thriving at all and everything is stacked against you. It's changed to the extreme. It's not like the old East End anymore. Staff at Trotters Jewellers "Having a business here is a lot harder than it was 10 years ago for sure. 'We have shops in Liverpool Street and Hatton Garden, but we've noticed such a change, especially here. Not for the good.' Market stall trader Aissa Derouiche, told how tourists were no longer flocking to Bethnal Green, despite it being located just minutes from the popular Brick Lane area. The 55-year-old, who has worked on the street for 17 years, fumed: 'Everything has changed. "Some people left and businesses have suffered. Shops have closed and the place has changed for the worse. 'The community is close, but it has grown apart in recent years because people have left. 'Tourists have stopped coming to Bethnal Green in the last ten years which has had a huge impact on my business." Shamima Begum's fight to regain UK citizenship She married an Islamic State fighter soon after arriving in 2015 and went on to have three children. Her UK citizenship was stripped on national security grounds in 2019. In February 2020, a tribunal ruled that removing Ms Begum's citizenship was lawful because she was "a citizen of Bangladesh by descent". In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that Ms Begum could not return to the UK to appeal the decision to remove her citizenship. Her lawyers challenged the removal of her citizenship at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission two years later. The commission agreed that there was a credible suspicion that Begum was a victim of trafficking and sexual exploitation, but it ruled this did not stand in the way of stripping her of British citizenship. That decision was upheld at the Court of Appeal in February 2024. Earlier this year, she lost an initial bid to take the case to the Supreme Court. Begum remains in a camp controlled by armed guards in northern Syria. Society has moved on since Shamima However, some locals claimed that Begum's name was no longer commonly heard around the area. Mohammed Ahmed, who works at his father's shop Continental Grocers, slammed the government's decision to strip her of her British citizenship. He said: "She is not a big deal around here anymore. 'Look, she fled to Syria. She was very young at the time. 'I think the decision to strip her of her citizenship was wrong. It's worse now because she has kids I wouldn't say I miss her. I am only missing out on a customer because she's not here Shop worker Mohammed Ahmed 'It's not the case that it's embarrassing for the community, but it doesn't ever get brought up. 'I wouldn't say I miss her. I didn't know her. 'I am only missing out on a customer because she's not here." Bangladeshi nationals Sharif Sarker and Chunki Akter hailed the east London town as a "home from home". The couple, who moved to Bethnal Green two years ago, explained that living there had made following their traditions easier. 18 18 18 Chunki said: "To be honest, we are not a very strong part of the community. 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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Anger as Nationwide refuses members a binding vote on boss's 43% pay hike
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