Good morning
TfL has made permanent the bus detours Barnes has lived with since Hammersmith Bridge shut to traffic seven years ago — the 533 is gone, the 485 no longer reaches Castelnau. Since our last edition: six new food businesses have registered across the village, the council has taken its first move against the botulism outbreak at the pond, and a 43-year-old cold case gets a new face. All in one five-minute read.
The big story
Barnes loses the 533 as TfL makes bridge detours permanent
TfL has made permanent a bus map that Barnes has effectively been living with since Hammersmith Bridge closed to traffic. The 533 disappears entirely from 15 August; the 209 becomes a two-way service through Castelnau and Lonsdale Road, filling much of the gap; the 485 no longer reaches Church Road or Castelnau, terminating instead at Mortlake Bus Station; and the 378 now loops past the Wetland Centre for much of the day, adding up to seven minutes to journeys. TfL made the change despite most consultation responses opposing it. The result is a network shaped less by planning than by seven years of stopgap arrangements around a bridge still closed to general traffic. Anyone who relied on the 533 for a direct run, or the 485 through Castelnau, now has a genuinely different journey — the question is whether TfL revisits the network again if the bridge ever reopens fully. READ →
In brief
Carp removed from Barnes Pond after botulism killed the swans
Contractors pulled carp from the pond in the last week of July, in a cull organised and funded by Richmond Council according to the Barnes Community Association. The move follows an avian botulism outbreak that killed the resident cob and his cygnets — carp feeding stirs up sediment, lowering oxygen and helping the bacterium that produces the toxin thrive. READ →
Men's Shed reroofs a school shed in Barnes
Barnes Community Association volunteers have reroofed a shed at Lowther Primary School, having refurbished two of its benches back in May. The group is inviting more residents to volunteer. READ →
New face released in 40-year hunt to identify 'Barnes Bridge Man'
A body found on the Thames shore near Barnes Bridge in September 1983 has never been identified. Cold case charity Locate International has commissioned a new forensic likeness of the man — ginger hair, stocky build, Irish-linked jewellery including a Claddagh pendant — in the hope someone finally recognises him. SOURCE →
OSO Arts Centre gets a new sprung floor
The Barnes High Street venue is installing a sprung theatre floor with support from Richmond Council's Community Fund, intended to widen the range of theatre, comedy and other events it can host. SOURCE →
St Paul's School Group adds a third school
The Barnes-based St Paul's School Group is taking in Arnold House School in St John's Wood from November, joining Durston House and Shrewsbury House. Arnold House keeps its own name, head and uniform but gains access to the Group's enrichment programme and a supported pathway into St Paul's for some pupils. SOURCE →
Barnes private schools report strong exam results
St Paul's School and the Harrodian both released 2026 GCSE and A-level results in August, each reporting record or near-record proportions of top grades. The releases are self-reported, with no comparison against full prior-year cohort data beyond the highlights the schools chose to publish. SOURCE →
Openings & closings
New restaurant Dee registers on Church Road
A restaurant trading as Dee has registered at 153 Church Road and is awaiting its first hygiene inspection — no further detail yet on what's on the menu. READ →
Cafe ALISON registers on Barnes High Street
A new restaurant or cafe trading as ALISON has registered at 36A Barnes High Street, awaiting its first hygiene inspection. READ →
New butcher registers on Castelnau
Greenfield Artisan Butcher has registered at 189 Castelnau and is awaiting its first hygiene inspection. READ →
Bakery registers at 13 Barnes High Street
The Parish Bakery has registered as a food business at 13 Barnes High Street, awaiting its first inspection. READ →
Cycling cafe registers at Tideway Yard
Moloko Cycling has registered as a cafe at a unit in Tideway Yard on Mortlake High Street, awaiting its first hygiene inspection. READ →
Contract caterer registers a kitchen at the Wetland Centre
Elior has registered a catering operation at the Wetland Centre, alongside the Trust's own café listing, which already holds a hygiene rating of 5. READ →
Planning & development
Barnes Hospital redevelopment: servicing plan signed off
Richmond Council has registered a condition-discharge application covering the delivery and service management plan for the Barnes Hospital site on South Worple Way, part of the wider planning permission granted in 2022. SOURCE →
Getting around
Barnes Primary School Street trial widens after resident requests
Richmond Council is consulting on a School Street trial restricting traffic outside Barnes Primary on weekday mornings and afternoons in term time. The consulted area grew after residents both inside and outside the original zone asked to be included, and the trial runs alongside the consultation as an Experimental Traffic Order. SOURCE →
Fixed stops proposed to replace 419 hail-and-ride on Lonsdale Road
Richmond Council is consulting on where to site fixed bus stops for the 419, replacing most of its hail-and-ride section three years after TfL first proposed it. A stop suggested outside St Paul's School has worried parents about visibility at the nearby crossing. SOURCE →
What's on
Police liaison group meets Thursday on Church Road
Barnes Police Liaison Group meets at Barnes Green Day Centre on 10 September, 7pm to 8.30pm. READ →
Barnes Yard Sale Day
Homes across Barnes open their doors for the neighbourhood's secondhand sale day on 12 September from 11am, promoted via the Bull's Head. SOURCE →
Wetland Centre reopens its rebuilt Rain Garden
WWT London's Rain Garden, originally designed by the late Dr Nigel Dunnett, has been rebuilt with funding from BNP Paribas Asset Management and reopens this month, timed to the centre's 80th anniversary. The rebuild includes a green roof, cascading water tanks and a submerged red telephone box. SOURCE →
Community centres in Barnes and Mortlake open up for celebration week
Richmond Council's Your Community Centre Week runs 21-27 September, with local centres among ten across the borough inviting residents in to meet staff and try activities. SOURCE →
Follow-ups
BCA sets out its red lines as Hammersmith Bridge's future is decided
Following Hammersmith & Fulham Council's announcement on the bridge's long-term future, the Barnes Community Association has set out its priorities for residents — reliable everyday access and provision for older and disabled residents — while pushing back on TfL's assumption that local transport planning should wait for the bridge to reopen to general traffic. SOURCE →