Dear Local Citizen
I simply wanted to welcome you to The Chelsea Citizen, a dynamic new hyper-local newspaper which will be launching this spring.
The Citizen’s primary focus will be the SW3 & SW10 post codes, but it will also cover important stories and events in the neighbouring areas of Kensington, Battersea and Fulham. On occasion, it will even dip a polished Brioni toe cap into matters concerning Belgravia.
The newspaper’s content will be available online for free. It will report great local stories and work closely with the communities, RBKC, cultural organisations and businesses. The Citizen will also be a campaigning newspaper and a force for good.
This year will mark 40 years since I became a journalist on the weekly Wimbledon News (you can read about my career here and about my local campaigning here). I am throwing every bit of my hard-won journalism experience into re-imagining The Chelsea Citizen as a traditional local newspaper for the 21st century.
There will be news stories and features highlighting everything from council matters and planning disputes, to golden weddings, births and deaths, to restaurant reviews and cultural highlights, to big interviews and small diary events. We may even run a report if a cat gets stuck up a tree.
This year will also mark 30 years since I moved to Chelsea. I care very much about this area of London and I feel deeply connected to it. So, I now intend to combine my two great passions – journalism and Chelsea.
But I need YOU!
For this venture to succeed, it is important that The Citizen generates a keen and engaged readership. This will attract advertisers and sponsorship, which will help it grow and keep it free.
I believe that local journalism is a fundamental and vital part of any connected community. It is clear from the feedback I have received since announcing The Chelsea Citizen just before Christmas that the people of RBKC agree.
I am financing the initial build of the website and generating all the content, but I am also urgently and actively seeking funding from investors and philanthropic individuals, as well as reaching out to landmark local businesses to encourage them to become headline advertisers. If you have any suggestions for potential investors or sponsors, please get in touch.
I have been working hard on multiple stories recently to create some basic example content. This kind of reporting work will continue in the coming weeks, but the key is to secure funding. That way, I can retain other reporters to get writing. Plenty of stories and diary events for the borough will be flagged up on Instagram, so please Follow us.
I hope you will join me on this great adventure and, please, spread the word.
Best Wishes
Rob McGibbon
Founder & Editor
News and Features
EXCLUSIVE: Residents rally to save La Famiglia from “disaster” as ONE angry neighbour complains over garden noise
Iconic Italian restaurant La Famiglia has been a delicious dining fixture of Chelsea for 51 years and has attracted a sparkling guest list of celebrities and powerbrokers. Everyone who's anyone has at one time or another graced its beautiful blue and white tiled room on Langton Street, from Princesses Diana and Kate, to Placido Domingo and Mick...
Fight to save historic artists studios from the wrecking ball to make way for new bijoux houses
One of Chelsea's last surviving purpose-built artists' studio complexes is facing an uncertain future after plans were unveiled to replace it with five luxury townhouses. For more than a century Stanley Studios in Park Walk has provided creative workspace for generations of artists, including celebrated sculptor Dame Elizabeth Frink. Now...
Whole Foods clash with residents over noisy delivery lorries continues with no end in sight
A long-running feud between Whole Foods and Chelsea families over noisy delivery lorries is edging towards a showdown as the Council continues to investigate alleged breaches of planning conditions. Amazon-owned Whole Foods, which opened on the King's Road in March 2025, has been at loggerheads with residents whose homes back onto the store for...
High value row erupts as MP accuses RBKC Leader of “lying” and sending “fake” letter to scare residents over mansion tax
An extraordinary political row has erupted between RBKC Council Leader Cllr. Elizabeth Campbell and Kensington and Bayswater MP Joe Powell over the Government's proposed high-value property surcharge — dubbed the "mansion tax" by opponents. Battle lines were drawn after Conservative Cllr. Campbell wrote to residents' associations last week...
EXCLUSIVE: Lord Michael Howard steps in to support Justice For Jack Ryan campaign
Former Home Secretary Lord Michael Howard has called on the current Home Secretary to change the bail laws that he signed off more than 30 years ago to plug a loophole that allows serious offenders to escape justice. Lord Howard has called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood to correct what he now “regrets” was an “oversight” in amendments to the...
Martin Kuczmarski interview: “I want Martino’s to always give a big hug to the residents of Chelsea. You are my most important customers”
There are only 78 paces from the entrance of Colbert on Sloane Square to the discreet door to Martino’s on the southern corner. But for Martin Kuczmarski, that short walk represents a life-time of relentless work and the realisation of a dream. Back in 1995, he was an ambitious 20-year-old waiter at Lord Forte’s Hyde Park Hotel on Knightsbridge...
EXCLUSIVE: RBKC Leader Cllr Elizabeth Campbell issues urgent rallying cry for residents to help the council STOP the Mansion Tax
RBKC leader Cllr Elizabeth Campbell has issued an extraordinary battle cry to residents to step up and help the council STOP the Government's proposed "mansion tax". Campbell has sent out an unprecedented letter to the Chairs of Residents Associations across the borough inciting them to ask their members to object to the so-called High Value...
Council calls on residents to help it choose where to spend money as it faces up to funding crisis
The Royal Borough is asking residents to help decide what matters most over the next four years as it wrestles with a £108 million budget gap and growing demand for services. A six-week public consultation has been launched to shape the authority's new Council Plan, which will set spending and policy priorities through to 2030. The exercise comes...
Council goes extra lengths to improve Chelsea’s public swimming pool – and splashes out £1.3m
Chelsea Sports Centre’s historic swimming pool is set to undergo a £1.3 million refurbishment, with RBKC Council unveiling plans to modernise the 119-year-old facility while preserving its heritage. The investment will see the pool close from 12th July until November 2026 as contractors carry out extensive improvement works designed to secure the...
Justice For Jack Ryan campaign petition draws 1,000 signatures in first 24 hours
The campaign in the name of tragic Jack Ryan has launched a petition demanding that the Government changes existing bail laws to stop serious offenders escaping justice. The Justice for Jack Ryan petition on the Gov website gathered more than 1,000 signatures in its first 24 hours and currently stands at 1,900. Under the Gov petitions process,...