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
Pensioner suffers “life changing injuries” after horror truck accident on Kensington High Street
A man in his 70s has been left with potentially life changing injuries after being struck by a truck on Kensington High Street today. The busy shopping street was thrown into chaos, just before midday, as police taped off large sections of the road, triggering tailbacks. Emergency crews raced to the scene and treated the injured man in front of...
Brompton Cemetery death – “not suspicious”
A coroner is investigating after a 52-year-old man was found dead inside Brompton Cemetery. Police were called to the historic graveyard on Fulham Road at 8.45am on Friday, 27 February, following reports of a man discovered unresponsive among the tombs. Officers and paramedics attended, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of...
Man dies in Brompton Cemetery
A man in his 50s collapsed in Brompton Cemetery yesterday morning and later died at the scene. It is believed that the man was found unconscious towards the southern part of the cemetery, near its Fulham Road entrance. Police and an ambulance crew attended, but attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead. The entire cemetery was...
Scary council tax grab hike to deter owners of “ghost homes”
Wealthy owners of Chelsea’s so-called "ghost homes" are about to get a very serious fright - their council tax bills are set to DOUBLE. Last night Town Hall chiefs voted to escalate council tax on second homes across Kensington and Chelsea as part of the new budget for 2026-27 - with the new charges taking affect from 1st April. There are nearly...
Sketch: A wry view from the press seats as the full council debates the 2026 budget
Kensington Town Hall last night had the faintly upholstered air of a minor, provincial public inquiry, crossed with a sixth-form debating society. The Chelsea Citizen was in situ on the press bench as councillors assembled to perform their annual fiscal pageant and vote through a 4.9% rise in Council Tax. Proceedings were opened by the...
‘Tonight RBKC is finally free of government grants and is truly a Sovereign borough’ – Cllr Kemahli’s budget speech in full
Below is the full speech made by Councillor Cem Kemahli, Royal Hospital ward councillor and RBKC's lead member for Finance, Digital and Efficiency "Mr. Mayor - Thank you... I stand today to present one of the most difficult but most important budgets this council will ever debate. A budget set against the context of a Labour government's...
Rickety pier to be demolished and replaced for new Lots Road park
Plans to rebuild the pier behind Lots Road Water Pumping Station and to create a new connected riverside walkway have moved a step closer after approval by the Council’s leadership team. The proposals form part of wider ambitions to reopen this stretch of the River Thames to residents and visitors for the first time in more than a century. The...
Solved: Riddle of the King’s Road scaffolding that never comes down
The mystery of the never-ending presence of scaffolding on a prominent block of flats on the King’s Road can finally be explained - thanks to The Citizen. For more than four years, local people have noticed and questioned why a newly built residential block called Kingsgate House - known for its distinctive yellow and green solar shutters on its...
Slight Surprise: Kensington Man Falls Over
World Exclusive Photos - UNCENSORED VERY late Breaking News: A Kensington man fell over, The Citizen can be the last to reveal. The 60-year-old stumbler - who has publicly fat-shamed himself repeatedly for “carrying excess timber” - tripped on a small step and landed like the proverbial “sack of spuds”. The unremarkable incident (280,000...
South Ken Tube re-development – the latest
Transport bosses have waved through a major makeover of one of London’s most famous Tube stations — but angry locals say the plans will only pile more pressure on an area already buckling at the seams. Transport for London has approved a sweeping, multi-million pound redevelopment for South Kensington Station, clearing the way for lifts, rebuilt...