Site of proposed new hotel
A planning application has been lodged to redevelop the eastern corner at the Uxbridge Road end of Melbourne Avenue. The proposed site covers the area from Luckhurst’s the butchers up to the Uxbridge Road and then above the currently empty corner site and above the new Brighthouse store. The existing first floor will be retained and two new storeys added. All the existing ground floor retail units will be retained, including the new Betfred betting shop which has an agreement to take the corner unit.
Illustration of new hotel (ignore the Ibis sign) Copyright Milan Babic Architects
There is a host of documents online about this application and I have only managed to skim them so far. There is some confusion in the documents as the official application is for a 60-bedroom Easy Hotel though at least one of the documents refers to a 70-bedroom Ibis Hotel. I can only assume the latter is an earlier version.
Easy Hotels are a franchise operation and are part of Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s business empire and, from their website, they offer hotel rooms from around £35 a night.
It’s quite extraordinary that after years of having hardly any hotels, Ealing and West Ealing now have a brand new Premier Inn and Travelodge within yards of one another plus the newly converted Drayton Court Hotel,the boutique Hotel Xanadu in Bond Street and the Best Western Maitrise Hotel in West Ealing. Is it all down to the likely impact of Crossrail?
I’m puzzled why such a major development for West Ealing has been delegated to officers for a decision rather than going to committee. This could be a very significant change for the centre of West Ealing. It may mean hotel supplies being delivered along Canberra Road and across Melbourne Ave. There is also no parking provision for hotel guests. A thriving hotel in the heart of West Ealing may well make a significant contribution to the local economy and help improve our high street. Even so, to my mind, this is a major development and ought to go to the full committee for a decision.
If you want to comment on this application you can do so online and the closing date is 22nd February.
So much for town planning ? No mention of a hotel as a preferred or possible use for this site in the London Borough of Ealing 2026 Local Plan. The embryonic West Ealing Centre Neighbourhood Forum (WECNF) has received no hotel ideas at all from its members or anyone working or living in West Ealing centre. I have never heard the siting of a hotel here being discussed at any Walpole Ward Forum (WWF) meeting either. No doubt someone will raise the matter at Monday’s WWF meeting.
Wish it wasn’t another betting shop on the ground floor. I’d rather the hotel restaurant/cafe (as mentioned in the plans and open to the public.) in that prominent corner space. This proposal will get little support with me until they ditch the evil gambling den! Sick of the businesses which make money out of people’s addictions.
I just hope the street traders (flowers,plants,cards,clothes and hot/cold mobile)are not going to suffer.
Betfred may want to use their melbourne ave exterior side wall for their advertising panels/windows/doors and their smokers will need an area to smoke,the area in front of betfred is already congested with people waiting at the busy bus stop where the pavement is very narrow.
Totally agree with the Cafe idea as opposed to another betting shop. I know people will say there are too many Cafes in West Ealing but they are the lesser of the two evils!
Would this hotel be for helping the homeless by any chance? in which case we would certainly be needing greater provision in our local schools.
Of course if the hotel is to provide stop overs for artists and visitors to local events then I can only applaud the idea, for contributing towards supporting creativity.
West Ealing high street is very similar in content to Acton high street, betting shops, pawn brokers, pound shops. There’s nothing necessarily ‘wrong’ about any of these, but they don’t exactly drive a spirit of ‘motivated to work’.
I give permission for my comment to be copied and pasted into any place that requires comment on this proposal.
This will be a one night stop over for people on the way to Heathrow when Crossrail opens I imagine. It’s not going to do much good for the area. The high street in West Ealing is dead; betting shops, pound shops and charity shops. I like a browse in a charity shop as much as anyone but it’s another death knell. Perhaps, and it’s controversial, but we might be a lot better off now had we had the tram. I remember that was supposed to kill the high street in but it would be running by now and perhaps bringing people into the area.
Karl,
Look forwards not backwards.
Forget the Tram. we are going to get Crossrail.
A hotel might be a good idea. but who will use it and why? The two street stalls in Melbourne Avenue have been a feature for decades. However the current design of the hotel would result in the stalls disappearing which would be sad for the neighbourhood and devastating for the two stallholders. Neither the land/property owner nor the Council has spoken to the stallholders. This is unacceptable and cruel behaviour.
The last thing West Ealing needs is another hotel and it definitely doesnt need one there.
I don’t think this development addresses the crisis in the high street and could well be detrimental if we lose our two iconic independent traders, Dean and Tony. Stelios claims to be philanthropic and supportive of education, environment and entrepreneurs – maybe we should make a pitch direct to him? http://www.stelios.com/about-us/what-we-do.html
Asides from providing jobs there is nothing much positive about it from the high street point of view. Another betting shop, another hotel, another sign that the future for West Ealing is nothing more than a stopover for Crossrail; the majority of people using Crossrail won’t even know West Ealing exists other than a stop on the route. At least we’ll be able to get into Central London quicker to do all the shopping we used to be able to do locally.
I’m not feeling very positive today, I think!
Gill, like you I’m very concerned about Dean and Tony. Dean has started a petition. Is there anything we can do to help them? Losing these guys would be a real detriment to the area.Small independent traders should not be ridden over roughshod like this. They pay for their site and have rights, surely? But apparently that haven’t been contacted, far less consulted. I’ll be contacting my Councillor, but otherwise am at a bit of a loss.
What next,another supermarket in west http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/morrisons-accelerates-convenience-store-openings-190402565.html.
Our current local government planning guideline (2026 Local Plan) details the building of just a boutique hotel in the whole of the Ealing centre/West Ealing centre complex( the so called Ealing Metropolitan Town Centre – EMTC) over the next 13 years. This particular 111 room boutique hotel is about to be built at 32-38 Uxbridge Road W5 just 150 metres east of the proposed West Ealing centre hotel. Not only that but in a completely unplanned fashion, three brand new hotels have been built and have opened in the last three years in the EMTC – Travel Lodge, Premier Inn and Xanadu Hotels. So more than enough new hotels one might surmise.
I can’t believe what they are trying to do to the local community.. It’s small business that keep us together. The flower still and butchers have been there longer than most of us today. I’ve seen people come and go from that flower stall and walk away with the biggest smile on there face. It’s business like that we need in the bough. I don’t ever see jeffs flowers advertising, as it’s word of mouth. It’s a place that dose a great job of showing a service with a smile!
Im so saddened to here they are proposing to close these stalls down which have been serving the community for so long! Dean on the flower stall is always a friendly, local face who has created many flower arrangements for so many of us at significant points in our lifes, re weddings, funerals, arrivals of a baby or just a beautiful selection to help you feel better!
The butchers is some where we all use wether it be for the winter stew or that summer bbq where we all rush for the amazing selection of tasty chicken and ribs. The staff are friendly and help will make order to you request all you need in a butcher at an amzing price!! With all the BAD press about super markets and the horse meat scandle at this time more than ever we are turning to our local butcher for our meat products!
Im just disgusted that in this economical climate Ealing Council are not doing more to protect small business as the goverment has advised its the smaller businesses that are the back bone of local communities!!
These traders are part of the fabric of West Ealing and they have served the shoppers of West Ealing for many years. I believe that if Ealing Council discard these traders then all would suffer. The flower stall is important as it adds Colour to our lives and I get flowers for myself and also to take up to the Crematorium gardens at times. My late girlfriend loved those stalls and the flower people were always helpful to her.
So, we don’t need a trusted butchers?, we don’t need a flower stool to celebrate almost every occasion!! But we need a bookies? I know many young people won’t come on here so state their opinion, but I know me (22) and many of my friends older and younger will agree with me when saying… Your destroying our community, destroying what we know and love and replacing it with the unnecessary. I don’t oppose of the idea of changing the face of west Ealing, but shutting down what has been a fundamental part of what brings people too West Ealing isn’t the way to go !!
I know this is more of a sentimental opinion as opposed to a business point of view, but surely putting another book makers in the heart of west Ealing would send the wrong message. More and more young people have become addicted to gambling… The place if full of bookies, pawn shops fast food places and pound shops … How many honest business are there? … The stools…That’s about it!
I favour the development of this site (currently its looks ok at street level but first floor area is more like a shanty town and the ugly parts have been screened off for many years).
Further more i suggest to ealing council to keep the existing traders in melbourne ave and to extend their operating permits before any hotel goes ahead.
Although no car parking is planned i can see that being ok as when it is built west ealing will be all residents parking but i can see problems when the hotel has coaches,buses,mini buses,taxis delivering/collecting hotel guests,have you seen the problem lidls delivery transport has already.
The A4020 ( uxbridge road,broadway etc) is an area well searched for development reasons,ealing could lose its local a&e hospital facility,police station and fire station as this is where the developers want to develop.
What next for the blockbusters site, a casino ? a nightclub ? a development of affordable housing ? a spearmint rhino type establishment.
There you go.
what a shame to loose the flower stall and butchers from west ealing i hope this doesnt happen we certainly dont need a hotel there west ealing has gone down hill of late and the place does need a revamp thats for sure but include our local businesses and not bring in any more coffee shops and pound shops we love the flower stall such a friendly guy and nothing is to much trouble just what we need to keep not forced out lets hope the hotel dont get the go ahead
I think we can honestly assume this is about Council B&B accommodation, not Crossrail, certainly not Community. To believe a hotel developer would CHOOSE to build on a site surrounded by loan shark shops, poundland, al-jazeera “shopping” mall, betting shops – oh & facilitating ANOTHER BETTING SHOP on the ground floor is corrupt & laughable. Clearly a Council deal. How classy. NOT. I constantly smile and “big up” West Ealing, my home, in the hope that at some point some really serious positive noises will create change, but the cynic in me says I am a fool after 20+yrs of waiting.
It would be too much of a great loss if the florist goes,the face of Ealing has changed so much but the basic needs of the community is always met with the stall and in such a friendly way.
‘Life and death’ literally in that he serves, births, marriages and deaths in the community..as well as dressing our homes in all seasons.
Please please consider our application to keep these precious places open.
Hanwell resident.