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What Does Ealing Council Have Against Felix Road Residents?

Felix Road runs east /west to the immediate north of Green Man Lane Estate (GMLE) and with the Paddington to Bristol railway line to the north. For years and years traffic congestion, rat running, residents’ parking problems and road rage have all been common along the road.

Famously in 2009 Ealing Council built two new portacabin classrooms stacked on top of each other overlooking houses and flats at the road’s eastern end without going through any public consultation. Now, again without any consultation or notice a huge amount of the road has been yellow lined, making residents’ parking impossible.

Four Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) Public Consultations have been held in the area in recent years. The latest one, completed months ago, voted 61% in favour of a CPZ. However no timescale for implementation has been given to residents.

Finally Ealing Council granted planning permission in 2010 for the 700+ new homes development of GMLE along with increased access to Felix Road. Over the next eight years another 1,200 GMLE residents will attract even more traffic along Felix Road.

Just why isit that Ealing Council consistently wants to pour grief down on Felix Road residents?

 

Eric Leach

 

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Fancy volunteering for some apple and pear picking?

WEN Abundance are coming into our exceptionaly busy phase with apples and pears coming out of our ears ready to be picked. If you are free, particularily during the daytime this week or next I would love to hear from you.

Most of our picking takes place in private gardens, we have equipment for you to use and will offer safety guidelines too.

We use the fruit in a variety of different ways from juicing through to making our own jams and chutneys. Any money we make from the sale of the produce is ploughed back into the project to help us buy equipment.

So if you want to help us reduce waste please offer up some of your spare time.

Contact me on here, or by email to wenabundance@gmail.com

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Street drinkers in West Ealing move to Green Man Passage

Well it looks like the Police have been successful in moving the drinkers out of Dean Gardens; instead they seem to have taken up residence in Green Man Passage.  For those of you not familiar with this cut through, it is accessed via Alexandra Road by Waitrose and takes you in-between the Cancer Research shop and Seba Electronics in West Ealing Broadway.

There are two Happy Child Nurseries based there which makes the experience even more unsatisfatory for those of us that drop of and pick up our children. I often walk in to the entrance of the Nursery passing groups of drinkers sat on the wall by the entrance.  Rubbish is often strewn along the route and in a small passage near the baby Nursery.

At our recent public meeting Paul Dunn talked about potential solutions to this growing problem – including gating and locking this area at night.  This can only be a good idea, but still doesn’t tackle what goes on here during the day, pretty much everyday.

Yesterday at the Alexandra Road entrance I witnessed addtional activity that I won’t go into to detail on here, but leads me to think that it’s not only drinking that is the issue.

If anyone has any ideas on what can be done, I would love to hear them.

Diane Gill

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Property Developers are Ecstatic about New Planning Proposals. I Wonder Why?

Along with the draft Localism Bill, the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) promises to simplify planning law and empower residents to have more say in how land is used in their own neighbourhoods. All very laudable intentions. However all of this draft legislation is based upon and biased towards economic growth. In the NPPF there is a presumption in favour of development. Development in Ealing, as we all know, means demolition and new build (mostly of private sale flats)

Growth is stalled in the UK and none of us really believe experts who tell us that economic growth is just around the corner. So do the plans facilitate us all making the best use of what we’ve got? Oh no. With 1.8 million people on Council Housing lists throughout the country one might expect that the new draft plan to directly address this social housing shortfall – but a sadly it doesn’t.

You can make your own mind up about these new national plans and submit your feedback at:

www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuildings/draftframework

Also Eric Leach has his own colourful slant on the proposals which you can view here.

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Supt Andy Rowell breaks down over Ealing Riots

At tonight’s special Council meeting myself, Gill and Allison witnessed Superintendent Andy Rowell, Borough Commander tell his side of the story…

Many questions have been asked about Police presence on the night of the riots and there have been criticisms too. What many people wouldn’t have even contemplated is that there were only 35 officers in Ealing Broadway on the night of the riots. Pleas for more assistance via the Resourcing Centre were met with ‘no resources are available’. Having already sent 37 of his specially trained officers to alternative London locations Supt Andy Rowell was unable to retrieve them to handle the ensuing riots on his own patch.

Supt Andy Rowell broke down when he re-told how the events of the night played out and how his officers were severely outnumbered attempting to deal with around 200 rioters in Bond Street alone.  No riot shields, no helmets, no special uniform – nothing.

After listening to this compelling account of the Ealing riots spontaneous applause broke out amongst the chamber and for those of us sitting watching the live video link.

 

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All quiet on the West Ealing front

After the prayer meeting on Ealing Green we had an early dinner in Carluccio’s.  I booked a table knowing my son would be most upset if it was too busy.  For the first time in the 7 years I have lived in Ealing the place was practically empty. And remained so until we left around 8.30pm.  Walking back to West Ealing along Mattock Lane we stopped off to look at the preparations for the   Shri Kanagathurkkai Amman Temple chariot festival tomorrow.  We then carried on along the Uxbridge Road home – West Ealing was like a ghost town, incredibly depressing to see.

Let’s please support Ealing and the local traders however we can, they need us more than ever.

 

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Ways to respond to riots in Ealing and West Ealing

1. There’s a vigil tonight at 6pm on Ealing Green organised by Ealing Churches

2. Healing service at St James’s (back of Sainsbury’s) West Ealing Sunday (Aug 14, tomorrow) at 10.30. Come whatever your beliefs or religion to show solidarity with West Ealing community.

3. Special meeting at Council (Ealing Town Hall) to discuss riots plus minute’s silence for Richard Mannington Bowes.

Note, also this page on council website about how people can access support post-riots (well done, Ealing Council).

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After the riots – What future for West Ealing Traders?

Walking along West Ealing Broadway this afternoon at the closed, boarded up shops I wonder if they will ever re-open?

Seba Electronics is a small family run business trading in the area for some 40 years; all their stock stolen in one night.  Goldmine is the same. And whilst Blockbuster is no small independent it has a role to play on the corner of St James Avenue, an area well known to the Police for drug dealing. With Blockbuster on one corner and Farah now on the other this area was looking partially revitalised. There are also plans in place for a monthly craft market here starting in the Autumn, specifically placed in St James to help with this problem.

On a brighter note I went into Luckhurts and bought some fine quality meat at great prices – support your local traders in these difficult times.

Seba Electronics - the morning after the riots
Blockbuster West Ealing - The morning after the riots