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Jacob’s Ladder to close Monday 9 May to Wednesday 11 May

Signs by Jacob’s Ladder (the ancient footbridge over the railway linking Green Man Lane Estate with Drayton Green) inform us all that the footbridge will close at 9:00am Monday 9 May and re-open at 5:00pm on Wednesday 11 May. The signs don’t tell us why.

It’s unlikely that the works to be undertaken will be the much needed rust proofing and painting of the bridge, as this would surely take more than two days.

Sadly the closure won’t be in order to install a new, improved lighting system on the bridge. Although this work was agreed with Network Rail in Summer 2010 Ealing Council has been unsuccessfully wrestling with bureaucrats and lawyers at Network Rail for eight months. However the Council has still not been able to obtain a licence from Network Rail to carry out the lighting works.

–Eric Leach

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West Ealing Arts Project ‘OPEN’ is well worth a look

Chris Gilson checks out the new arts centre on the Uxbridge Road.

Last week I popped into the new West Ealing Arts Centre, OPEN. From the outside, 113 Uxbridge Road is a relatively unassuming red brick office building, but inside it’s packed with workshop spaces, art installations and galleries, spaces for musical performances, and there are even plans for there to be a community cafe on the third floor soon. WEN have also installed a Book Swap in the first floor.

Here’s a taster of what’s on offer:

OPEN will be open from 10am-6pm from this Wednesday to Friday, and there are plans to be open Tuesday-Friday from the week after next.

Check out OPEN’S new website.

 

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Ealing short of police on royal wedding day?

Ealing will be sending 150 police officers up to town on Friday to help with the Royal Wedding. As a result local policing will tend to concentrate on emergencies and there will be little, if any, resource available for preventive patrolling. It is probable that burglars are aware of these pressures on the police.

The police have therefore asked that residents do everything they can to minimise burglary opportunities, especially while the street parties are in progress and doors and windows might be left open.

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Is the age of tall buildings for London at an end?

Chris Gilson reports on the potential slow-down of skyscraper growth in London, as a result of fiscal austerity.

One of West Ealing Neighbours’ major concerns in the last half decade is the potential growth of super-massive skyscrapers and commercial developments in the town’s center – all without increased provision for social services for new residents.   The recession has certainly slowed down a number of these developments, and now Bloomberg reports that for the capital in general:

London property developers are sacrificing height and glitz for better returns as the craze for building iconic skyscrapers comes to an end, said Ken Shuttleworth, the architect of the landmark Gherkin building….

While skyscrapers with nicknames such as the Shard, the Cheesegrater and the Walkie Talkie are joining the 40-story Gherkin as part of the British capital’s skyline, those buildings reflect past rather than present considerations. All of the office towers that are due to open in London by 2014 were conceived before the financial crisis and developers are increasingly adopting cheaper, less ambitious plans.

Does this mean that Ealing is now going against the grain by continuing to try and build large, tall, buildings (like the proposed 21 storey successor to Westel House) and developments?

Read the full article here.

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Yet Another New Hotel and New Residential Tower Block for Central Ealing: Property Developers Continue to Shape Central Ealing

Vice Chair of WEN Eric Leach looks at the approval of a new hotel and residential block in West Ealing by Ealing Council.

The Planning Application for a hotel, a private residential tower block (21 storeys) and a small bock for of 33 Affordable Rent housing units on the old TVU/Westel House site was approved by Ealing Council last night.

As use of this land in this way was neither prescribed by the UDP nor the LDF perhaps we can now conclude that Ealing Council has just thrown in the towel with planning policy and the way is now open for property developers to design the centre of Ealing.

We now have the prospect in the central Ealing area of 569 new hotel rooms (Bond Street, Travel Lodge, Premier Inn, Drayton Court and now Westel House) and 800 new private flats (Dickens Yard, Green Man and Westel House). Let’s hope that the incomers who will occupy these spaces don’t get ill or need a State Primary/Secondary education as they will struggle to find local services to meet their needs.

As some of you may know the Planning Application for a hotel, a private residential tower block (21 storeys) and a small bock for of 33 Affordable Rent housing units on the old TVU/Westel House site was approved by Ealing Council last night.

As use of this land in this way was neither prescribed by the UDP nor the LDF perhaps we can now conclude that Ealing Council has just thrown in the towel with planning policy and the way is now open for property developers to design the centre of Ealing.

We now have the prospect in the central Ealing area of 569 new hotel rooms (Bond Street, Travel Lodge, Premier Inn, Drayton Court and now Westel House) and 800 new private flats (Dickens Yard, Green Man and Westel House). Let’s hope that the incomers who will occupy these spaces don’t get ill or need a State Primary/Secondary education as they will struggle to find local services to meet their needs.

As some of you may know the Planning Application for a hotel, a private residential tower block (21 storeys) and a small bock for of 33 Affordable Rent housing units on the old TVU/Westel House site was approved by Ealing Council last night.

As use of this land in this way was neither prescribed by the UDP nor the LDF perhaps we can now conclude that Ealing Council has just thrown in the towel with planning policy and the way is now open for property developers to design the centre of Ealing.

We now have the prospect in the central Ealing area of 569 new hotel rooms (Bond Street, Travel Lodge, Premier Inn, Drayton Court and now Westel House) and 800 new private flats (Dickens Yard, Green Man and Westel House). Let’s hope that the incomers who will occupy these spaces don’t get ill or need a State Primary/Secondary education as they will struggle to find local services to meet their needs.

As some of you may know the Planning Application for a hotel, a private residential tower block (21 storeys) and a small bock for of 33 Affordable Rent housing units on the old TVU/Westel House site was approved by Ealing Council last night.

 

 

 

As use of this land in this way was neither prescribed by the UDP nor the LDF perhaps we can now conclude that Ealing Council has just thrown in the towel with planning policy and the way is now open for property developers to design the centre of Ealing.

 

 

 

We now have the prospect in the central Ealing area of 569 new hotel rooms (Bond Street, Travel Lodge, Premier Inn, Drayton Court and now Westel House) and 800 new private flats (Dickens Yard, Green Man and Westel House). Let’s hope that the incomers who will occupy these spaces don’t get ill or need a State Primary/Secondary education as they will struggle to find local services to meet their needs.

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West Ealing’s independent shops give hope for the future

Chair of WEN, David Highton has spotted an interesting blog on shopping in West Ealing.

A shopping blog by North East retail expert Graham Soult finds hope for West Ealing’s shopping centre in its food and independent traders.

He writes:

Even before the loss of Woolworths, West Ealing’s high street had seen significant change in recent decades, with the departure of Marks & Spencer in the late 1990s widely seen as an important loss. That site, next to the old Woolworths building, has subsequently been redeveloped and is now occupied by Wilkinson.

Nevertheless, it would be wrong to see West Ealing as a retail centre in terminal decline. It’s true that on my walk along Uxbridge Road and Broadway I noted a lot of vacant shops – including the ubiquitous closed-down Ethel Austin – and cheap-looking discount stores. However, there are plenty of bright spots.

Arguably, it’s West Ealing’s independent shops that give it the brightest hope for the future. Walking through, despite the visible problems, the area has a cosmopolitan and colourful feel, with ethnic food shops displaying their wares in the street. The West Ealing weekly farmers’ market in Leeland Road – which seemed to be well advertised when I visited – also adds to the area’s reputation as a mecca for foodies, and is apparently its trump card in attracting shoppers from other parts of London.

Continue reading “West Ealing’s independent shops give hope for the future”

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21 storey tower set to dominate West Ealing centre skyline

Vice Chair of WEN Eric Leach reports on a new development in West Ealing.

Just 12 months after National Government said ‘No’ to a 26 storey residential building overlooking Haven Green, plans have been submitted for a 21 storey residential building which will overlook Walpole Park.

The plan is to demolish the old Westel/TVU mini-Centre Point lookalike building on the corner of Craven Road and the Uxbridge Road on the eastern borders of West Ealing. In its place is planned to build three new buildings – a hotel, a flats for sale block and an Affordable Rents flat block.

Continue reading “21 storey tower set to dominate West Ealing centre skyline”

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WEN public meeting – What future for West Ealing? Monday 22nd November, Dean Hall, 7.30pm

It may sound dull but the Council’s current consultation over the Local Development Framework, which is the basis for planning the future of Ealing from 2011 to 2026, will affect all of us and have a profound impact on the future of West Ealing. For example, the plans show:

  • Shops and businesses along the Uxbridge Road corridor demolished to make way for some 1,245 new homes and 3,500 new residents
  • But the plans do not mention how the infrastructure will be put in place to cope with this increase in population:
  • No plans for new schools
  • No plans for new healthcare facilities
  • No alternative strategies to ‘densifying’ the housing along the Uxbridge Road corridor

Because we feel it is so important that as many residents as possible have the chance to hear about and comment upon  the Council’s plans for West Ealing from 2011-2026, we have organized a public meeting. The meeting will take place at 7:30pm on Monday 22nd November, 2010. It will be held at Dean Hall on Singapore Road.

At this meeting West Ealing Neighbours will provide an overview on how future plans for Ealing will directly affect West Ealing. Specific Council policies to be discussed include proposed developments in West Ealing centre including extensive building of blocks of flats, and 50 or more shop demolitions. The meeting will also discuss what is missing in the plans – including the lack of new educational and healthcare facilities to support the 3,500 new residents in the 1,245 new homes. Attendees will also be shown how to register their objections to the plans.

At this meeting West Ealing Neighbours will provide an overview on how future plans for Ealing will directly affect West Ealing. Specific Council policies to be discussed include proposed developments in West Ealing centre including extensive building of blocks of flats, and 50 or more shop demolitions. The meeting will also discuss what is missing in the plans – including the lack of new educational and healthcare facilities to support the 3,500 new residents in the 1,245 new homes. Attendees will also be shown how to register their objections to the plans.

Please come along and make your views on West Ealing’s future heard