DECEMBER NEWSLETTER 2016

West Ealing Christmas Fair Saturday 10^th December 12noon – 4pm

Come and join us for our Christmas Fair in Melbourne Avenue on Saturday 10^th December from 12noon to 4pm. One of last year’s highlights was the singing from some great local choirs and we’ve got them back again – watch the video of last year’s Fair here

There’s something for all the family with face-painting, Father Christmas, and a nativity play. And watch out for our Abundance stall selling, apple juice, elderflower cordial, fruit butters and chutneys all made from locally grown produce – ideal for that little extra Christmas treat.

The West Ealing Workspace Hub needs you!

We’ve brought you a number of updates about plans for a co-working hub in West Ealing.  Now called The Workspace Hub and based in St James House in St James Avenue, the project is gathering speed and they need your help to create the space that suits your business needs.

The architects Projects Office are designing the hub and will be leading a workshop on Wednesday 14^th December. They want your input into the manifesto which will be at the heart of the hub’s development.

• What is important to you?
• What does your business need?
• What skills can you share or would you like to gain?

Join the workshop to get your ideas at the heart of West Ealing’s dynamic new workspace. After the workshop they will be holding a drop in session throughout the afternoon so drop in to explore the space and talk to the designers.

Register for the workshop for free .The workshop is 1-2pm plus a drop-in session from 2-5pm both on Wednesday 14^th December at St James House, 105-113 Broadway, Ealing W13

If you can’t make it on the 14^th you can keep up to date with the hub’s progress through their website where you can subscribe to their mailing list.

Have your say on new plans to tackle anti-social behaviour in West Ealing

Ealing Council wants to hear your views on its plan to create a West Ealing ‘protected zone’ (Public Space Protection Order- PSPO) as one of its steps to tackle anti-social behaviour associated with street drinking and drug use in West Ealing and Hanwell.  We’ve written about these problems a lot over the past few years and this could be a good step in the right direction. There’s a more detailed story about this on the ealingnewsextra website and the actual consultation page of the Council’s website is here. 

There are obviously arguments about whether this will simply move the problem elsewhere but on the whole this could be a really useful step in tackling the problems we are all too familiar with in West Ealing. So WEN encourages as many people as possible to respond to this consultation. The deadline for comments is 5pm 23^rd December.

Dean Gardens Update

This is related to the above story in that Dean Gardens is a well-known hot spot for anti-social behaviour. Over the past year WEN and a wide range of other local stakeholders and organisations, including faith groups, Ealing Council, local housing associations and residents’ groups, .have been meeting to look at ways to improve Dean Gardens.

Earlier this year we managed to raise enough money to commission experienced landscape designers BDP to help us with ideas on how to take this project forward. They have completed their study and have presented some exciting ideas to the group.

The next step, which we have just begun, is to talk to possible funders about these ideas to see if we can put together a consortium of funders to turn these ideas in to a reality. This may take some time but we think it can be achieved. You’ve only got to look at all the development happening in West Ealing to realise that it will be important to the developers that Dean Gardens is an attractive and vibrant public space. So, with the Council’s support and support from the developers we might just make it happen.

We’ll be posting highlights from the BDP study and further updates soon on our Dean Gardens website so take a look there in another week or so for the latest news on progress.

Pathways’ plans to build on Northfields allotments

We had a great response to our recent vote about Pathways’ plans to build on part of the Northfields allotments, so our thanks to everyone who took the time to participate. As well as the actual votes we also had a lot of comments. This will all be a great help to the committee when it meets to make a decision on whether or not to support Pathways’ plans. We’ll let you know the outcome as soon as we can.

In the meantime, if you missed the exhibition of Pathways’ latest plans you can find them on their website.

Save Ealing’s Centre seeks donations to fight development plans

West Ealing Neighbours is a member of Save Ealing’s Centre (SEC) and SEC has put out a call for funds to pay a barrister to help it fight what it believes are inappropriate plans to redevelop this site right in the heart of Ealing Broadway. These plans have been called in by the Secretary of State for the Dept of Communities and Local Government.

Many of you will remember the previous battle over Glenkerrin’s plans for the same site. These plans were also called in and the Council’s decision to approve was overturned by the Secretary of State and some time later Glenkerrin went bust.

SEC is not against developing this site but wants it done in keeping with the character of the area. The Council is paying a QC to argue its case and SEC needs to raise £25,000  to pay a barrister to put its case.

You can find out all the details on SEC’s website.

Celebrating Ealing’s cultural heritage 8-12^th February 2017

Now in its fifth year the Festival has a full programme of live music including The Blues Band’s Paul Jones and Dave Kelly singing at the Red Room, the birthplace of British rhythm and blues. The world’s most recorded chamber orchestra, the Ealing-based English Chamber Orchestra make a welcome return and feature in an impressive line-up of classical music across the Festival.

The film programme includes a screening of David Cronenberg’s Spider along with a guided location walk and film screening of historical comedy

drama Pride (2014), written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus, at the ‘Island Triangle’,North Acton – the UK’s most filmed location.

 

Full details are on their website.

My West Ealing website coming soon

It’s been a while in the making but the www.mywestealing.com website is coming soon. My West Ealing is a new community resource and online space to connect with what’s happening in West Ealing. You’ll be able to connect with local people and businesses, and have your say about you’d like to see, do or change about West Ealing.

My West Ealing is the final project to come out of the ‘riot recovery’ fund set up after the 2011 riots. The aim of this new website is to become a one-stop shop for anything about West Ealing from events and advice services to local businesses, Council services and much, much more.

WEN’s website, blog and Facebook pages will keep going and will be just some of the many sites linked to by My West Ealing.

What, where and WEN

WEN is a group of some 400 strong made up of  West Ealing residents, workers and visitors who want their town to be better for everyone.

Membership is free and available to anyone in the West Ealing community, irrespective of background, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, political orientation, faith/non-faith, or gender.

WEN was formed in November 2005. The group is run by volunteer locals, elected annually by WEN members. The group’s committee is made up of

Chair: David Highton

Treasurer: Andrew Cazalet

Vice-Chair: Eric Leach

Iyke Anthony

Diane Gill

Chris Gilson

Nick Greenhalgh

Jane Humphreys

 

Email: westealingneighbours@gmail.com

Web Site: www.westealingneighbours.org.uk

WEN blog: www.westealingneighbours.org.uk/WEN-blog

Come and join us for our Christmas Fair in Melbourne Avenue on Saturday 10^th December from 12noon to 4pm. One of last year’s highlights was the singing from some great local choirs and we’ve got them back again – watch the video of last year’s Fair here

There’s something for all the family with face-painting, Father Christmas, and a nativity play. And watch out for our Abundance stall selling, apple juice, elderflower cordial, fruit butters and chutneys all made from locally grown produce – ideal for that little extra Christmas treat.

Full details of the event here.

Pathways is holding a public exhibition of their plans in the Vine Room, The Crypt at St John’s Church on Saturday 12th November from 2-6pm.

This is an opportunity to see the most recent plan and give your feedback. The plan is to develop up to 140 new homes on the existing Dean Court site and on some land at the north end of the Northfield Allotments.

 

Northfield Allotments, in Northfield Avenue Ealing, is opening its gates for its first Autumn Open Day on Saturday 29th October from 3.30 to 7.30. We’ll be celebrating Halloween with a pumpkin trail around the allotments.

There will be our usual delicious home made cakes, but, to warm you up, there will also be a BBQ, hot soup and mulled wine. We’ll be running a raffle and tombola – with apple bobbing and toffee apples for the sweet toothed.

We would love it if you come dressed for halloween to help us make the allotments at twilight look spooky. Bring a torch – because you never know what might be lurking in the dark. Entrance is free and come to the main gate half way down Northfield Ave.

Clamping down on street crime

The Walpole and Elthorne Ward police teams have jointly launched a new coordinated operation with the support of additional specialist officers drawn from across the Borough.  The aim is to tackle prolific crimes including street drinking, drug dealing and general Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB).  We will be targeting hotspot areas such as Dean Gardens and West Ealing Broadway.  There will be a specific emphasis on tackling street drinkers in public areas, as local residents have identified this type of ASB as being their major concern because it has a detrimental impact on the whole local community.  Officers will particularly enforce the Controlled Drinking Zone dispersal powers.

Already, the first two days have been very active with Operation Sparta, our visible policing support team, conducting 20 stops on our most prolific street drinkers and dispersing them from the area.  The uniformed team are supported by a specialist plain clothes team and together they have arrested a man in Dean Gardens for being drunk and disorderly and failing to comply with a dispersal order, and two people for possession with intent to supply class A drugs on Leeland Terrace.

This operation runs in conjunction with Operation Freyja on Elthorne which has been targeting active drug dealing in Chignell Place.  Operation Freyja has been active for the last five months and produced some good results including a multi-agency raid with the Council and ongoing plain clothes proactive work leading to 36 arrests and the closure of a ‘drug factory’.

Officers can be contacted on a dedicated mobile phone (07824 529679) or via our office number 020 8721 2949 which gives you a direct link to Police Officers to contact them and report any street drinkers congregating or causing any Anti-Social Behaviour.  There is also an answerphone facility if officers are busy dealing with incidents or the 101 number; alternatively we can be contacted by our email at walpole.snt@met.police.uk.

The neighbourhood teams will not only be taking a firm line against ASB, they will also be gathering evidence to support a ‘Public Spaces Protection Order’ (PSPO) in West Ealing which when granted will provide Police Officers a number of powers to deal more robustly with street drinkers.  Powers include confiscation of alcohol, dispersal of groups and banning ‘legal highs’ as well as restrictions on the use of playground equipment in Dean Gardens by adults.

Other successful multi-agency initiatives

The Police and Ealing Council’s Safer Communities Team have been working together to tackle anti-social outdoor drinking across the Borough and to identify and tackle problem areas, individuals and premises.  Police Officers have been joined by outreach workers from RISE, Ealing Council’s commissioned drug and alcohol intervention service.  Recently Walpole SNT in partnership with the Council have been successful in obtaining a premises closure order on Kirkfield Close as a result of resident reports of active drug dealing.  Similarly, as a result of building and providing evidence against the Broadway International shop, we have achieved the revocation of their 24 hour off-licence.  This should make a significant difference to the occurrence of ASB in the Walpole and Elthorne areas.

 

 

Please remember:  you can always contact the Police on 101 for Non-Emergency calls.  In an Emergency always dial 999.

A New Plan for Ealing Broadway

Both West Ealing and Ealing Broadway have neighbourhood forum plans nearing completion. These plans, if accepted by the Council, residents and businesses, will influence the development of these two town centres for 10 and more years to come. So they matter. The closing date for comments on the West Ealing plan  is 5th October. Information about the Ealing Broadway plan is below:

A ground breaking new plan for Ealing Broadway has been sent to the Council by the Central Ealing Neighbourhood Forum.

The plan will influence development in the centre over the next ten years. It shows how Central Ealing can respond to the opportunities and threats of Crossrail.

CENF is the first business neighbourhood in London to submit a Plan under the Localism Act. It has been created by a partnership of local residents, businesses and community organisations.

It believes Ealing should be a distinctive and welcoming place for people to shop, work, study or just visit. It should be the natural focus for the wider area, based on the special character of its buildings and green spaces, and be a regional centre of excellence for culture and education.

The Forum wants everyone to get engaged . The plan details can also be seen here.

Ealing Council now has to arrange for a formal consultation on the Plan and for an independent Examiner to assess it. It will then be put to separate referendums of local residents and businesses, and if both groups vote in favour it will become part of Ealing’s official local plan.

The first Ealing Art Trail is running this coming weekend. There are over 130 artists in their own houses, studios and workshops to see. Full details of all the venues are on the BEAT website