After weeks of inactivity the new scaffolders are on site this morning. The site has had a stop-start history and let’s hope this time the work continues. Work stopped a few weeks ago when the scaffolding had to be taken down as , presumably, it was not put up properly. Let’s hope this time work on the new hotel on the corner of Melbourne Ave and the Uxbridge Road cracks on and we actually see signs of a building going up.
Heathrow expansion is on the cards again
Heathrow expansion
As you have probably heard on the news, Heathrow expansion is on the cards again. The Airports Commission (also known as the Davies Commission) was tasked with exploring whether and where airport capacity in South East England should be expanded. Its interim report published in December concluded that an extra runway was required (a conclusion disputed by environmental groups) and shortlisted 3 options:
· building a new runway on the north western edge of the Heathrow site
· extending the existing northern runway at Heathrow
· building a new runway at Gatwick
HACAN (Heathrow Assoc for the Control of Aircraft Noise) have published an outline of the Commission’s interim findings: http://www.hacan.org.uk/resources/briefings/davies.interim.report.press.release.pdf
There has been intense speculation that, despite being labelled independent, Ministers have held sway in determining the Commision’s interim findings. Zac Goldsmith gave several interviews along these lines. http://www.zacgoldsmith.com/heathrow_expansion.asp The Aviation Environment Federation also gives a critical insight into the genesis of the report and rejects the assumption that a new runway is needed: http://www.aef.org.uk/?p=1674
You can sign the online petition against Heathrow expansion here http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/no-third-runway
You can support HACAN in the campaign against further expansion at www.hacan.org.uk
Night flights consultation
The rules governing flights at night for Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted are up for review.
For Heathrow, community and environmental groups have been pushing for a ban on night flights between 11pm – 7am. However, the government is recommending that there should be no change to the current rules until 2017 when the final recommendations of the Airport Commission are known. Keeping the current rules would mean that West Ealing will continue to be overflown until 11.30pm and beyond.
The government does not want improvements to the night flights regime despite there being an increasing body of evidence pointing to the ill effects of aircraft noise on health. Indeed, the government is also requesting views on increasing night flights if planes become quieter.
For more detail on the consultation and the concerns of overflown communities see HACAN’s briefing:
http://www.hacan.org.uk/resources/briefings/night.flights.consultation.briefing.nov2013.pdf
The consultation document is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/night-flights. You can respond online at this address or by:
· emailing: night.noise@dft.gsi.gov.uk
· writing to: Department for Transport, Great Minster House (1/26), 33 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 4DR
The deadline for responses is 31 January 2014.
The Grosvenor to become a gastro pub
I’m reliably informed that the recently closed Grosvenor pub will re-open as a gastro pub. If true, and I hope it is, this will be one heck of a transformation. I thought it would end up as housing but this sounds a very bold move on behalf of the new owners. The Grosvenor is some way off the high street in a residential area and has a lot of potential customers within a short walking distance – including me. I wish the new owners well and really hope they will succeed and transform what had become a run-down pub in to a thriving business that becomes a cherished part of our local community.
Drug and Alcohol Recovery Centre to move to new building in West Ealing
Updated Friday 20th December
The two-storey art deco style building above Morrisons on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and St James Ave looks likely to become an integrated drug and alcohol recovery centre if planning permission goes through. A while back when I was with OPEN Ealing we negotiated a deal to take the lease on this property to make it OPEN’s permanent home. It’s a bit of a long story but the money never came through to complete the deal and this building has remained empty for a couple of years.
The service is currently sited in Leeland Road in West Ealing and the charity CRI has put in a change of use planning application to take on the 8,500 sq ft St James Annex . Their website describes CRI as follows:
‘CRI is a social care and health charity working with individuals, families and communities across England and Wales that are affected by drugs, alcohol, crime, homelessness, domestic abuse and antisocial behaviour.
Our projects, delivered in communities and prisons, encourage and empower people to regain control of their lives and motivate them to tackle their problems.’
The centre is planned to be open from 8am – 8pm weekdays and 10am – 6pm on Saturdays.
The application can be found here by typing PP/2013/4403 in to the reference number box at the top of the form. The closing date for comments is 3rd January. It’s a little odd that the list of consultees does not include anyone living in St James Avenue which is barely 50 metres away.
Another new shop to open in West Ealing
Last week it was Papa John’s and this week it’s Peri Peri Original that’s soon to open in West Ealing. I think that also makes the third such Peri Peri chicken shop on the high street. I own up to not tried this style of cooking so I had to look up what Peri Peri (or Piri Piri) chicken is all about. If I’ve got it right it’s a Portuguese style dish from Africa with a hot chilli sauce made from the peri peri chilli.
I’ve read that the high street average for vacant shops is around 14%. I’m going to have to count how many empty shops we have in West Ealing as I don’t think we have that many. I have written many times about the future of our high street and how I think it is unbalanced by being dominated by budget shopping. However, if my guess is right then we have fewer empty shops than the average and that’s good going in these times.
What would attract you to West Ealing at night?
I’ve heard it said that West Ealing lacks a ‘night-time economy’. In other words, there’s nothing going on in the evenings to make you want to come out to West Ealing after dark. Is that fair and what would attract you to come to West Ealing at night?
In terms of entertainment, our cinema days have long gone (not just in West Ealing but also in Ealing Broadway). The Drayton Court puts on some excellent comedy and magic shows. OPEN Ealing has some sporadic events such as plays and exhibitions but these are one-off events. This may change if they can secure funding for their ambition to take on the cafe on the new Green Man Estate and turn this in to a cafe-cum-performance/exhibition space. We should know quite soon if this ambition can be realised. A number of our pubs have some excellent live music – The Grosvenor, The Plough and so on.
If it’s food you’re looking for then West Ealing has an ever-increasing number of fast food/take-away restaurants. Papa John’s pizza will soon open and Peri Peri Original chicken restaurant is about to open next to the Best Western Maitrise Hotel. We have very few ‘sit-down’ restaurants in West Ealing except in the strip running from the Lido Junction to Culmington Road. These seem to be very popular, especially the Persian ones, and they probably benefit the nearby pubs and bars such as The Castlebar and Star and Anchor.
What we seem to lack is a strong ‘destination’ venue. Whether it be an entertainment venue with something on every night or a restaurant whose reputation attracts people from miles around.
This is just my personal view. What would make you want to come to West Ealing at night?
Something different as the Ealing Pop Up Shop comes to West Ealing
I seem to be taking photos of a lot of shop fronts recently. Here’s another one. This time it’s the shop next to the new Morrisons, near the corner with St James Ave, which will be a pop up shop for the next few months. The plan is to offer the shop at low cost to a range of people or groups to sell their products for a trial period. A competition has been run and decisions will be made next week. I believe the first group to take it on will be the winners of a Dragon’s Den type event at the nearby Westside Youth Centre. They will be selling urban clothes. Watch this blog for more news on this shop as we get it.
I think it’s a great idea to give local people and businesses a chance to try out their ideas at a low risk and bring something new and different to our high street.
Papa John’s take-away pizza to open in West Ealing
Papa John’s is soon to open where Fu On used to be up near the juncton with Eccleston Road. Papa John’s looks to be an expanding chain acros the UK. It will be at least the third take-away pizza place in West Ealing, so competition is getting tough. if you try it please come back and tell us what you think.
West Ealing Christmas Festival in Dean Gardens Thurs 12th Dec 4-8pm
All very quiet as new hotel submits plans to increase it to 5 storeys
It’s been a little hard to keep track of the hotel plans but a new planning application has been submitted to increase it from 3 to 5 storeys and to 75 bedrooms. The hotel is planned to be a Holiday Inn Express. Local butcher Tony Luckhurst is still due to return to a groundfloor shop on his old site in Melbourne Avenue and the Betfred betting shop will still be on the ground floor at the front of the building.When Tony will be able to return looks to be an open question. What puzzles me is the stop/start nature of the building works. I would have thought they would be cracking on with the work as quickly as possible but every now and then the site goes quiet and there’s no one to be seen. Maybe having to go back for permission to increase the size of the hotel is the reason for the delay but it would be good to see the work progressing on this important site.