Working together to make West Ealing a better place for residents, businesses and visitors.
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.
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.
With the strap line ‘every penny counts’ the 97p shop is now open. What do you make of it? Do come back and let us know.
Update Monday 2nd December
Went in today and there’s some fresh pastries and bread plus some other food, DIY items along with quite a lot of household goods. It was pretty busy when I went in around lunchtime. Could be people having a look like me to see what’s on the shelves.
If you were stuck in traffic in West Ealing today around 3pm – here’s why:
This long truck got stuck turning left in to the Uxbridge Road out of Drayton Green Road at the Lido Junction. I couldn’t quite see why it got stuck but the police had to come and sort it out as the traffic was backing up in all directions.
There’s been an increase in bicycle thefts over the last few months and I had my bike stolen from our side alley a while back. I’d probably still have it if I had followed these simple steps from the Metropolitan Police and bought a D-lock and locked it to something secure. Here’s their advice:
Come and hear how a coworking hub helped a business which began life in an Ealing bedroom grow into a social enterprise working nationwide and employing five members of staff.
Stickyboard was started by two local brothers with a passion for bringing their community together. By developing an online community noticeboard they were able to connect the people in their local area, empowering them to work together for social good. As their business outgrew the bedroom it was started in they looked for a place to work in Ealing. Finding nothing suitable they looked further afield and discovered the HUB Kings Cross, where they are now one of the main tenants.
Come along to hear Thomas Sweetman, one of Stickyboard’s founders, explain how they found a hub the ideal place in which to grow and develop their business, and why they are so passionate about helping to establish a hub in West Ealing in which others can benefit from the advantages of coworking. The short talk will be followed by a Q&A session and the opportunity to network with other attendees. Please note that whilst refreshments won’t be provided, you are welcome to purchase drinks from the bar.
You can find out more about coworking and plans for a West Ealing hub at www.westealinghub.com.
The new Willam Hill betting shop due to open soon
It’s rarely that a sense of despair takes over but that’s my feeling when I read this week that in a letter passed to the Guardian, ‘Ministers have privately assured Britain’s biggest bookmaker that attempts by councils to block the spread of betting shops would be frustrated by the coalition’s controversial planning changes, despite claiming in public that the measures were intended to revitalise high streets.’ The letter was written by planning minister Nick Boles to the betting chain Ladbrokes which had said that “some councils are now placing whatever obstacles they can in the way of our ability to obtain planning permission” for betting shops and attacked “alarming actions by unelected officials”.
In response, the Nick Boles wrote back to Ladbrokes saying: “I do recognise that this can be a significant problem and we are taking action to tackle it.” The letter cites new powers contained in a controversial “pro-growth” bill, which became law in summer.
Putting aside the very serious questions about the addictive nature of the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which are now in nearly all betting shops, this approach to planning by government is surely wholly at odds with their localism agenda. How can this government’s support of localism, witnessed here in the West Ealing Centre Neighbourhood Forum, sit alongside a central government which overrules any say locals might want in how their high streets develop and, in particular, whether or not we as residents want yet more betting shops in our high streets? The two are wholly incompatible.
Thanks to Eric Leach for his research in to the Council’s plans for school places in the borough. The Council’s schools planning document is out for consultation as part of its Local Plan. The Local Plan is the Council’s blueprint for how an area will develop over the next 15 years. The schools document talks of birth rates rising by an average of 20% across Ealing between 2003 and 2012. It projects a shortfall of 435 primary school pupil places and 630 secondary school pupil places by September 2015.
As has been well publicised, the Council has plans to expand nearly all local primary schools. In addition to expanding existing primary schools, the Council stated at a recent consultation for St John’s Primary School that a new primary school will be needed in West Ealing come 2017/8. The document lists two possible sites for new primary schools – the BT telephone exchange in Gordon Road and Orion Park,Northfield Avenue.
This and other Local Plan documents can be viewed at main libraries including West Ealing Library.
Email- 135christmasfair@gmail.com
Email- YUMW13@gmail.com
St Stephen’s Road, West Ealing W13 8HB
Entry free and in aid of the Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter project
Bric-a-brac, books, toys. Raffle, tombola and lots more for all the family.
The Church’s website is http://www.
Large marquee in Dean Gardens with:
Why not start your Christmas shopping a little early this year and come along to the craft market in St James Avenue. There will be a wide selection of goods and gifts on sale, including some from our Abundance project. You can get in early for our new season jams, chutneys and jellies as well as local apple juice.
Saturday 2nd November in St James Avenue from 10am – 3pm