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Update on policing in West Ealing

Dean Gardens– Action Group update

We reported, in September, on the first Joint Action Group meeting held to coordinate the response of the Police, Council and other local agencies to the incidents involving the young night-time group that is new to this area. Now, a third but totally unconnected incident has occurred in the small hours of the morning on Wednesday 19th October.  As the second, follow-up, JAG meeting was already scheduled for today, this latest incident was included on the agenda. This note summarises the overall situation and the main outcomes of the meeting for the local community.

Fundamentally, West Ealing is part of a residential area, not a centre for ‘gang behaviour’ or any other illegal activity.  Already, during the daytime the park is busy with families, many enjoying the children’s facilities.  The situation at night is also improving, particularly at weekends.

The increased police resources on the ground have already had a positive effect.  Their numbers will be even higher this weekend with the aim of further increasing visible law enforcement.  Nothing is being left to chance and residents will be very pleased to hear that the police are, and will be, taking a very firm stance.  The work of the plain clothes and SNT officers gathering intelligence is continuing in parallel to this.  The latest incident is being investigated by a special dedicated police unit.

As planned, the Council, Fire Brigade and Police have started their coordinated review of commercial premises in the area to ensure that licensing, planning and food health and safety legislation is being strictly enforced.  Local Shisha and Khat café outlets are a particular focus, and already we are delighted that operators are cooperating by signing a Responsible Retailer Agreement.  This is a key first step in the drive to minimise any local ‘under the counter’ sales. Again, in parallel, local outreach organisations such as St Mungo’s and Ealing
Council Adult and Children’s Services are also involved to help cushion any impact on the genuinely homeless and disadvantaged.

In summary – progress has already been achieved.  The recent incident is unconnected with the past pattern and is being investigated very thoroughly.  We can all continue to help.  If you are aware of any anti-social behaviour or drug related incident, you can report it by ringing 101 (this number is for all calls to the police other than emergencies – for which please ring 999).  101 will get you through to the Metropolitan Police who will pass the details to a duty officer in Ealing for collation by our intelligence team.

If you have any additional queries, you can contact our local Walpole Police SNT on 020 8721 2949

Thank you.

Patrick Chapman, Walpole SNT Focus Panel
Chair

21st October 2011

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Yesterday’s fire in West Ealing

View from Chapel Rd looking north at 7pm

Apologies for not having the time to put up a post yesterday. The fire was in a top floor flat in one of the houses in Chapel Road – just off the Uxbridge Road east of the Lido Junction and not very far from St John’s Church. When I passed by at about 5.30pm I asked the police about it and  they did not know if anyone was killed or injured during the blaze. The area was chock full of fire engines and other emergency vehicles still busy putting out the fire and quite a few roads were still cordoned off and buses parked along the Uxbridge Road.

I don’t know exactly when it started but I was at OPEN Ealing just down the road and we first smelt smoke mid-afternoon, went up to the 4th floor and could see smoke pouring from the fire. As OPEN is opposite the fire station we certainly heard the fire engines heading off!

The last serious fire I can remember in central West Ealing was sometime in the early 1980s (?) when a small factory caught fire off Grosvenor Road – at least I think that’s where it was.

 

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Residents up in arms about new 24-hour gym in West Ealing

The Daniels Family persuaded Ealing Council in 2003 to allow them to knock down their 100 year old department store on the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing and build a new one on the same site. Oh, and they were allowed to build 137 new flats on top of it. The flats got built in 2007 but Daniels declined to occupy the store space, as did everyone else for over four years. The space was boarded up until a few weeks ago. 

A gym is planning to open in the space in November 2011. On the face of it, it seemed better have some use of the space than to have the space unused. However we’ve just discovered that Ealing Council is to allow the gym to be open for 24 hours every day. Also the owners of the gym expect 6,000 gym members (paying £15 per month), and 600 of them using the gym after 10:00pm. However there are no plans to employ any gym staff after 8:00pm every evening. 

Clearly some of these gym users will drive to the area. But where would they park? There are CPZs to the immediate north and south and a very small nearby Council car park in Arden Road. 

Apart from the flat dwellers above the gym and five day time opening shops across the road no-one locally was consulted about the 24 hour opening of the gym. Local residents are livid about this. Not only have they had to put up with riots, looting, shootings, stabbings, violence, urinatings, late night noisy drunken revellers – now they have to put up with the comings and goings of 100s of gym attendees all through the night. 

A campaigning group objecting to the plans and the lack of consultation has been set up by local residents. Contact them at www.ResidentsUnite.co.uk

 Eric Leach

14 September 2011

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Anti-riot cup cakes, pizza and a mural – OPEN Ealing helps restore a little community spirit

OPEN Ealing’s Jack Jones and friends spent part of Saturday painting a mural on the shutters boarding up the boarded up baby e shop on Ealing Green

baby e mural painted by Jack Jones of OPEN Ealing

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‘ Yesterday we took to the streets to help reconstruct our community that has been rocked by this weeks events. I turned up at Baby e with a bag full of paints and we all set to work.

We were later unexpectedly joined by “bake for a better britain” who had made some amazing anti riot cup cakes and they did a great job of providing a happy atmosphere and conversation to the public while we busied ourselves with pots of paint and composition tweaking.

The pizza place next door even came out with pizza for everyone, which was equally amazing as the cup cakes. We had set up paper for the public to draw on, and who left many encouraging messages of support. thank you to everyone who came out yesterday to support us. For the first time in a while, I’ve been proud to say I am from Ealing.

You can read the full story and see the photos taken during the day at http://openealing.com/wordpress/

 

David Highton

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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
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Let us know what’s on your mind with our new forum and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Email and RSS

Our revamped blog is growing in popularity by leaps and bounds, and there’s lots of ways you can follow what’s going on in West Ealing, and let us know what you think about your local community.

We’ve recently created a new online discussion forum to talk about everything in West Ealing. We want to hear from you about what’s on your mind, from restaurant reviews to local planning. Have a look at what’s being said already, and start a topic of your own: http://www.westealingneighbours.org.uk/WEN-blog/wen-forum/

Continue reading “Let us know what’s on your mind with our new forum and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Email and RSS”

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Well attended WEN meeting last night on tackling drug dealing

Just a brief report back on last night’s meeting for the moment. We had about 30+ residents come along and we heard from the police and Council’s Community Safety team.

Some useful ideas came up about the importance of high-visibility policing, the need to document local hot spots for various anti-social behaviour (such as the bus stop by Dean Gardens on Friday nights and weekends) and an offer by the Community Safety team to walk round some of these problem spots with local residents so they get a good feel for why people feel able to deal drugs etc in certain places.

As ever, the question is will any of this happen?  WEN wants to keep a close eye on this so we plan to include a progress report on these ideas and initiatives at our next public meeting in the autumn.

We’ll publish fuller notes of this meeting soon.

David Highton

 

 

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Next up – Blackberry Picking

West Ealing Pickers – you know who you are! (And, if you aren’t in the know, would you like to know more? See below). Blackberries are next on the picking calendar – could be as early as mid-July (but we’re checking out the picking fields shortly).

To stay in touch, there are many ways:

Come to the Star and Anchor, Uxbridge Rd on Weds eve for social eve.

The West Ealing Abundance Blog: http://westealingabundancew13.wordpress.com/

Email: wenabundance@gmail.com

Twitter: @WENeighbours

Facebook: West Ealing Neighbours

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Join in in Hanwell – for some schoolkids in Palestine

Towards a Palestinian Spring?

Hanwell Friends of Sabastiya (HAFSA)
Social Event on Saturday 25th June 7.30-10.30At HIGH5 Evershed Club (Hanwell W7 2AJ) 

It is off Boston Manor Road, take the lane opposite the Harvester and it is on your left. Bus: E8, 195. Tube: Boston Manor, turn left, 5min walk. Parking available. Come and hear from Hafsa members who recently returned from the area: How are the people doing over there? What is happening in the wake of all the upheavals in the Arab world? How can we support Sabastiya? We will also show a 20min. film: “The General’s Son” followed by a discussion. The rest of the evening will be for socialising (hurray!) over a drink and a Middle Eastern buffet. Paying bar available (please note that you cannot bring your own drink) Palestinian goods on sale, raffle. All money raised will go towards subsidising a football coach to go to Sabastiya and work with the school kids. Ticket £10 (bring friends!). It is helpful if you book in advance with Jean on 07739429754 or email Jean: jeanfitzperrin@hotmail.co.uk