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The Grosvenor to become a gastro pub

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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.

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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.

 

 

 

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Some signs of action on the new hotel site in West Ealing

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After some 10 days of silence and no sign of any builders, a crew was on site today (Saturday) dismantling the scaffolding that appears to one cause of the delay. You can see from my photo (apologies for the poor quality) that they have taken down all the metal sheeting that was across the top of the site. It looks like health and safety concerns are the reason for the scaffolding problems.

Another cause of the delay seems to be the revised planning application for a taller building which is needed to up the number of bedrooms to meet the requirements of Holiday Inn Express.

The one who suffers most from all this delay is our local butcher Tony Luckhurst who is quoted in this week’s Ealing Gazette as hoping he will be back in February or March. Tony is currently working for another butcher to pay his bills. The work will really have to get going if there’s any chance of Tony being back in March but I hope he is as plenty of us are missing him.

 

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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.

 

 

 

 

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Have you see Hamdi who has been missing since Monday?

Police in Ealing are appealing to the public to help find a girl who has been missing since Monday, 25 November.

Hamdi Abdulle, 16, went to a mosque in West Ealing with her family for prayers at 17:00hrs but left by herself at 19:00hrs and did not return home.

Hamdi was wearing a long black sarong, an army style print head scarf, a black leather jacket, a purple and burgundy hoody and white Nike Airforce trainers. She was wearing lipstick with a fake lip piercing. She is known to wear a red wig.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Missing Person Unit at Ealing on 101. Alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Six short plays at OPEN Ealing on Monday 25th November 7.30pm

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Six plays for the price of one

OPEN Ealing’s next drama production gives the audience a chance to experience the creative process close up. Next Monday 25 November OPEN is putting on six short plays by local writers Wally Sewell and Liam O’Grady. 

The ten-minute plays will be presented as a “rehearsed reading,” meaning the cast will have had one rehearsal, on Monday afternoon.

Directed by Anthony Shrubsall, the plays are: ‘Poppy and the Clockwork Man’, ‘The Last Supper’ and ‘Caged’ by Liam O’Grady, and ‘Doctor I’m in Trouble’, ‘…and the Ecstasy’ and ‘Journeys End’ by Wally Sewell.   Fleur Shepherd, Joan Blackham and Peter Sarace are the players.

It all starts at 7.30pm at the OPENShop 13 Drayton Green Road, W13 0NG. Admission £5.

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Want the chance of your own pop up shop in West Ealing?

West Ealing

Pop up shop

The council is offering budding entrepreneurs, community groups and local artists the chance to showcase their products and services in a pop up shop in the heart of West Ealing.

People with creative ideas that can help to enhance the vibrancy and vitality of the high street are invited to apply to rent space in the shop for up to six weeks. This is an exciting opportunity for up-and-coming entrepreneurs to test and sell their products and services, without the risks and costs of taking on a long-term lease.

Pop up shop application pack

Deadline

If you would like to occupy the pop up shop for any period between 16 December 2013 and 19 January 2014, your application must be submitted no later than Friday 29 November 2013 

Open day

On Thursday 28 November between 9.30am-11.30am and 4.30pm-6.30pm, the council will be holding an open day to give prospective tenants a chance to view the pop up shop before it opens.

Am I eligible?

The pop up shop initiative is only open to businesses that have not previously traded in a retail shop. All successful candidates must comply with the terms and conditions of the scheme.

What’s the offer?

We are offering space in a West Ealing retail unit for up to six weeks at a substantially subsidized rate. The total floor space of the shop unit is approximately 60sqm, which will be divided into four 12sqm sections. Each section will be let for £25 per week. This rent will cover utilities and maintenance costs. In addition, we will require a refundable deposit of £100 to ensure satisfactory use of premises. Tenants will be allowed to rent more than one section at a time but the council reserves the right to reduce the number of sections a tenant is renting to make room for additional tenants.

The shop is empty so it will be up to successful tenants to furnish and decorate their space on the shop floor. Tenants will be responsible for their own public and product liability and contents insurance.

Why should I apply?

This is an excellent platform to showcase and test your new venture in a “real-world” commercial setting, without large investment and long-term commitments. You will gain first-hand retail experience with your products or services on the high street, which will help you determine the next steps for your new venture.

What is the application process?

Applications will be assessed by a judging panel comprising of representatives from Ealing Council, a member of Welshore Community Hub and members of the local business community. The judging panel will ask to meet shortlisted applicants and see examples of their products or services. All applicants will be notified by email or telephone as to whether or not they have been successful. The decision of the judging panel is final and no correspondence will be entered into once applicants are notified.

How do I apply?

To apply, please download, complete and return a signed copy of the application form by email to JohnsonLD@ealing.gov.uk, or post to Lemuel Dickie-Johnson, Economic Regeneration, Ealing Council, Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, London, W5 2HL.

For more information, please download the application guidance.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lemuel Dickie-Johnson at JohnsonLD@ealing.gov.uk.

The pop up shop project is part of a work programme to regenerate Ealing’s high streets. The programme is funded by the High Street Innovation Fund and Riot Recovery Fund.

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There’s no stopping betting shops on our high street

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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.

 

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Still more primary schools needed in West Ealing

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.