Working together to make West Ealing a better place for residents, businesses and visitors.
Perivale Wood Open Day is next Sunday 26th 10am-4.30pm.
I’ve always meant to go on one of these Open Days as it sounds great so thanks to Nicola Goddard for posting this on our Facebook page:
‘Enjoy a walk through the bluebells, refreshments, Morris Dancing, children’s activities and more!!
Free entrance. This is the only day of the year that the reserve is open to the general public.
Entrance between 36 and 38 Sunley Gardens, Perivale, UB6 7PE’
Perhaps no great surprise that Morrisons, the one on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and St James Ave, is closing down today. It must have been one of the 33 stores earmarked for closure as part of their reorganisation. It never looked very busy whenever I passed by. It’s just that block away from the main shopping area so not enough passing footfall. I hope the staff are all able to be move to other nearby Morrisons stores. It’s an odd position for a shop so it will be interesting to see what, if anything, takes its place. Could it work as permanent home for the Ealing Blueprint co-working business hub?
BBC newsreader Huw Edwards will launch West Ealing’s Artisan Craft Fair on Saturday 28th March at 10am in the Salvation Army Hall in Leeland Road (same road as farmers’ market). All crafts are made by local artisans.
If like me you’re wondering which bands to see at Saturday’s Hanwell Hootie then head on to any of the pubs invoved (which is almost all in Hanwell) and buy a fabulous souvenir brochure for a bargain price – £1. It has info on all the bands playing and lists their websites and Facebook pages if they have them. It’s brilliant and will help you work out who you want to see and where and when they will be playing.
Being from West Ealing I’m going to start at The Grosvenor which although is geographically in W7 I think it counts as part of West Ealing!
We’ve covered the efforts made by users of the Solace Centre to keep it open in the face of closure in previous posts. There are various options now available and we hope the Council will agree to continue funding the centre whilst these options are explored in detail.
Ealing Council’s cabinet will consider proposals next Tuesday (24 March) to continue providing an out of hours drop-in service at the Solace Centre.
The Solace Centre is a drop-in support service for adults with mental health problems. It operates out of a council-owned building 365 days a year and is jointly funded by Ealing Council and the West London Mental Health Trust. In November, cabinet considered proposals to close the centre as part of a wide-ranging set of budget savings designed to help the council fill its £96million funding gap. Under these proposals, eligible customers would have been given their own personal budgets to buy alternative support services once the centre shut.
Cabinet gave its approval for the council to begin consulting users, staff and other people affected by the proposed closure. As part of this consultation process, the council asked voluntary sector groups to come forward with other ways to deliver the service, while still making the required savings for the council. There has been considerable interest from voluntary sector groups who have put forward a number of credible alternatives all of which now need further evaluation.
Proposals include an external group running the drop-in service from the Solace Centre building; using the Solace Centre building more efficiently; and finding another space for the Solace Centre to use so the existing Solace Centre space can be transformed into flats for people with mental health problems.
Cabinet will decide on Tuesday whether to agree to continue funding the Solace Centre while these alternatives are given careful consideration, and further options are explored. A further cabinet paper is expected in June.
Councillor Hitesh Tailor, cabinet member for health and adults services, said: “I will be making the case very strongly at cabinet for the council to continue funding the Solace Centre in the short-term, while we secure the long-term future of the service in Ealing.
“Solace Centre users have put forward some strong arguments for why a drop-in service should continue and I’m pleased that so many local voluntary groups have come forward with their ideas on how we can make this happen together. The council is in a very tough financial situation and is having to make some very difficult decisions, and this consultation process goes to show that, by working with service users and local groups, creative solutions can be put in place that allow services to continue while still making the necessary savings.”
The report will be considered on Tuesday, 24 March by the council’s cabinet.
A fabulous event with so many good bands to see. Full details about the event – http://www.hanwellhootie.co.uk/ Over to you to choose:
This was a great success last year and reached up as far as Regina Road. The organisers write about thier plans for this year:
‘We have our first few stalls for the Northfields Jumble Trail 2015! It is on Saturday 6th June, it is FREE to have a stall, you keep all the money you make (or give it to a charity of your choice), and it’s a great community event where you can sell all that stuff you’ve been meaning to get rid of of from right outside your own house. Toys, clothes, books, music, cakes, crafts, furniture, whatever you like. Last year’s sale made almost £2,000!
All you have to do is sign up, put your pin on the map, help spread the word and on Sat 6th June we’ll have a big Northfields-wide jumble sale. Click the link below to join in. ‘
Big Spring Clean at Fitzherbert Walk, Hanwell
You are invited to come and help the park rangers with a Big Spring Clean at Fitzherbert Walk, Hanwell – the footpath leading to Hanwell Bridge from the Grand Union Canal at Green Lane, W7.
The first day of spring is Saturday 21 March and to celebrate summer being around the corner, communities around the country are organising Clear Up Days on Saturday 21 March. These are a ‘national spring clean’, backed by the Government, that aims to spruce up the country’s high streets, residential and business areas, villages and parks.
Our plans for the day at Fitzherbert Walk are to hold a series of volunteer tasks including:
• Cutting back excessive vegetation
• Clearing pile of dead wood into ‘habitat piles’ (homes for wildlife such as fungi, beetles and nesting birds)
• Filling in potholes in the path to provide a better surface for bikes and walkers
• Putting up bird and bat boxes ready for use
• Removing unsightly rubbish and litter
Come along on the day and make a difference in your area! Whether you can do a little or a lot, everyone is welcome.
We’ll be working from 10.00am to 2.00pm. Drinks and refreshments will be provided at lunchtime. Please wear suitable outdoor clothes and footwear.
Directions:
To get there travel to the end of Green Lane near the Fox Pub W7 2PJ. Turn right onto the canal towpath and walk 100 metres crossing the footbridge and passing the canal lock (no. 97) on your left. Then follow the footpath leading off to the right.
A poster advertising the event is attached. Please feel free to pass onto others you think would like to come and join in.
If you have any questions about the day please drop me a line.
Kind regards
James
James Morton
Park Ranger – Norwood Green and Dormers Wells Wards
Leisure and Parks, Ealing Council
Telephone 07956 932065 / 020 8813 9232
We all had a fabulous time at the recent Northfields Christmas Night Market and it’s now time to start planning for our Northfields Spring Night Market!
Once again we will be bringing amazing local businesses together; providing gift inspiration, hand-crafted pressies, wonderful food and the great Northfields community atmosphere. Live music from JSMG Band and Love2Sing Choir (yep entry is free)!
We are very lucky that the wonderful Kingsdown Methodist Church has an all weather hall & arena, so not even rain can stop us.
Date: Saturday 21 March
Time: 6.30 – 9.0pm
Address: Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, Kingsdown Ave, W13 9PR
Fab participating businesses:
The Fields Café, Tropic Skincare, Mind Body & Story (Barefoot Books), The Giggle Company, Miss B, Ealing Privilege Card, Cheeky Chutneys, Blue Feather Book Designs, Vanilla Frost Cakes, Boho City, Bell Eames W13 Jessica Rose Fine Art, Denalis Jewellery, Desi Baker Artisan bread, ElSilver (silver Jewellery), Knitted items Popcorn Box, Lazarow Wood Turning, RosyRosie, Spice Magic, Emy and Julie, Sargasso Shoes, Fabulous Fudge Natural Fragrance Company Ltd, Smallprint Jewellery, Forever Living, Spinning Tops, Nella Catering, Garden Shed Designs, Make it Mimi, Mano Creations (Jewellery), EE’s Cosmetics, Powerfoods (Northfields Pharmacy). Pampered Chef, Gala Bebe, Kristina Uffe Photography, Fairly Amy, Mother and Child Homeopath, Truali, Imagethirst Photography, Coopers Beans & Leaves, Mobytek
If you live in the roads near the Sherwood Close Estate (shown on the map) then you may well have had a green coloured leaflet through your letterbox yesterday. It’s about the traffic access arrangements for the redevelopment of the Sherwood Close Estate. It’s worth taking a few minutes to read it and think about the issues it raises and whether these concern you.
Access to the new development was always going to be tricky as most of the nearby roads such as Seaford Rd and Westfield are narrow and heavily parked up on both sides. It’s already difficult for delivery lorries to get round these roads. Our worry is that the access plans for the new estate do little to improve this. With an increase in homes of some 100 or so, which means about 200-250 new residents on the redeveloped estate, logic says there will be more deliveries. Yet, access to the estate from the north or south will still have to be via the existing narrow streets or, to be precise given the current road system, via Westfield Road and then along Glenfield Terrace, Bonchurch Road or Milford Road. Access from the east and west should be better as there will be a new road off Tawny Close.
We feel there is a good case for a careful review of the traffic routes and traffic flows in this whole sector of West Ealing – from Leighton Road in the south to the Uxbridge Road in the north and from Seaford Road in the east to Grosvenor Road/ Seward Road in the west. We think it’s important not to make a decision about access to the Sherwood Close Estate in isolation from already residents’ concerns about traffic problems that already worry people living in these streets. We say, let’s step back and take a good look at this whole area and avoid piecemeal decisions.
The leaflet gives details of who to contact if you have concerns about this. These include the three Walpole Ward councillors who cover the area concerned. You can find them here.
