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Plans for redeveloping the Sherwood Close Estate now available

The plans for the demolition and redevelopment of the Sherwood Close Estate is now on the Council’s website. Here’s a summary from the application:

 

The Proposal: Demolition of all buildings within Sherwood Close (including 209 residential units, parking structures and ancillary buildings) and the construction of 305 new residential units (88 x one-bedroom, 157 x two-bedroom, 52 x three-bedroom and 8 x four-bedroom in a mix of housing tenures) in four apartment buildings varying between two-storeys and nine-storeys high and a row of three-storey townhouses; a 70 sq .m community space (D2 Use Class); associated energy plant room; refuse and recycling facilities; storage for 410 bicycles; 122 car parking spaces (comprising 86 spaces on-street and 36 spaces in an under croft parking area); site-wide hard and soft landscaping including public, semi-private and private amenity space and public realm improvements; the closure of part of Sherwood Close and reconfiguration of the public highway including the construction of two new north-south streets between Sherwood Close and Tawny Close, and the construction of new pedestrian / cycle routes between Sherwood Close, Tawny Close and Northfield Avenue and other associated works.

 

This is a major redevelopment right in the middle of West Ealing.  It will take some years to complete as it has to be done in stages in order to rehouse residents whilst the old blocks are demolished.  Like all such developments  there will be a mixture of types of housing, including a nine-storey block of flats for sale on Northfield Ave at the top end near the junction with Mattock Lane.

There are a lot of papers to read through for this application so more news once I’ve had the chance to look at them in more detail.

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Photography, playwriting and more with OPEN Ealing’s new season’s activities

OPEN Events, Classes and Lectures for 2015
For all enquiries, please email info@openealing.com. Or visit our website www.openealing.com for more information.

All classes and events listed will be hosted at: Green Man Lane Cafe, West Ealing, Singapore Road W13 0EP.

“OPEN Music” workshops for you and your child…
Acclaimed local musician Keith Waithe is running a series of musical workshops for you and your child, culminating in a special one-off concert. Come along and enjoy a truly family activity.
It is a 10 week course; ideal for your children aged between 7 and 11 years old; and starts on Thursday 15 January 2015.
Make Thursday afternoons between 3.45 and 5.15pm in the Green Man Lane Café a date with your child.
Each session costs parents £10, children are FREE! (Green Man Lane residents pay £5 and other concessions £6). If you pay for the whole course in advance, one session is free of charge.
Places are limited to 15 so please book early.
For enquiries and to book please email OPEN. We’ll take a break for half term (16 – 20 Feb). The Café is situated opposite the mosque and next to the surface car park in Singapore Road
Keith is an award winning flautist, composer, teacher and expert proponent of a vocal ‘gymnastics’ system. He is the founder and leader of the Macusi Players – a world music jazz band that blends rhythms from the Caribbean, South America, Asia and Africa.

Playwriting Workshops
Do you want to know how to create a play and write your own script?
Wally Sewell, OPEN’s Playwright in Residence, leads this course which is open to anyone interested in writing plays, at any stage in their creative development, including beginners.
When: Tuesday 3 February 2015
Where: Green Man Lane Café
7-9 pm
£10 per session (discounted prices for signing up for the whole course in advance). Special concessions for Green Man Lane residents (£5). Other concessions for unemployed/OAPs/students (£6).
(Please bring some proof of identity and address when you come to the class.)
Workshops will consist of exercises and discussions, writers being encouraged to bring in ongoing work (if you have any) to be read and discussed by the group.
Participants will work towards writing a short play to be staged by professional actors (script in hand) in a showcase evening.
Wally Sewell is an independent artist-programmer, as well as a writer. He is a member of Actors & Writers London and has been working with OPEN since 2011.
Digital Photography Workshop
Rod Morris – Award winning Photographer and Film maker has devised a course for you to gain a practical understanding of the workings of your DSLR camera so you have the confidence to work creatively and fluently.
When: Thursday 5 February 2015 for 10 weeks
Where: Green Man Lane Café
7-9 pm
£10 per session (discounted prices for signing up for the whole course in advance). Special concessions for Green Man Lane residents (£5). Other concessions for unemployed/OAPs/students (£6).
(Please bring some proof of identity and address when you come to the class.)
Course topics include Shooting in RAW V JPGS Colour temperature and white balance Noise: Low light photography ISO settings Metering modes Aperture and shutter speed functions Depth of Field Exposure – Exposure compensation
The course culminates in an exhibition showing your work taken during the course.
Rod Morris is an award winning photographer and film maker currently engaged in projects at home and abroad including ‘Faces’; ‘City of Ghosts’ and ‘Runaway’. He is based in London and is represented by Millenium images and Getty. www.rodmorris.co.uk

History of Modern Art Lectures
Are you interested in modern art and want to have a better understanding of it?
Nick Pearson, contemporary artist and art college lecturer, returns to OPEN with his entertaining and informative series of History of Modern Art Lectures
When: Wednesday 11 February 2015
Where: Green Man Lane Café
7-9 pm
£10 per session (discounted prices for signing up for the whole course in advance). Special concessions for Green Man Lane residents (£5). Other concessions for unemployed/OAPs/students (£6).
(Please bring some proof of identity and address when you come to the class.)
An introduction to the historical development of modern art in the western world. The course begins with Romanticism and Realism in the late 1800s and continues through the major movements of western 20th-century art up to the ‘Young British Artists’ of re-cent years. This is a full module of the kind you would do at art college, but is jargon-free, accessible and applicable to anyone with an interest in modern art, at any level of knowledge or experience. There are notes (but no homework!) and the level at which you learn is entirely up to you.

OPEN Events
Playwriting Finale – Tuesday 20 January 2015
The Autumn term of playwriting workshops culminates in a short play created by the course participants on Tuesday 20 January 2015 at 7pm. The short play will be performed by professional actors as a ‘performed reading’.
To get further details and book your seat please email OPEN – info@openealing.com

“6×10” Short Plays
Celebrate the new year in style – an evening at OPEN theatre with the first 6 x 10 performed reading on Saturday 24 January 2015.
You won’t have time for the winter blues with these short plays performed by professional actors and steered by Wally Sewell, OPEN’s Playwright in Residence and Anthony Shrubsall, Artistic Director.
The 6 x 10 format of short plays are per-formed with script in hand creating a fresh, immediate, instinctive theatrical audience experience.
The performance starts at 7.30pm and tickets cost £8. (Tickets for Concessions cost £6 and tickets for Green Man Lane residents cost £4.)
Want to ensure you have a seat? Email OPEN and reserve your place.
For the first time we are delighted to offer pre-performance dinner at the newly opened Green Man Lane café. Coco Labelle is a delightful fusion of Mauritian, Caribbean and European food with a menu designed to tickle your taste buds. Doors open at 6pm.
Places for dining are limited so you must email OPEN to reserve your place and avoid disappointment.
For more information and to reserve your seats please email OPEN – info@openealing.com

The Green Man Lane Café is part of the recent housing development, It is on the corner of Singapore Road nearest the surface car park – opposite Brownlow Road.

Full details on OPEN’s website

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‘Vivid and imaginative theatre’ – Sarah Kane’s powerful 4.48 Pyschosis at Questors Theatre in January

The Sunday Times has picked out the Sarah Kane season at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre as one of its ‘ hottest picks’ for 2015.  However, you don’t need to go to Sheffield to experience Sarah Kane’s talent and reflect on the loss to the theatre of her suicide at just 28.  Ealing’s Questors Theatre has Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis on later this month.  It describes the play as follows:

A rhythm of raw beauty – vivid and imaginative theatre

“Here am I
and there is my body
dancing on glass”

With its powerful use of the most beautiful and poetic language we are drawn into the pained world of Kane herself at one moment in time: 4.48am. Sarah Kane’s masterpiece is theatre as a text for performance rather than a play. It is about love and about survival and about hope.

Several weeks after completing the play, at the age of 28, Sarah Kane committed suicide leaving this her masterwork – an affirmation to live rather than a suicide note.

This production will be an unforgettable experience – an evening of vivid visual theatre, raw and beautiful.

Suitable for ages 16+
Contains disturbing adult themes and smoke

Details of tickets etc here

Wednesday 28th January 2015

I saw this play last night and was very impressed with what is an extremely difficult play to stage. There are no named characters, no specific voices given to any character and no indication of how many performers or of any gender.  Having said that I thought Questors put on a powerful and inspiring performance. An abiding memory of the play is the stark staging and dissonant music which caught the fractured mood of the mind of what I take to be the central character.  It’s interesting that the music changed to something much more melodic right at the very end.

For me, the play gave great insight in to the mind of someone with serious depression and the mood swings, the darkness, anger and humour that flickers like a faulty light never knowing what is coming next.  Questors staged Sarah Kane’s play with an all female cast with some strong performances and is well worth seeing.

 

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Join the Queen of the spoken word this Saturday 7.30pm at OPEN Ealing

Zena Edwards, Queen of the spoken Word Saturday 20th December

When:Saturday 20th December
Where: Green Man Lane Cafe, Singapore Road, W13 OEP

Doors open at 7.30pm
Tickets: £10 available on the door
(Concessions £8; Green Man Lane residents £5)
There’s an amazing opportunity to see Zena Edwards, Queen of the Spoken Word, when she performs at Green Man Lane Cafe on Saturday. “She’s a poet of consummate skill who effortlessly melds hip-hop grooves with a worldly Afro-centric wisdom.”

This month Zena is supported by:
– Leeto Thale, a published poet and “renaissance man” who is currently the resident poet at the Arc Gallery where he is cultivating the synergy between art and poetry. His writing predominantly covers art and social commentary.

– Marcina Arnold, professional singer and recorded artist whose rich and versatile voice enables her to cross genres. With Celtic & South African roots combined with her exposure to jazz, blues, soul & world music at a young age this fusion is present in her voice and writing.

– Larry Bartley has become one of the most sought after bass players on the London jazz scene with an identifiable sound that announces his presence.

The evening won’t be complete without you. If you are a poet and would like to share your work, or just want to read your favourite poem. You are warmly invited to join Zena and her friends on Saturday 20 December for an amazing evening of poetry and music.
If you just want to sit back and soak up the ambience – you are in for a pre-Christmas treat – wine, mince pies and the like!

 

Learn More about Zena here:

 

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Give a gift that counts with Juice Cube

 

The newly opened social enterprise Juice Cube (opposite Daniels) is a hub for helping homeless people this Christmas.  Here’s how we can help:

‘Christmas is a time where many of us gather round the Christmas tree with the loved ones and sing the Christmas songs. Unfortunately for the homeless folks, Christmas is also a time where they have to battle the cold weather and the emotional turmoil of loneliness. We thought it is important to provide warm and safe accommodation to these folks during Christmas period, and show them a little love, remind them that they are not alone.

So we’ve partnered up with a few homeless shelters to spread a little bit of kindness during this season of giving. We will be handing out free clothes, serving foods and suspended juice (click on suspended juice to find out more or buy one here!) at the homeless shelters. We’d like to invite you to join us and spread some kindness either by giving us your time and volunteering (if you wish to volunteer, drop us an email at info@juice-cube.co.uk to find out more) with us on the selected day, or by giving us any free clothes or food that you would like us to pass to the homeless folks on your behalf. We are collecting the items listed below at our juice bar at 191, Uxbridge Road, Ealing, W13 9AA.

If you have any questions, please feel free to drop in at our shop, or contact us via email at info@juice-cube.co.uk, or simply give us a call at 020 8810 1297.’

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Vintage cabaret this Saturday at OPEN Ealing 7.30pm

Viv Dubois

 

Saturday 13th December 7.30-10pm

Vivian Dubois and Tom Collins are a dramatic cabaret act like no other. Using song, story and playful anecdote Viv and Tom will guide you through the different worlds they inhabit. One minute you may be in occupied France, serenaded by Edith Piaf, the next, in a dimly lit bar in downtown New Orleans, soaking up the sounds of Fats Domino or Louis Armstrong. Originating at Shaker & Company’s monthly immersive theatrical event ‘Vaudeville Emporium’ in Euston, the vaudevillians will introduce and support the main guest act.

Green Man Lane Cafe, Singapore Road, West Ealing

 

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It’s panto time in West Ealing – Sat 6th Dec in Dean Gardens 5.15pm

Magic and technology fuse in an enchanting fairy story set in a West Ealing of the past and a West Ealing of the future!
The pantomime concerns the Hardup family, a poor West Ealing family from long, long ago when a complaining Cinderella had to do all her chores by hand, without the aid of mod-cons (but with the aid of a certain sleepy family member). Meanwhile, in a West Ealing of the far off future, things are a lot different. People – especially princes – have machines for everything. Even time-machines…
The piece is produced by OPENTheatre whose popular 6×10 short play readings are a regular feature at Green Man Lane Café. The pantomime follows the same successful format: the plays are performed as rehearsed readings, script in hand by professional actors, creating a fresh, immediate, instinctive, theatrical audience experience. Written by Wally Sewell – OPENEaling’s Playwright in Residence – and directed by Anthony Shrubsall – OPEN’s artistic director – The Cobbler’s Apprentice is a modern take on a traditional format. Come and be delighted and amazed!

There’s full details of all the fun fair rides, nativity play, face-painter, craft stalls and everything else at out West Ealing Christmas Fair website

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For one evening only – Photo exhibition at OPEN on Monday 8th Dec 6-9pm

Digital photography exhibition at OPEN

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Work on display Monday December 8th – 6-9pm

Students on OPEN Ealing’s Monday evening digital photography class are about to have an opportunity to show off what they’ve been learning. For the last ten weeks a group of enthusiasts have been honing their skills and learning how to get the best out of their digital cameras. And the last Monday session of the autumn run will see them displaying some of their work at the Green Man Lane Café, from 6.00pm on December 8th.

The show, entitled Life in the Queen of the Suburbs,will cover themes such as A Child’s-Eye View, Colours of Ealing, Enduring Ealing and Northfields Noir.

Running the course have been two professional photographers associated with the University of West London, in St. Mary’s Road. Monika Drzewicz has made a name for herself on the British photography scene after arriving in Ealing from her native Poland a few years ago. She has exhibited all over the country, including at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing, and drew particular attention with her Solitude and Fallen Angels series of quirky studio-based portraits http://www.monide-photography.com . Lauren Rooney began her career in fashion photography, but has now moved on to taking commissions from clients such as carmaker Porsche http://www.misspanther.com/ . Some of their work will be on view too.

Cheddar Deli of Northfield Avenue will be on hand too giving you an opportunity to taste Brent Wilkinson’s recommendation of what cheeses to have this Christmas. If you are a lover of cheese, or a patron of Cheddar Deli, you will be delighted to have an opportunity to taste the selection and discuss the finer points of cheese with Brent.

All are welcome to come along, try some cheese, and perhaps get inspired by the work on display.

Date: Monday 8th December 2014
Time: 6-9pm
Where: Green Man Lane Café, Singapore Road, West Ealing W13 0EP
Admission: Free

Follow @Openealing on Twitter, OPEN (West Ealing Arts) on Facebook.
www.openealing.com

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Find out latest on plans for West Ealing Crossrail station

I’ve jotted down some bullet point notes from last night’s Crosssrail briefing.  There were two main speakers with Matthew White, Surface Director of Crossrail and Nick O’Donnell, Assistant Director of Strategic Transport for Ealing Council.

1. Matthew White:

Some background on Crossrail:
– Crossrail will have a new fleet of 66 trains
– Crossrail will bring about a 10% increase in London’s rail capacity
– Its trains will have 7 or 9 carriages
– Trains will have a 1500 seated and standing capacity
– The Paddington to Heathrow service should start in May 2018
– Full Crossrail service will run from December 2019
– The new trains will be much quieter than current trains
– The journey to Heathrow will take 11 minutes
West Ealing station
– New station will be in Manor Road about 50 paces from corner with Drayton Green Road. It is to be sited here because it needs to be close to the    middle of the new trains in order to allow passengers to get on and off safely and quickly and avoid walking the length of the platform which would happen if the station remained where it is now.
– The design of the new station has been revised following feedback and is now larger and more modern and spacious looking
– New station will be completed by the end of 2016 and will then be operational and the old ticket office will be closed
– The station will always be staffed when trains are running
– There will be a Sunday service stopping at West Ealing – frequency of trains not yet decided
– Oyster cards can be used and the hope is that the Freedom pass will also be valid for the full length of the service

Later:  I forgot to add that the station will have lifts for DDA compliance to enable step-free access

2. Nick O’Donnell
Ealing Council has secured £7.3m to spend on its five Crossrail station which is the most for any London borough on the routes . West Ealing has a budget of £1.46m.
The Council wants to look at:
– Possible sound barriers/baffling along Manor Road
– Improving pedestrian routes at junction of Alexandria Road and Drayton Green Road
– How to secure an upgrade to the Jacob’s Ladder footbridge
– Talking to developers about how to improve the area around the station
– Talking to TfL about bus stops and routes. Tfl tends to look at changes to bus routes two years ahead ie 2016. There may be scope for a bus pull in on the site of the current station which will be closed late 2016
– Possible plans to add Old Oak Common as an extra stop (after 2019) and make it an interchange with HS2 and other overland services

The meeting at the Drayton Court Hotel was well attended and my impression was that most people definitely welcomed Crossrail. However, those living very close to the station, say on Alexandria Road, Manor Road and in the Draytons have valid concerns about noise, traffic congestion and the nature of any development of the area around the new station.

It’s clear the site of the station is fixed but there will be a formal consultation about the plans around February 2015.  This will be followed by the Council’s own process of consultation/discussion about the issues listed above. The Council won’t itself be devloping the area around the station but is talking to developers about this, so there is a lot to play for over the next few years and Gerald Power of the Draytons Community Assn made a strong plea for more and earlier consultation with residents about all these plans.