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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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Will every penny count? 97p shop now open in West Ealing

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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.

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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 been an increase in bike thefts so here are some ideas to keep your bike safe

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:

  • Always lock your bike even if you are just leaving it for a few minutes
  • Buy a good quality D-lock or combination lock
  • Lock your bike to something secure and immovable, such as a bicycle rack or a lamppost
  • When you leave your bike unattended lock both wheels and remove detachable items such as lights
  • Consider getting your bike frame securuty marked
  • At home keep your bike out of view in a secure shed and keep the door locked
  • Try to avoid leaving your bike in isolated places – leave and lock up your bike in public view where a potential thief can be seen

 

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West Ealing Hub evening talk and networking event

West Ealing Hub Evening Talk and Networking Event

Tuesday 26th November at The Drayton Court Hotel 8-10pm  FREE Entry

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.

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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.