Working together to make West Ealing a better place for residents, businesses and visitors.
As this photo shows, work is already underway on the new hotel in West Ealing following agreement at last night’s (Wednesday 15th May) Planning Committee meeting. The plan is for a new 60-bedroom hotel on the corner of Melbourne Ave and the Uxbridge Road. The concerns about the traders at the top of Melbourne Ave and Luckhurst’s the butchers appear to have all been resolved. You can read the background to this story here.
Notice of 2013 Annual General Meeting of West Ealing Neighbours – all welcome.
[Click here for pdf version ‘Notice of WEN’s AGM MAY 2013’]
Date: Tuesday 28th May
Venue: in the lounge at St John’s Church in Mattock Lane starting at 7.30pm
This is to give formal notice that the seventh Annual General Meeting of West Ealing Neighbours will be held on Tuesday 28th May at St John’s Church in Mattock Lane starting at 7.30pm.
The theme of this year’s meeting is What’s happening on our high street? It feels that West Ealing is on the edge of change. We have two major housing developments in the heart of West Ealing, Green Man Lane and Sherwood Close, which will bring in many hundreds of new residents. At the same time Crossrail is already having an effect on housing prices and is one of the reasons for the proposed new 60-bedroom Continue reading “What’s happening on our high street? WEN public meeting and AGM on Tuesday 28th May 7.30pm at St John’s Church in Mattock Lane”
I’ve posted this item because this is just an amazing apple tree. It’s a Bramley and it’s on the Northfields allotments. The allotments date back to 1832 and I’d like to think it’s a link to West Ealing’s past as a fruit growing area supplying Victorian London but I don’t think it is. I think this tree is pretty old but not that old. This year it’s flowering its heart out and if you look at the second photo you’ll see what’s so amazing – there’s no centre to the trunk, it’s almost completely hollow. Somehow or other it still thrives and long may it do so.
You can read more about the history of West Ealing here.
Bringing added spice to W7 is TV chef and cookery writer Manju Malhi. Spend an evening with Manju when she demonstrates how you can make the most of your barbecue by creating scrumptious Indian Tandoori dishes.
Plus, learn how to blend spices and create the perfect Basmati rice. Savour the flavours of regional Indian cuisine with a three course meal cooked by Manju in a relaxing, fun and chilled out night. Not to be missed, pop in or call to reserve tickets…they are sure to sell out fast!
Date: Saturday 18th MAY 2013
Time: 7.30 (dinner served at 8.30)
Price: £35 per person
Well, I thought Wenzels’ had closed as it was not open this morning and looked deserted and I was going to miss their rye bread. Then the power of Twitter kicked in and I found out they are not closing. They will be re-opening tomorrow as a 99p bread shop so that’s where I’ll be off to in the morning. I’m delighted they are not closing. Further west along the high stret The Cake Box has opened and looks tempting.
Even so, it’s clearly tough going for traders and raises questions about our high street. I still feel optimistic in the long run with the new housing developments and Crossrail but they are the future and it’s the present that is the immediate challenge for traders. If you’re concerned about what’s happening to our high street and want to find out about some of the ideas and plans already being worked over the next few months – pop-up shops, OPEN Ealing returning, Big Lunch in Dean Gardens in June – then do please come along to West Ealing Neighbours public meeting on Tuesday 28th May at St John’s Church IN Mattock Lane from 7.30pm. The current and future state of our high street is the main item. Details of this meeting, pop-up shops and more in our May newsletter.
Join renowned flautist Keith Waithe at OPENShop 13 Drayton Green Road, W13 0NG, tonight ( Thursday 9 May) for an introduction to ‘Flute Journey’. OPEN Ealing hope this will encourage you to stay on for the entire five-session course of workshops designed for flautists, singers and djembe drummers (please bring your own instrument) and aimed at developing your own musical journey, culminating with a performance of all involved, at the Drayton Park Hotel, Ealing.
Details:
Course introduction evening, 9 May: Entrance, donation to OPEN (suggested donation, £5.00) All welcome, whether you stay on for the course or not.
Course dates Thursdays 9, 16, 30 May, 6 and 13 June. Cost, £10.00 per 2-hour session (pay per session)
A new school for St John’s
At long last the Council has come round to exploring the option to build a new and larger St John’s Primary School as part of the redevelopment of the Green Man Lane Estate. WEN has argued from the very start of the development process that this was a golden opportunity to rebuild the school to add much-needed extra capacity. Indeed, rebuilding the school was in the original plans from Rydon/A2Dominion who eventually won the contract. The school would have been moved a little way south onto its original 1894 site and in its place there would have been three-storey houses. For whatever reason this idea was dropped but has now been revived and the Council Cabinet recentlyagreed to explore with the developers the option of rebuilding the school on its existing site but, this time, it would be a three-storey school plus two storeys of homes, making a five-storey building on this road of mostly two-storey Victorian/Edwardian homes. (See Plans for Green Man Lane April 2009 )
There is likely to be some strong local opposition to the height of this proposed building. This could have been avoided if the Council had been more forward-looking at the very start of the planning and discussion for the Green Man Lane development.
Although it’s not specifically on the agenda for tonight’s Elthorne Ward Forum meeting questions about these plans are very likely to be raised. The meeting is at the Green Man Lane Community Centre and the meeting starts at 7.15pm.
Update Wednesday 11pm
I went to tonight’s Elthorne Ward Forum meeting. The discussion about St John’s School was feisty. Some nearby residents made clear their concerns about the consultation process and the Council’s poor performance over the installation of portakabin classrooms a couple of years ago when the Council had to admit it had failed in a proper consultation for their installation.
Some useful information emerged. The Council is looking at two possible options for rebuilding the school. One is the 50-storey option mentioned above. The second is to rebuild the school a little further south and put a row of houses along Felix Road. This second option sounds very similar to the one first floated in 2009 (see Plans for Green Man Lane April 2009 link above).
The consultation process was explained. There will be an initial consultation about the principle of expanding the school and this is about the need for additional school places in the light of projected birth rates and population growth. Assuming this consultation shows there is a need for more primary school places then the second consultation will be about the proposed design of the new school. If both consultations approve the proposals and planning permission is granted then a possible completion date is 2017/18.
The discussion concluded with a plea for consultation at the early formative stage of plans, better communication from the Council about its thinking and a consultation process that covers all stakeholders including residents of all the surrounding roads.
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‘All-Singing All-Dancing’ – Bollywood: the Role of Music in Popular Hindi CinemaA talk by Angela Ayton
At 7.30pm on Tuesday 14th May Admission £5.00 including refreshments. |
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An Illustrated History of Happiness: A talk by Colin Lomas & Kevin CarlinAt 7.30pm on Tuesday 21st May Admission £5.00 including refreshments
7.30–8.20pm Colin Lomas: The Western perspective – the thread from Plato to Prozac and Smiley 8.20–8.50pm Kevin Carlin: The Eastern perspective – the Wisdom of Buddhism 8.50–9.30pm Open discussion and refreshments |
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Life Drawing ClassesWednesday evenings, from 22 May. 7.00–9.30pm
The 10 weekly sessions with artist Jack Jones will include a professional life-model. Paper and easels are available. Please bring your own materials (pencils, charcoal, crayons etc – although we hope to have a supply of basic materials for sale at discounted prices). Beginners and all levels welcome
Cost, £10.00 per session (pay per session) or save 20% by enrolling for all 10 sessions in advance.
To enroll, simply turn up on the first day – or join us as the course progresses. |
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Forthcoming: Daytime Printmaking Workshops (Beginners/intermediate)Would you like to learn how to make simple lino-cut prints or any other kind of printmaking? Prints could decorate your home or make very personal presents – or artworks for sale.
£10 for a 2-hour session. Basic tools and materials would be provided
Interested? Let us know at info@openealing.com. If we get enough interest, we’ll run a class with a professional artist printmaker to show you how.
(photograph by Angelika Berndt)
Full details at www.openealing.com |
The Uxbridge Road was shut for hours yesterday afternoon as emergency services dealt with a man threatening to jump off the roof on the corner of Leeland Road and the Uxbridge Road. A helicopter clattered overhead for some hours as police tried to talk him down. Some locals say the man had just come from the nearby magistrates court and managed to climb up the fire escape on to the roof above the betting shop and then threatened to jump. Roads were re-opened around 9.30pm and local traders could then clear away and get home.
(Photo by Jay Patel)
