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West Ealing Neighbours Facebook is nearly up to 150 – join us if you can

Even if you’ve avoided facebook up to now, it might be worth joining just for WEN Facebook which is now romping along with 148 members. I’m a recent convert thanks to others posting in a way which engages me (especially Tony Luckhurst our butcher who was on The One Show talking about horsemeat the other day and was very enlightening).

It’s a bit like local radio where you can chip in in passing, with either a comment to an existing post, or put in your own post about your own event, activities, queries. You can be funny, whimsical, serious, as brief as you like, add pictures/videos, link to other interesting websites; you can be personal or talk about things to do with our town. Think ‘neighbours chatting over garden fence or in the pub or high street’.

You do need to sign yourself up with your own page first (here: http://www.facebook.com/) and then ask to join the WEN Facebook. But you don’t have to accept all or any friend requests or become active within your own page if you don’t want to.

 

If you already have a FB page, just log on and ask to join WEN Facebook.

Here are some good guides: http://digitalunite.com/guides/social-networking-blogs/facebook .

Hope to encounter you there soon – and here’s hoping we make it to 500.

 

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60-bedroom hotel planned for the centre of West Ealing

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Site of proposed new hotel

A planning application has been lodged to redevelop the eastern corner at the Uxbridge Road end of Melbourne Avenue. The proposed site covers the area from Luckhurst’s the butchers up to the Uxbridge Road and then above the currently empty corner site and above the new Brighthouse store. The existing first floor will be retained and two new storeys added. All the existing ground floor retail units will be retained, including the new Betfred betting shop which has an agreement to take the corner unit.

Planned new hotel for West Ealing

 

 

Illustration of new hotel (ignore the Ibis sign) Copyright Milan Babic Architects

There is a host of documents online about this application and I have only managed to skim them so far. There is some confusion in the documents as the official application is for a 60-bedroom Easy Hotel though at least one of the documents refers to a 70-bedroom Ibis Hotel. I can only assume the latter is an earlier version.

Easy Hotels are a franchise operation and are part of Stelios Haji-Ioannou’s business empire and, from their website, they offer hotel rooms from around £35 a night.

It’s quite extraordinary that after years of having hardly any hotels, Ealing and West Ealing now have a brand new Premier Inn and Travelodge within yards of one another plus the newly converted Drayton Court Hotel,the boutique Hotel Xanadu in Bond Street and the Best Western Maitrise Hotel in West Ealing. Is it all down to the likely impact of Crossrail?

I’m puzzled why such a major development for West Ealing has been delegated to officers for a decision rather than going to committee. This could be a very significant change for the centre of West Ealing. It may mean hotel supplies being delivered along Canberra Road and across Melbourne Ave. There is also no parking provision for hotel guests. A thriving hotel in the heart of West Ealing may well make a significant contribution to the local economy and help improve our high street. Even so, to my mind, this is a major development and ought to go to the full committee for a decision.

If you want to comment on this application you can do so online  and the closing date is 22nd February.

 

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Join us for coffee on Saturday morning – 11.30am at Silva Cafe – and find out what’s happening in West Ealing

Silva Cafe

Come and join us for coffee on Saturday morning 11.30 am at the Silva Cafe in West Ealing (opposite Kwik Fit). We’ve had our winter break and are starting up our coffee mornings on the first Saturday of the month again. The idea is for anyone to join us and contribute to our efforts for West Ealing or come and see if we can help you with any particular problem you have. On Saturday I know we’ll be talking about local policing and community safety, ideas to improve our high street, how to improve our monthly craft market, perhaps even the plans for the new mosque and more.
If you care about what happens to West Ealing you’re very welcome to join us.

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What goes on inside our head? – free event at Drayton Court Hotel with leading science communicator on Thursday 7th February 3pm

 

 

This sounds interesting and a little challenging!  ‘A journey of recovery to the heart of his grey matter following a traumatic head injury’. It’s a free event because the people involved in staging this would like your feedback so they can fine-tune it before it goes on tour.

a4londonflyer

In 2011, leading science communicator James Piercy suffered a traumatic head injury that made this question more pertinent than ever before. Join him as he shares his at times emotional journey. Find out just what we know about what is in our heads and the effect of brain damage via tales of the brain’s structure, MRI, monitoring and the effects of trauma.

It’s downstairs at the Drayton Court Hotel on Thursday 7th February starting at 3pm.
website www.sciencemadesimple.co.uk  or blog  http://whatsgoingoninhishead.wordpress.com/

 

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Find out more about the planned redevelopment of the Sherwood Close Estate in West Ealing on Saturday 2nd February

The redevelopment of the Sherwood Close Estate just south of Dean Gardens is the second major housing development in the centre of West Ealing. Building on the Green Man Lane Estate is well under way and is due to last between 8 – 10 years. Work on Sherwood Close will start in 2014 and will last a similar length of time.

Back in October, the Council selected Affinity Sutton to redevelop the Sherwood Close Estate, just south of Dean Gardens, and said that there would be opportunities for local people  to get involved with shaping the new estate. On Saturday, 2 February Affinity Sutton, their architects and the Council invite you to come along to a public exhibition where you will be able to meet the team, find out more about their proposals and let them know your views before they progress their plans and submit a formal planning application later in the year.
When: Saturday 2 February – drop in anytime between 11am and 2pm
Where: The Marquee  next to Target House by Northfield Avenue

Refreshments will be provided

For more information contact Affinity Sutton on
0300 100 0303

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Caravaggio – was he the most original and influential artist ever? Come along to West Ealing on Monday Feb 4th and find out

This talk on Caravaggio is put on  by OPEN Ealing on Monday 4th February 7.30 – 9.30pm. The talk is given by V&A guide Colin Lomas and is one of a series of highly entertaining talks by Colin. It’s being held at the Ealing Centre for Independent Living, 1 Bayham Road, W13 0TQ
£5 entry and illustrated notes provided

7.40 – 8.40 illustrated talk
8.40 – 9.30 refreshments & discussion

More information available from Colin Lomas – ring 07909 896541

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David gets the T-shirt

david and tshirtIt’s not smart, it’s not clever – but it is BIG and also unique and imbued with  a huge thank you from local members of the West Ealing community.

WEN’s chair David Highton was cited in this year’s New Year Honours for his contribution to our community in West Ealing which, as most of us know, is considerable.

So local neighbours and tradespeople signed a logo’d T-shirt and thanked him and toasted him in a small local celebration. No royalty were present and he maintains he’ll wear a smart suit and shirt when he receives his well-deserved British Empire Medal later in the year.

 

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Tough times on the high street as Blockbuster goes in to administration

Craft Market Family Day 2012

Craft market in St James Ave with Blockbuster on the right corner

Hot on the heels of Jessops and HMV the next high street chain to go in to administration is Blockbuster UK, though it appears it will keep trading whilst a buyer is sought. Blockbuster has a shop in West Ealing on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and St James Ave. This spot is a key one for WEN and others who are working on ideas to reclaim the dead space at the top end of St James Avenue. WEN has run a monthly craft market here since April and OPEN Ealing may move its arts centre to the building above Blockbuster. In addition, there may be TfL money to improve this pedestrianised area at the top of St James Avenue and the Council is putting in a bid for ‘pocket park’ funds to add to the Tfl ones. What happens to Blockbuster on this corner could have an impact on these plans.  So we’ll be watching events carefully to see what happens.

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Traders and residents invited to hear about plans for West Ealing centre

On Tuesday 22 January 2013 at 5:30pm at SiLVA Cafe, 148 Broadway, West Ealing local traders are being invited to hear about plans to re-invigorate our High Street.

Anyone can attend – just turn up. The more the merrier. We all need to hear and discuss everyone’s views.

David Highton, Chair of WEN, will be discussing current and future WEN initiatives as well as outlining some London Borough of Ealing (LBE) proposals, which WEN and other local stakeholders have been working on. These include vacant shop initiatives, a business hub, pop up businesses, events and markets.

Eric Leach, Chair of West Ealing Centre Neighbourhood Forum (WECNF), will be discussing the forum’s programme to create a detailed, 15 year spatial plan for the centre of West Ealing. These include policies for social provision, movement, Crossrail, housing and of course the High Street. LBE has a set of movement proposals; WECNF has its own plans; and local businesses have their own ideas too! Initiatives to be discussed include increased car parking, pedestrian improvements, accommodating cyclists, improved bus services, taking full advantage of the arrival of West Ealing Crossrail and better traffic flows.

Matthew McMillan Chief Executive of Ealing Broadway Business Improvement District (EBBID) will explain what a BID is all about. West Ealing Traders’  Association (WETA), WEN. WECNF and LBE are all keen for local traders to form a West Ealing Centre BID organisation.