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No more expansion at Heathrow

Are you disturbed by the noise from Heathrow aircraft? Are you tired of squeezing onto the Piccadilly line? Are you worried about the levels of pollution in the air?

If you are, then join the fight to stop Heathrow expanding or it’s going to get a whole lot worse.

BAA, owners of Heathrow, have been lobbying hard for expansion, most recently arguing that our troubled economy can only be brought back to life by building a third runway. This is as nonsensical as it sounds. Heathrow already has better connections to key business centres than any other European airport. 127 million passengers travelled through London’s airports in 2010, more than any other city in the world. To expand Heathrow as a hub (ie a place where people change planes) may boost the profits of BAA but the economy needs people who see London as a destination.

If you are one of the 720,000 people already disturbed by noise from Heathrow or concerned about the effect the airport has on our local environment or wider climate change, then now is the time to make your voice heard.

What you can do

• complain to BAA each time you are disturbed by aircraft noise by phoning 0800 344 844 or emailing noise_complaints@baa.com Complaints are a key indicator the government watches.
• write to your MP to express your concerns and to your local councillors to urge them to become more active in the Heathrow debate.
• respond to the government’s consultations. The Department for Transport’s current consultation covers aviation noise and environmental policy.
• join the Ealing Aircraft Noise Action Group. For £10 (£5 concessions) we will keep you up-to-date with developments and use the funds to campaign on behalf of Ealing residents. Our website, www.eanag.org.uk outlines some of the key issues, links to relevant documents (including the government consultations) and gives more information about what you can do.

We need to let our politicians know our strength of feeling and that their re-election depends on them saying NO to BAA.

Ealing Aircraft Noise Action Group
www.eanag.org.uk
eanagaircraftnoise@hotmail.com

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West Ealing Family Day – music, food, kids’activities, craft market and more – Saturday from 10am

The weather forecast is good and there’ll be music, food and activities for kids’, so make the most of the good weather and enjoy the late summer at West Ealing Family Day on Saturday.

Some of the activities and events for Family Day:

Kids’ activities include – Punch and Judy (11.30am) at the farmers’ market in Leeland Road; drumming workshops, magic shows and kids’ cookery school at St James Church; making ceramics at OPEN Ealing’s stall in St James Ave; ‘make your own…’ stall in Canberra Road. Also football in Dean Gardens from 1-3pm and fun and activities in St John’s Church from 10.30am.

Music,dance and hot food in Melbourne Ave – music starts at 11am

Craft market in St James Avenue

Community information and craft stalls in Canberra Road

WEN Abundance selling locally made jams, chutneys and more in front of St James Church

Watch out for more including a St John’s Ambulance stand and if you like climbing stairs then you can get a spectacular view across west London from the top of the tower at St John’s Church in Mattock Lane – tours from 10.30am – 3.30pm.

More information on times of kids’ activities on our website

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Developer announced for Sherwood Close Estate in West Ealing

Ealing Council’s cabinet meeting last night (Tuesday) approved Affinity Sutton as the preferred developer for West Ealing’s Sherwood Close (Dean Gardens) Estate.

For a bit of background to this development here is an extract from a news item on our website from March 2010:

‘As with the Green Man Lane Estate, residents have identified anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, too many one-bedroom homes and too few four bedroom homes as major concerns.  Work is already underway with residents to put together a brief for developers.  Built in the early 1980s on one half of the Northfield allotment site, Sherwood Close has 209 homes and, unlike the Green Man Lane Estate, was not system built.  Nevertheless, the decison has been made to demolish it and rebuild it – almost certainly with a greater number of homes.’

With 57,000 homes, Affinity Sutton is one of the country’s largest providers of social housing. It published its first ever corporate responsibility review in 2011/12  

West Ealing Neighbours welcomes Affinity Sutton to West Ealing and we welcome the prospect of high quality new homes for the residents of the Sherwood Close Estate. We look forward to seeing its detailed plans. This is a major development in the heart of West Ealing and we very much hope Affinity Sutton will see this as an opportunity to invest not just in the new estate and its residents but also play its full part  in the wider West Ealing community at a crucial time in its regeneration.

 

 

 

 

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Lots of free children’s activities at West Ealing Family Day on Saturday 22nd September

We’ve put together our best yet activities and entertainment for children at this year’s Family Day. So far confirmed:

Farmers’ Market in Leeland Road – Punch and Judy show from 11.30 – 12.30 plus fruit and vegetable printing and chalk street art

St James Avenue – OPEN Ealing stall for making ceramics – 10am – 4pm

St James Church – drumming workshops, magic shows and cookery lessons. Schedule so far:

11am Drumming workshop (40 mins)

11.45am Magic Show (40 mins)

12.30pm Drumming workshop (40 mins)

1.15pm Magic workshop (40 mins)

3pm Drumming performance (20 mins)

St James Church Garden 10.30am – 3pm Kids’ Cookery School – a chance for kids to make their own healthy meals.

Check our website for final details

 

 

 

 

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More than1,000 march through Ealing to save local hospital

Saturday 15 September 2012 may well prove to be a red letter day as far as cuts to local NHS healthcare services. I, with my wife and eldest son joined some 1,000 people who marched from Southall to Ealing Common along the Uxbridge Road. There we were joined by some 400 people who had marched from Acton to Ealing Common. The 1,400 or so people who attended the rally on the Common enjoyed speeches for all three Ealing MPs, Hammersmith’s Labour MP Andy Slaughter, Ealing’s Council Leader and senior Trade Unionists. As ever the most rousing and passionate speech came from Steve Pound Ealing North’s Labour MP. Not surprisingly Ealing Central and Acton’s Conservative MP Angie Bray got a mixed reaction from the crowd.

This is the largest protest march and rally I have ever seen in Ealing – and I have lived here more or less continuously for over 40 years.

Many of the marchers waived placards, blew noisy horns and one of them was banging a very loud drum. Young and old, rich and poor, Tories, Labour supporters, LibDems, Councillors, MPs, socialists, NHS staff, teachers’ unions, and many Southall residents took part. Southall is the most deprived part of the borough and has the highest prevalence of diabetes, tuberculosis and coronary heart disease in Ealing.

Ealing Conservatives were very active in distributing copies of the 80 page NHS NW London consultation document along with a simple guide on how to ‘legally’ express your view to retain Ealing Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department.

Eric Leach

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Where has all the fruit gone?

WEN Abundance is having a lean year for the first time since its inception 5 years ago with very little fruit on offer so far. We are by no means the only group suffering from a lack of Abundance, groups across London and the rest of the country are scaling down activities.  A mixture of a bumper year last year and mixed weather earlier on this year has resulted in fewer yields to date. 

Luckily for us we made lots of produce last year – including delicious new chutney recipes. All of which will be on sale at West Ealing Family Day on Saturday 22nd September.  Come along to our stall outside St James Church, St James Avenue from 10am – 4pm (providing stocks last!).

If anyone knows of any suitable fruit going spare, particularly apples for our fruit press to use at West Ealing Family Day please contact wenabundance@gmail.com

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Get ready for West Ealing Family Day on Saturday 22nd September

 

This year’s West Ealing Family Day is fast approaching. This year we have more activities for children including:

  • drumming workshops and magic shows in St James Church
  • painting and other children’s activities in the famers’ market in Leeland Road
  • arts activities for children with OPEN Ealing in St James Avenue
  • football in Dean Gardens

We’ll again have hot food and live music in Melbourne Avenue, a craft market in St James Avenue and, for the first time, specialist food stalls and community information stalls in Canberra Road alongside Sainsbury’s. Watch out too for our Abundance stall and apple juice pressing in front of St James Church.

Full details of activities and timings will be on our website

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Face painting for kids, natural skin care products, free teas and coffees and more at this Saturday’s West Ealing Craft Market

Alongside the 16 craft stalls selling locally made goods, St James’ Church is offering free teas and coffees at this Saturday’s craft market in St James Avenue ( by entrance to Sainsbury’s car park). The market runs from 10am – 3pm and you can buy a selection of jewellery, home-baked cakes, natural skin care products including soaps, bath salts, body butters, hand creams, as well as original drawings and paintings, handmade beaded bracelets and there’s also face painting for kids.