Reprieve shortlived as Blockbusters in West Ealing to close

Photo0272Sadly, the reprieve for the West Ealing Blockbusters has been short. There is a large Closing Down sign now on their window. I’m sorry for everyone who works there and for the loss of what appears to be a profitable branch. It will leave a hole on our high street and it’s a challenge for us as a residents group and others to find a way to bring this part of West Ealing back to life.

6 Replies to “Reprieve shortlived as Blockbusters in West Ealing to close”

  1. Yes, that was short lived. I read somewhere that Morrisons was buying up Blockbuster stores but I think they’ve already got one planned for underneath the 24 hour gym. As for that end of the high street, it’ll probably be a hotel, a chicken shop, a betting shop or all three. I’ve no reason to visit that end of the high street at all anymore (I stopped going so often when the Chinese Supermarket and Richer Sounds went) so will be spending more money online or at Westfield/Central London I suppose.

  2. I think there’s a brilliant opportunity for that whole site to become a hub for the arts, new business, artists’ studios and more. It could just be a key element in kick-starting a regeneration of West Ealing. The whole site is about 10,000 sq ft over three floors. The top floor would be perfect for artists’ studios and OPEN Ealing showed there is a demand for these. The first floor could be a mixture of a business hub for new and start-ups with sensibly priced space to hire by the hour/day or month (see Kings Cross and Westminster HUBs for a somewhat similar idea) and space for arts activities such as rooms to hire, gallery (again OPEN Ealing showed a demand for these), and so on. The ground floor could make a great community cafe – a hub for local information and good coffee and a place to meet. It could also have a gallery area as well – a door on to what else is in the building.

    I’m sorry to see Blockbusters go but it opens a once-in-a-generation chance to put all these activities together on one site in central West Ealing. Nearly all I read about the future of our high streets is about bringing community activities in and not getting obsessed by desperately searching for new shops. It’s a time to re-think what it is we want and need on our high streets.

  3. The store lost money last year, it’s no longer commercially viable. West Ealing is slowly dying and it’s a good indication of the state of the country. I feel sorry for the staff, and retail workers in general. Ealing Council and the government don’t care about the common worker.

  4. I agree with David. I am sad that Blockbusters are going but if we can stop a betting hotel with chicken shop, nail bar and pawnbroker’s going in there, it could be a brilliant site for the activities he describes. An added bonus would be the ability to connect with the public by occasionally having activities outside in St James Avenue.

    PS. Diane, you could transfer your Blockbuster rummage to the charity shops. PDSA is the cheapest for DVDs – 99p – and the randomness of charity shops makes finding something you like more satisfying. They all seem to have a pretty high turnover. Their range of kids’ DVDs might be more limited than Blockbuster, but you never know.

  5. Thanks Allan. I am one of these charity donaters but never shop there myself! I agree if OPEN can go in there and we can have a real hub for the arts it will be a brilliant use of space as well as hopefully regenerating the bit of West Ealing that WEN have been fighting so hard for these past few months.

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