Hi, just went to a meeting – 13 Ealing churches are opening their doors to increasing numbers of rough sleepers in the borough, from Jan to March 2012. They are short of single fitted sheets, blankets and overnight (and other) helpers. Video below is well worth watching. More info on their website: http://ecwns.org.uk/index.html
Can street pastors help night-time West Ealing?
This report is from Ann Clifford, about her experience as a Street Pastor in West Ealing:
‘Street Pastors have been patrolling in Ealing Broadway for two years now. I joined a year ago and as a resident of West Ealing, was extremely excited when, three weeks ago, we had our first patrol in West Ealing.
What is a Street Pastor? A Street Pastor is someone who’s main role is to make themselves available to care, listen, support and help all people on the street, particularly the young and vulnerable. We also pick up bottles so they cannot be used as weapons. You’ll be surprised to learn that amongst other things, we carry with us space blankets, spikies (a device you put on a bottle to stop it being spiked), and of course flip flops. Why flip flops? I Continue reading “Can street pastors help night-time West Ealing?”
Come along to our second Tweetup – 10 November at the Star and Anchor
It’s that time again! After our very successful Tweetup in June, West Ealing Neighbours is having another one! The Star and Anchor is hosting our the event on Thursday, 10 November from 7:30pm.
It’s a chance to have a drink and a chat with your neighbours in West Ealing, meet some new people, and maybe even make a connection or two! We’re inviting local tweeters, bloggers, foodies, councillors and personalities. There will be locals to talk to about the arts in Ealing, including local film, reading and music. Or, if you’re interested in the bricks and mortar of our community, you can talk to people about local planning issues and regeneration. Maybe there’s a fantastic local restaurant you want to tell everyone about?
We’ll also be hosting a book swap where you can bring along the books you want to share with others, and find some new ones to read!
So come on down to the Star and Anchor (they’re will be probably be nibbles!)- it would be great to see you there and have a drink with you!
Date: Thursday, 10 November, 2011
Time: From 7:30pm til late
Where: The Star and Anchor, 94 Uxbridge Road, West Ealing, London, W13 8RA
Who’ll be there: Members of West Ealing Neighbours, and other West Ealing and Ealing locals
Update on policing in West Ealing
Dean Gardens– Action Group update
We reported, in September, on the first Joint Action Group meeting held to coordinate the response of the Police, Council and other local agencies to the incidents involving the young night-time group that is new to this area. Now, a third but totally unconnected incident has occurred in the small hours of the morning on Wednesday 19th October. As the second, follow-up, JAG meeting was already scheduled for today, this latest incident was included on the agenda. This note summarises the overall situation and the main outcomes of the meeting for the local community.
Fundamentally, West Ealing is part of a residential area, not a centre for ‘gang behaviour’ or any other illegal activity. Already, during the daytime the park is busy with families, many enjoying the children’s facilities. The situation at night is also improving, particularly at weekends.
The increased police resources on the ground have already had a positive effect. Their numbers will be even higher this weekend with the aim of further increasing visible law enforcement. Nothing is being left to chance and residents will be very pleased to hear that the police are, and will be, taking a very firm stance. The work of the plain clothes and SNT officers gathering intelligence is continuing in parallel to this. The latest incident is being investigated by a special dedicated police unit.
As planned, the Council, Fire Brigade and Police have started their coordinated review of commercial premises in the area to ensure that licensing, planning and food health and safety legislation is being strictly enforced. Local Shisha and Khat café outlets are a particular focus, and already we are delighted that operators are cooperating by signing a Responsible Retailer Agreement. This is a key first step in the drive to minimise any local ‘under the counter’ sales. Again, in parallel, local outreach organisations such as St Mungo’s and Ealing
Council Adult and Children’s Services are also involved to help cushion any impact on the genuinely homeless and disadvantaged.
In summary – progress has already been achieved. The recent incident is unconnected with the past pattern and is being investigated very thoroughly. We can all continue to help. If you are aware of any anti-social behaviour or drug related incident, you can report it by ringing 101 (this number is for all calls to the police other than emergencies – for which please ring 999). 101 will get you through to the Metropolitan Police who will pass the details to a duty officer in Ealing for collation by our intelligence team.
If you have any additional queries, you can contact our local Walpole Police SNT on 020 8721 2949
Thank you.
Patrick Chapman, Walpole SNT Focus Panel
Chair
21st October 2011
A blot on West Ealing: the shame that is Canberra Road
To be honest Canberra Road is driving me nuts! Canberra Road is the service road that runs along the north side of Sainsbury’s and across Melbourne Ave by the side of Luckhurst’s and to the back of Lidl’s. I pass it almost every day and almost without fail it’s a disgrace – dumped black bags, old sofas, bags of clothes and overflowing wheelie bins. The problem is that it’s at the back of a row of shops where deliveries have to take place and it now is the entrance to a host of new flats built on top of many of these shops (some of which do not appear to have any of their own bins) and it has a large charity collection bin for clothes. All in all, it’s seen as a good dumping ground for people wanting to fly-tip all manner of unwanted goods. In fairness, the Council tries hard to keep it clean. I talked to one of the street cleaners a week or so ago who was having to clear up there and he said Council trucks come along every day to take away dumped rubbish. But it shouldn’t be like this. Why should we have to put up with constant fly-tipping along this road?
From a West Ealing Neighbours point of view Canberra Road is the key link between Melbourne Avenue, the heart of West Ealing, and St James Avenue where we hold a variety of events – Family Day, the annual arts and crafts fair and occasional craft markets. We need to reclaim this road from the fly-tippers and make it a decent road to walk along as opposed to the nasty, rubbish strewn road it is most of the time.
I confess I don’t think it will be easy to clear up Canberra Road but we need to try. I’m going to ask the Council if a CCTV camera can be put there for a while to catch the fly-tippers. But we need more than that. We need to make it look decent, so any ideas are very welcome.
Failures in Common Sense Cause Even More Parking and Congestion Havoc in Felix Road
Felix Road resident Dave Randles emails a Felix Road neighbour who has just returned from holiday:
I am sorry that you missed the ward Forum meeting on 22 September – it was me who put the reminder through your door as I felt that the Councillors should be able to update everyone on the current situation. The reasons for the current meltdown are several:
Free folk music this Friday lunchtime at OPEN Ealing
Come along to OPEN between 12.30 and 1.30pm on Friday to relax and listen to local folk group Oddfellas play traditional folk songs and tunes from the British Isles on banjo, fiddle, guitar and more – and all for free!
Sing Palestine event at OPEN Ealing 18th November
Dear All, here are details of a very special event indeed. We hope you will support it.
Only 100 tickets so it is advisable to buy in advance.
Jean Fitzpatrick
Friends of Nablus And Surrounding Areas (FONSA) and Friends of An-Najah University (FAN)invite you to
SING
PALESTINE
Friday 18th November- doors open 7.00pm
OPEN Ealing, 113 Uxbridge Road London W5 5TL
The An-Najah musicians
4 musicians playing the oud, the Arabic flute, and more, will be coming from Nablus especially for this event to enchant you with their traditional songs and music
Leon Rosselson
Singer songwriter who has written many songs for Palestine
Refreshments, raffle, the opportunity to buy olive trees for Nablus. The certificates make great Christmas gifts!
All proceeds will be used to plant trees in vulnerable villages within the Nablus area and to buy equipment for the new Nablus teaching Hospital
Tickets: £12
5 years of West Ealing Neighbours – Let’s celebrate!
No we can’t believe we are that old either!
To celebrate this milestone you are invited to a gathering on October 13th from 7.30pm onwards at OPEN Ealing 113 Uxbridge Road, West Ealing (opposite the fire station) W5 5TL with a glass of wine and some of our yummy Abundance produce.
This is an important time for WEN as many of our committee members now have to step down after their 5 years in office – includng the chair (David Highton) and Vice-Chair (Eric Leach) Don’t worry though they aren’t leaving WEN, just taking on different roles – we are therefore keen to talk to you about how you can get involved.
We are a small group that think we have achieved quite a lot in the 5 years we have been together. We’d like to tell you some of what we have done and what we plan to do, but just as important are your ideas about what the next 5 years might look like.
And to top it all Cheddar Deli, 108 Northfields Avenue are also donating a fantastic cheese board for you to win in a raffle.
Update on police action over Dean Gardens and surrounding area
In the past five weeks we have had two major incidents in the Dean Gardens area. These incidents came as a surprise, as the number of local problems has actually been slowly decreasing. However, the Police, Council and other local agencies have joined together with the aim of eradicating such serious incidents from the area. A JAG meeting (Joint Action Group) was convened on 16th September by the Walpole Safer Neighbourhood Team on behalf of Ealing Police. This note summarises the main outcomes for the local community.
It is now clear that the ‘troublemakers’ in Dean Gardens have changed over recent months. In the past the same known people frequented the area, day and night. We now have two entirely different groups. In particular, at night, we have a younger group – understood to be predominantly Somali – converging on West Ealing, probably as it is convenient, central to their homes, well served by buses and has a ready supply of alcohol off-sales, Shisha and Khat café outlets.
As a direct response to the recent incidents, the police have increased their resources on the ground – 24/7. It is quite likely that residents will see rapid response units and other centralised specialist units being called in at any time of the night and day to support our local teams. The aim is to increase visible law enforcement. In addition there is an increase in the number of plain clothes officers gathering intelligence, as nobody quite understands who these young people are and why they want to be in West Ealing during the night.
As a result of the JAG, the Council, Fire Brigade and Police will be coordinating their work in the area to ensure that licensing, planning and food health and safety legislation is being strictly enforced. This should help minimise any local ‘under the counter’ sales of alcohol and squeeze the availability of Shisha and Khat, neither of which are controlled substances in this country.
Everyone appreciates that a clamp down inWest Ealing is likely to move the problem to other areas and therefore local outreach organisations such as St Mungo’s and Ealing Council Adult and Children’s Services are also involved to help cushion the impact on the genuinely homeless and disadvantaged.
In summary – everyone at the JAG agreed that the current night-time situation must change. West Ealing is part of a residential area, not a centre for ‘gang behaviour’. And with this in mind, everyone in the area can help. If you are aware of any anti-social behaviour or drug related incident, you can report it by ringing 101 (this number is for all calls to the police other than emergencies – for which please ring 999). 101 will get you through to the Metropolitan Police who will pass the details to a duty officer in Ealing for collation by our intelligence team.
If you have any queries, you can contact our local Walpole Police SNT on 020 8721 2949
Thank you.
Patrick RR Chapman
Chairman, Walpole Ward SNT Focus Group Panel