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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

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A blot on West Ealing: the shame that is Canberra Road

Fly-tipping this week in 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.

 

 

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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:

Continue reading “Failures in Common Sense Cause Even More Parking and Congestion Havoc in Felix Road”

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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

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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.

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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

 

 

 

 


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A fantastic West Ealing Family Day in Pictures

Opera Viscera at St James Church
Pamela Howard School - Japanese Dancing
Melbourne Avenue
Melbourne Avenue
Some dancing to the steel band!
Some of the food stalls on Melbourne Avenue
Melbourne Avenue
Steel band on Melbourne Avenue
WEN Abundance in action with apple press
The Oddfellows in St James Church
Lots of Children interested in our apple press!
Get stuck in Pauly!
WEN Abundance setting up stall
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West Ealing Family Day: free opera workshop for children on Saturday

Free Opera workshop for children on Saturday 24th September at St James Church 1-3pm

Opera Viscera return to Ealing for a one-off special event. They are staging a free 2-hour workshop for children aged 7-12 at 1pm followed at 3.15pm by a performance from their specially written opera ‘Narcissus and Echo’

This workshop is aimed at children aged 7-12. You can come along to the OPEN Ealing stall in Melbourne Avenue and reserve a free place.

Afternoon Starts: 1pm (Breaks for juice and biscuits will be taken during the afternoon)

Parents Arrive: 3pm

Performance of Opera: 3.15pm

‘We are creating a musical performance of the story ‘Narcissus and Echo’ and we need your help to make it something special. Dive into a world of sounds and mirrors with us and who knows what your imagination might find……’

Children will discover the story of Narcissus & Echo and learn how an opera is made in an energetic, experimental and fun afternoon of music and drama. The afternoon will finish with a version of our opera ‘Narcissus & Echo’: a mythical tale of music, magic and mirrors. We hope that the children might let you in on some of the day’s discoveries so that you can enjoy the show as much as they will!

Sarah HillSarah Hill – Workshop Leader

When not performing as a violinist Sarah is currently teaching the violin and leading Wider Opportunity projects at primary schools around Manchester. With an urge to gain more experience in educating children though the creative arts Sarah has completed the Dalcroze Easter Course, has been a volunteer tutor with Special Virtuosi (a music group for children with learning disabilities) and has attended all sorts of workshops with EarlyArts aiming at nurturing creativity in children.

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Free opera workshop for children at West Ealing Family Day on Saturday 24th September

Saturday 24th September at St James Church from 1pm -3pm

Opera Viscera and OPEN Ealing present a workshop afternoon of music, drama, and design;exploring the process of making an opera (a story with music). Throughout the afternoon the children will help our performers choose how their characters might move on stage, what sounds they might make, and what their costumes could look like. They will even have a go at conducting our professional musicians! The afternoon will finish with highlights of our opera ‘Narcissus and Echo’; a mythical tale of music, magic and mirrors. We hope that the children might let you  on on some of the day’s discoveries so that you can enjoy the show as much as they will! 

Opera Viscera are a team of young professional musicians, composers and designers who came to OPEN Ealing in July to prepare their new opera. They premiered their opera at OPEN to a packed audience and have since performed it at the Secret Garden Festival and other venues.

 
The workshop will be led by violinist Sarah Hill (pictured)- an experienced music teacher and workshop leader. If you’d like to book a place on this workshop please email westealingneighbours@gmail.com

David Highton