* Office of National Statistics
** The Empty Homes Agency

WEN September Public Meeting

Our recent public meeting on 30th September at Dean Hall featured an interesting set of presentations and discussions about the problems of street /park drinkers in West Ealing. Ealing Council has a contract with St. Mungo's homeless charity for it to provide help to these drinkers.  Steve Watson and Luton Sinfield of St Mungo's explained the scope of the problems they had to deal with and the programmes and techniques they employ to help these people. As many of us are aware a lot of these problem drinkers hail from Eastern Europe and winter weather conditions alone back home will ensure that many of them will remain here rather than return to Eastern Europe.

Trevor Sharman of the Ealing Transition Town initiative gave a brief introduction to the group which formally launches in November. ‘Transition' is all about practical approaches to dealing with the problems cause by Peak Oil and Climate Change. There are already over 100 Transition towns in the UK. Sustainable local food production is a major strand of ETT's activities and WEN is already talking to them about our Abundance project. The next ETT public meeting is an all day (10:00am to 4:00pm) ‘Open Space' event on Food. The meeting is on Saturday 21st November in St Mary's Church, St Mary's Road. More info at www.ealingtransition.org.uk

We launched our Lido Junction Report at the meeting - more info below.

In the Open Forum Tony Elley raised the issue of seemingly illegal building developments in the back gardens of houses in West Ealing. Northfield Councillor David Millican explained that the problem was not one of planning law enforcement but a problem of weaknesses in planning law. However residents pointed out that with 8 Council Planning Enforcement Officers and 100 Traffic Warden Officers maybe there were some deficiencies in planning enforcement.

Lido Junction

This perennially dangerous for pedestrians junction of Uxbridge Road, Northfield Avenue and Drayton Green Road has been studied in great detail for months by a WEN inspired group of informed residents. The group - called The Lido Junction Project Group - consists of representatives from the Five Roads Forum, Kingsdown Residents' Association and WEN. After numerous meetings and traffic/pedestrian research sessions at the junction, the group has produced its recommendations for improvements at and around the junction. This report was published in September 2009.

See the Lido Junction page on the WEN website to read the 31 page report along with many other supporting documents. WEN has circulated this report widely and has begun the process of engaging with local and regional politicians, local transport Officers and TfL to turn our recommendations into improvements at and around the junction.
Sad to say that as of 30th October 2009 none of the nine Councillors whose Wards abut the Lido Junction have even acknowledged receipt of the report.

£137 Million  Green Man Lane Estate Redevelopment

On the 9th and 10th October 2009 the development consortium  A2Dominion (A2D)/Rydon/Conran ran a public exhibition in Jubilee Hall to display and discuss its current redevelopment plans for GMLE. The new picture of what the new estate might look like is shown below. WEN also met with the consortium and contractors to discuss their current plans and views on 6th October 2009.

Disappointingly, the open crescent design published in May 2009 is gone and is replaced by what look like three square residential blocks with ‘gated' green enclosures in the middle of them.


May 2009 design.


November 2009 design.

There are still no plans to extend/rebuild/relocate St John's School and to use this opportunity to redesign the roads north of the estate to remove the road rage problems along Alexandria and Felix Roads. There is no new direct access from these roads to the Uxbridge Road. The ‘community facilities' element has yet to be determined  and we await the outcome of discussions and consultation about such matters as law and order or healthcare facilities; small start-up industrial/office units;  sporting/play/leisure facilities; and a vastly improved or rebuilt Jacob's Ladder footbridge over the railway line.

The shopper car parking places seem to have returned and are strung out along the southern side of Singapore Road. In summary though, it's still seen as a straightforward housing project - knocking down 456 thirty-one-year-old flats and replacing them with 738 new homes.

In Ealing Council's recently published draft Local Development Framework Core Strategy documents, GMLE regeneration is mentioned as ‘...contributing to the regeneration of West Ealing Broadway.' It also alludes to ‘...improving access to West Ealing Broadway'. On the face of it it's hard, maybe impossible, to see how these laudable LDF aspirations could be met given the current state of the  GMLE plans.

A Planning Application from A2D/Rydon is expected in early 2010. The GMLE redevelopment will be carried out in stages and will not be completed till 2018

A2D's Head of Community Involvement Simon Hall told WEN that the current plans could well be changed as a result of the on-going consultation with the current GMLE residents and other local stakeholders. It will be interesting to read A2D's summary of the October 2009 exhibition and stakeholder meetings' feedback.

A new GMLE Redevelopment web site has been launched by the development consortium of A2D/Rydon/Conran.You can find it at www.greenmanlane.co.uk

West Ealing Crossrail

Crossrail is a £16 billion project to enable trains to run direct from Maidenhead and Heathrow through the West End of London, the City, Canary Wharf and out to Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in Bexley. It is the largest engineering project in Europe.

On 22nd September 2009 Ealing Council's Crossrail Scrutiny Panel met and discussed in public for the first time West Ealing Crossrail.

For West Ealing, Crossrail plan to build a new ticket hall in Manor Road with step free access from the street to platforms. New staircases and lifts will be fitted as will a footbridge over the tracks to access platforms. The platforms will be extended westwards to accommodate the 10 carriage trains. There will be improved cycle storage, upgraded passenger information boards and upgraded platform lighting. Lastly, the Greenford branch will terminate at West Ealing on a newly built platform and passengers can then transfer to Crossrail and other trains.

After a short generic Crossrail slide show from a Crossrail representative, WEN and others then proceeded to ask the Crosssrail, Network Rail and TfL representatives many questions. These questions are listed in the meeting report on WEN's web site home page. Sadly there are few answers. Ealing Council promised that at a subsequent Crossrail Scrutiny Panel meeting answers to the questions would be supplied - once the three transport authorities had supplied the answers.

Sadly the West Ealing Station ticket office footprint is currently no larger than the original one opened in 1871. From the sparse details which emerged from the meeting it wasn't possible to tell just how much more space there would be in the 2017 station ticket office. Given the limited area of available land between Manor Road and the east bound platform, a ticket office on this site will not be ‘large' at all.

Work on West Ealing Crossrail is expected to start in 2013 with a completion date for the whole Crossrail project of 2017.

The Future of Pitshanger Manor, 24th November

Pitshanger Manor on Ealing Green, rebuilt by John Soane in c1810, is Ealing's only Grade 1 Listed Building. Council Leader Councillor Jason Stacey will lead a Walpole Residents' Association  inspired discussion on the future of the building in Ealing Town Hall on Tuesday 24th November, 2009, commencing at 7:30pm.


The house is 800 metres from a future Crossrail Station and consequently is located within the Ealing LDF Core Strategy zone where residential tower blocks might be built. But, whether you want the building preserved, used, replaced by a skateboard  park , allotments or a residential tower block - come and have your say.

If you want to have a look inside the house before the meeting, a ‘Food and Art' exhibition is running inside the house (actually until 2nd January, 2010).

Recycle Your Unwanted Items for Others to Re-use - Ealing Freecycle

Do you have unwanted electrical or household items which you are trying to work out how to recycle, or leftover materials from a DIY project which you are hesitant to throw away? People in West Ealing are reaping the benefits of using Freecycle to enable others to reuse their items - and to save money themselves - and are contributing to the rapid growth of Ealing Freecycle, which now has nearly 15,000 members across Ealing. 

Ealing Freecycle is just one of the thousands of Freecycle communities run by volunteers in towns and cities around the UK and globally. In a nutshell, Freecycle is an online network that links people who have stuff to get rid of with other people who want stuff. West Ealing residents have found new homes for mattresses and beds when moving house, garden furniture or plant pots during the summer season, and children's toys and clothes when they are simply outgrown. 

While many of us immediately think of the local dump as the place to dispose of or recycle unwanted household or garden items, finding a new home for your items is better than recycling, both for the environment and for the community. Simply posting an ‘OFFERED' message with a description of the item is bound to find you a keen potential new owner who will come and collect the item from you - what could be easier? Ultimately the aim of Freecycle is to keep good things out of our ever-growing landfills and in the households of people who actually need them - ideal in this time of recession. While the most popular things are furniture and electrical items, there are certainly often many unusual items which need good homes or which others may have lurking in their loft should you need them (you can post a ‘WANTED' message to see if  someone can help you). Recent posts from West Ealing residents have offered a cat scratching post, trampoline, spirit level and even a wooden shed! With between 1500 and 2000 posts a month from people offering items or looking for items, West Ealing residents are a driving force in helping to keep things out of landfill.  

Membership of Freecycle is free and you can sign up online. The only rules are items have to be legal, appropriate for all ages, and given free. It's an amazing system used by over 7.2 million people a year, keeping millions of items out of landfill a day - good for you, good for the environment, and good for Ealing. For more information go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ealingfreecycle/ and follow the simple instructions to sign up to Ealing Freecycle.
Rose Wray-Brown

Abundance

WEN Abundance initiative is all about the local community picking, preserving, distributing and enjoying unwanted fruit to be found in people's gardens and in public places. It began in 2007 when apples from a local garden, which the owner was unable to pick, were picked by WEN and given away to local residents. In 2008 Abundance got more organised and picked blackberries, apples, pears etc and made jams and chutneys. These products were then sold at the St James annual winter Craft Fair. WEN and the church shared the profits.

This year we've picked a bumper crop of damsons, plums and a late crop of pears. So expect delicious damson jam, plum sauce, and pear and lemon marmalade. We've got some different varieties of chillies fresh out of my back garden. They are all hand made to our exacting standards in small batches, and will all be on sale at St James Craft Fair on Saturday 7th November. The Craft Fair this year is even bigger and better, so come along and buy all your Christmas presents at one go!

See ‘Abundance Blog' for recipes and lots more Abundance information.
Diane Gill

Local Development Framework

The Local Development Framework (LDF) is the Government's latest planning initiative. Ealing's LDF, when finally signed off by National Government in 2013, will provide guidance to Ealing Council as to what can be built and what can not built on the 32 square miles of the borough during the years 2011 to 2016.

Recently Ealing Council issued a set of draft LDF Core Strategy proposals for Public Consultation. WEN was unimpressed both with the proposals and the way that the consultation was carried out. WEN's formal response to the Ealing LDF Core Strategy proposals can be found on the Local Development Framework page at www.westealingneighbours.org.uk

In summary, WEN's objections are that the proposals are almost exclusively about housing; with over 10,000 homes to be built in tower blocks in the most densely populated centres of our communities; and there is a complete absence of details on social and community infrastructure to support the incoming new residents. WEN's objections to the Public Consultation are that at 326 pages the LDF documents are too long and in many places too ‘technical' for residents to understand and comment upon.

 The four LDF Public Consultation meetings were poorly publicised and patchy and inadequate in geographic coverage; but they generated considerable opposition to the LDF Core Strategy.  You can read more about each of these meetings, which I attended and wrote notes about, on ‘The WEN blog' also at www.westealingneighbours.org.uk

There will be more Public Consultation next year along with a Public Inquiry on the subject.

Saving Ealing's Antique Lampposts

Almost three years to the day of its formation, the SEAL alliance of local residents has played a major part in saving over 700 antique cast-iron lampposts. These posts have been re-used in the Heritage Quarter (HQ) which covers parts of West Ealing, South Ealing and central Ealing. The HQ project officially completed on 6th November 2009.

Image showing the old and the new during the refurbishment project.

WEN - Who, What and Where?

WEN exists to try and improve the quality of life for West Ealing residents, workers and visitors. Membership is free and available to anyone in the West Ealing community, irrespective of background, race, ethnicity, nationality, sex orientation, political orientation or gender. WEN was formed in November 2005. The group is run by volunteer local residents, who are elected annually by WEN members. The group's Management Committee - which meets up once a month - is made up of:

Chair

• David Highton

Secretary

• Diane Gill

Treasurer

• Andrew Cazalet

Vice-Chair

• Eric Leach

Without Portfolio

• Gill Adams
• Allison Franklin
• Sally Greenbrook
• Sarah Judic
• Chris Gilson
• Nick Greenhalgh
• Frank Proud

West Ealing Neighbours
Tel: 020 7099 9036
Email: westealingneighbours@gmail.com
Web Site: www.westealingneighbours.org.uk
Postal Address;
32, Regina Road, London W13 9EF
Copyright: West Ealing Neighbours, 2009