Working together to make West Ealing a better place for residents, businesses and visitors.
The post on the Ealing Today website about blatant drug dealing on the streets of West Ealing has set us thinking again about how to tackle this problem. I’m told the CCTV cameras along the Uxbridge Road have simply pushed the drug dealing onto the side streets.
We’re interested to know what people think so that we can take this up again with our local Safer Neighbourhood police teams. Please leave a comment to let us know your thoughts and experiences.
David Highton
It hadn’t occurred to me until Desire Motorsport opened last week (where Hewden Tool Hire used to be) that this end of West Ealing near the junction with Eccleston Road has a cluster of tyre and car accessory shops. There’s Ealing Tyres in Eccleston Road itself, Kieran’s tyre, MOT and accessory shop in the Uxbridge Road, Kwik-Fit on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and Coldershaw Road, Cartronic Centre in Coldershaw Road and now Desire Motorsport tyre and alloy wheel hub shop has joined them.
I spoke to the owner of Desire Motorsport who lives in Hanwell and has worked locally for many years. He realised the value of being part of a cluster of car-related shops.
Good luck to him and I hope all these shops and businesses, and West Ealing, benefit from being near one another.
David Highton
Just as I came out of Sainsbury’s this morning I heard this quacking noise and there waiting patiently near the front door was a Mallard duck. Maybe its mate had gone in to shop! After a while it gave up waiting, quacked loudly and flew off.
That’s by no means the first time I’ve seen ducks around that area. I’ve seen and heard them walking the streets around Melbourne Ave and St James Ave a few times over the last couple of years. I do wonder where they come from? Maybe they are based in one of the ponds at Walpole Park and come to visit West Ealing a few times each year.
If anyone else sees them please do let us know.
David Highton
The community arts project OPEN Ealing, run by West Ealing Arts, has launched its first arts classes and workshops for adults:
For details of times and costs visit www.openealing.com or call on 020 8579 5558 or drop in at 113 Uxbridge Road on corner of Culmington Road and opposite fire station).
David Highton
If you were caught up in yesterday’s (Wednesday) traffic chaos at lunchtime on the Uxbridge Road in West Ealing and Ealing Broadway and wondering what happened, I can tell you as I happened to be there at the time.
I was volunteering at OPEN Ealing, the new community arts centre for West Ealing, and a few of us were talking when we heard the unmistakable sound of a car accident. We rushed out and almost in front of our office at 113 Uxbridge Road a car trying to turn right into Culmington Road had collided with one coming along the Uxbridge Road. There was a large eastbound lorry stopped at the accident so may have had a part in it.
I rang 999 to report the accident, though the odd thing was that no-one seemed to come out to look from the fire station which was 50 yards from the accident. Some minutes later a fire engine turned on its siren and rolled out the 50 yards to the accident scene. In fairness though it probably had to be called in once the police assessed the situation. As it turned out the fire engine was vital as one of the drivers had to be cut out of their car. The other driver was able to get out and she seemed unharmed.
It took quite some time for the driver to be released from his car and I hope he or she soon recovers. It must have been at least an hour for the road to be re-opened.
David Highton
The recent opening of the British Heart Foundation’s new shop (see previous post) made me think again about the changing nature of our high street. Yes, you could just say it’s yet another charity shop and we already have eight. But, it struck me that this shop is something rather different for West Ealing. Almost every time I go in to one of the charity shops it seems busy as I try to manoeuvre my way between the shoppers and the clothes rails. What BHF seem to have noticed though is that there is a complete gap in the market for a charity shop selling household goods such as electrical appliances and furniture.
Much has been written about how Britain’s high streets are changing. I
have lived in West Ealing since 1978 and, like many others, can all too easily reminisce about how West Ealing’s high street used to have a Marks and Spencer, a WH Smith, Mothercare, let alone the department stores such as FH Rowse and Daniels. But that time has gone and in the last few years the twin impact of the recession and the growth of internet shopping have undoubtedly left their mark as shops have moved out or closed down. In a recent article in the Financial Times Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said ‘Given the structural nature of these changes
there is no point harking back to the old high streets we all claimed to love. We need to be creative in looking for new roles and uses for these empty shops.”
I think BHF has been creative. We have seen new shops move in and Lidl and Poundworld are now part of our high street. They have been joined by some rather different businesses – British Immigration Solutions and The Pamela Howard School of Dance. West Ealing Arts has opened a community arts project in an old office building a short walk away from the main shopping centre (see later article). The London Residents Forum is hoping to open the old Oxfam shop as a borough-wide resource and drop in centre for tenants.
Yes, our high street is changing, it has to, but I see these changes as a sign that the high street still has a purpose for our community. It is still trying providing goods and services that we need and want. Please let’s just make sure we cherish and use our high street and other local shopping areas.
David Highton
Chair of WEN, David Highton reports on the beginning of the end for the Green Man Lane Estate.
Demolition began yesterday as the 10-year redevelopment of the Green Man Lane Estate kicked off in earnest. Council leader Julian Bell was joined by representatives from housing association A2Dominion, builders Rydon, architects Conran and GML residents as the bulldozers finally moved on site. Whatever your views, and West Ealing Neighbours’ views are fully documented on our website this 
development marks a huge change for West Ealing. When completed the development will house some 2,000 people as compared to the curent 800. This ‘densification’ will be repeated in a year or two when the Sherwood Close Estate (aka Dean Gardens Estate) is similarly redeveloped. Add to these two developments the 100s of new homes at Sinclair House (opposite West Ealing station), the Daniels development, the Waitrose development, the newly completed flats on the old Groveglade indoor market site and many more smaller developments and the changes are having, and will continue to have, a profound impact on West Ealing.
This policy of ‘densification’ lies at the heart of the Council’s plans for the next 15 years as detailed in their Local Development Framework. You can read more about this on our blog by clicking on the LDF category on the right hand navigation and on our website
David Highton
Chair of WEN, David Highton, reports on the growing problem of street rubbish in West Ealing.
There’s no doubt that our streets are much cleaner than they were, say, 5 years ago. The last Conservative council put cleaner streets as one of its top priorities and the new Labour Council has done the same. I think almost everyone recognises the considerable improvements that have been made. Yet, one problem still remains which I see almost every day and find very annoying – fast food debris littering our streets. The above photo is one of three lots of fast food rubbish I saw this morning within 50 metres of my front door. Maybe I’m imagining it but it has got worse over the last couple of years. This makes me sound like a grumpy old man and in this case I think I am!
I live within 150 metres of the Uxbridge Road and West Ealing’s main shopping centre and it seems that there’s the fast food equivalent of a high tide mark whereby fast food rubbish and drink cans left on walls are a regular feature of streets within fast food eating distance of the local fast food shops. Get 200 metres or so away from the high street and the problem fades away.
One aspect of this problem seems fairly new. I keep noticing fast food rubbish left in street gutters rather than on the pavement. I’ve been wondering why this is? My personal theory is that it’s left by people who eat it in their cars and then just leave the rubbish behind in the gutter. Mind you, I’ve never seen anyone do this so I could be completely wrong.
Whatever the reason, it’s a problem. The streets are swept regularly so this rubbish is soon cleaned away ( and the three lots I saw this morning have already been swept up) but that makes no difference to the fact that fast food rubbish litters our streets. What can we do about it? Anyone any ideas?
David Highton
PS One thing I’ve done, some years ago, is become a volunteer Streetwatcher who, for want of a better term, act as the ‘eyes’ for the Council with flytipping and graffiti etc. We can help clean up the rubbish but not prevent it in the first place.
Chair of WEN, David Highton examines the history of some interesting artwork in the centre of West Ealing
When we first moved here in 1978 there was a small Sainsbury’s in the Uxbridge Road not far from the current one. And I well remember this Sainsbury’s being built on the site of what used to be the library but I can’t for the life of me remember or find out anything about the five panels on the front of the shop. I’ve been to the Central Library and looked through back copies of the Ealing Gazette. I’ve even tried ploughing through pages of Council meeting minutes of the early 1980s but nowhere can I find any reference to these panels and who the artist was.
Sadly, it’s all too easy to forget these panels even exist as they seem poorly maintained. They all show children playing but much of the detail is now hard to see. It’s such a shame for them to go unnoticed. Does anyone know anything about them?
David Highton
Chair of WEN, David Highton reports on developments on West Ealing’s high street.
The owners of Farah Hair and Beauty who sold their shop on the Uxbridge Road a few doors along have taken the lease on the old Richer Sounds shop on the corner of the Uxbridge Road and St James Avenue. I bumped in to the husband of the couple that ran Farah and he is hoping they can open up their new salon in about another three weeks once the fit out is finished.
Catalyst Housing Association owns this site along with a number of key blocks of homes locally. WEN and then West Ealing Arts tried to secure this shop for its community shop idea but, mainly due to the cost of refurbishment, it all fell through.
That corner desperately needs revitalising and we wish them all the best and hope to see them make it a thriving business. Oh, and I’d still like to see a coffee shop and tables in that bit of St James Avenue.
David Highton
