PITSHANGER MANOR NEWS
Ealing Council has been successful in its round one bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the restoration of Pitzhanger Manor. The Council will shortly be undertaking public consultation seeking public views on future options for the Manor and adjoining gallery which will then be the subject of a round two bid to HLF. If successful, this would lead to spending of up to £9 million on the house and gallery of which about half will have to be raised from external sources. Separate HLF funding is already available for restoration of Walpole Park and work is proceeding on drawing up a detailed scheme. To keep up with the news on Pitshanger Manor join Walpole Friends.

Photo: Pitshanger Manor 1802

THE CIVIC MOVEMENT
Tony Burton, until recently the Director of Civic Voice, was the main speaker at our AGM. Ealing Civic Society is a member of Civic Voice which was estalished in 2009 following the closure of the Civic Trust. Tony gave us a very motivating talk about the role of civic societies in localism and planning, a key issue for us at the moment, with the government currently introducing major planning reforms. He gave many examples of work done by the 300+ civic societies which are members of Civic Voice: action on street clutter (including the proliferation of broadband boxes), campaigns to combat the decline of the high street, the erection of plaques, tree planting, and lobbying on transport and licensing issues. In addition, Robert Gurd, Chairman of ECS, reviewed the work of the Society over the past year, and our Treasurer, Robin Roads, went through the accounts.

Photo: Tom Doran