NEWS

Arcadia

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham, refused planning permission for the Arcadia development in December 29. In doing so, he upheld the recommendation of his planning inspector, David Richards, following the public inquiry held in June and July 2009 at which the Civic Society, Save Ealing’s Centre and the central Ealing conservation panels, along with many other residents, gave evidence.
     Naturally we are delighted with the Secretary of State's decision. Both the Secretary of State and the inspector agreed with English Heritage and the Society that the proposed development would be out of keeping with the scale and character of Ealing town centre, particularly its listed buildings and Haven Green. The result shows that all our efforts in opposing the application and appearing at the planning inquiry were fully justified. We are not against the principle of redevelopment of the Arcadia site but any new scheme has to be more appropriate to the character of Ealing so that it can still be called the "Queen of the Suburbs". We are still awaiting Glenkerrin's response to their defeat at last year's Planning Inquiry but it is understood that they have replaced their architects. It could be well into the year before any revised plans emerge. We have told them and Ealing Council that we are prepared to work with all the interested parties to try to find an acceptable solution.

Last Updated 08/2010

Dickens Yard

Save Ealing's Centre (SEC) has been considering pursuing judicial review of the decision of the planning committee to grant planning permission to this development. Click here for latest information on the progress of the review. In the meantime, demolition of the old Annex building behind the town hall has been completed.

Last Updated 05/2010

Haven Green

Earlier this year, a local resident formally submitted a proposal to Ealing Council for Haven Green to be designated as a village green. This would provide it with greater protection than it currently enjoys as common land under Victorian legislation. As it is required to do so, the Council duly advertised the application, and we understand that over 50 letters of support were received from local residents. There were only two letters against – from the Council itself. One was from the Council’s own executive director of regeneration and housing, arguing that such status would affect its plans for increasing the number of bus stops and taxi stands on the Green; the other from the head of parks, objecting on grounds of a legal technicality. The Council can itself decide what to do next: it could set up a committee to rule on the proposal, or it could institute an independent public inquiry. We strongly take the view that Ealing Council should not determine the application itself as it is potentially conflicted: it should instead call for a Public Inquiry held by an independent planning inspector, answerable only to the Secretary of State.

Last Updated 05/2010

Morris House and St Benedict's School win awards

Stephen Sackur, the BBC presenter, gave the 2009 Civic Society awards to the Morris House in Acton and the new building at St Benedict’s School in Ealing. Read More on our Awards page.

Last Updated 05/2010

Empire Cinema

The former Empire Cinema site remains cleared except for the facade with its supporting scaffolding and an unsightly pile of rubble at the rear. According to Empire Cinemas, start on work on the new 16 screen cinema complex has been delayed because of internal design changes caused by the need to move to digital screening. No formal start date for work has been given but the Ealing Gazette suggested in November that building work could start in 2010 with completion in 2011. A picture history of the cinema (originally built in 1934 as the Forum Cinema) can be found here.
Empire Photo: © Kevin R Boyd

Last Updated 05/2010

Dickens Yard

The go-ahead from the Mayor for redevelopment of Dickens Yard, behind the Town Hall, was issued in October 2009. The decision was held up for some months over issues relating to on-site renewable energy generation but these have been resolved. Ealing Council have now reached agreement with St George about the terms of the legal agreement, including the sum of money they would receive for the site as well as the section 106 funding, and planning permission was granted in late November 2009. Demolition of "the Village" temporary office has been completed and the Annex building is currently being demolished. The stables block is due to be incorporated into the new development initially as a sales office. Save Ealing's Centre, to which the society is affiliated, is currently considering mounting a legal challenge against the Council for granting planning permission. More information can be found at http://www.saveealingscentre.com

Last Updated 02/2010

Central Ealing Developments

The Arcadia public inquiry closed on Thursday 9 July having run for three weeks. The Planning Inspectorate has indicated that the final decision, to be taken by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, John Denham, is due on or before 7 December (although this timetable is not set in stone).
      A decision is expected shortly from the Mayor on Dickens Yard, behind the Town Hall. The decision has been held up for some months over issues relating to on-site renewable energy generation but it is believed that these are close to being resolved. Demolition of the Annex office block is expected to start shortly and be completed before the end of the year.
     The former Empire Cinema site remains cleared except for the facade with its supporting scaffolding. According to Empire Cinemas, start on work on the new 16 screen cinema complex has been delayed because of internal design changes caused by the need to move to digital screening. A revised planning application is due to be lodged in the autumn. No start date for work has been given.

Last Updated 09/2009

Public Inquiry for Arcadia

The latest threat to the centre of Ealing comes from proposals from Glenkerrin to redevelop the Arcadia site along with those for a “bus gyratory” on Haven Green. Although a more modest block of 26 storeys has replaced the 41 storey tower, its proposed “blocky” design is rather reminiscent of the 1960s. Other changes to the remaining blocks are less radical and the development would still remain a high density residential one over the railway lines with no supporting infrastructure such as expanded health or schooling facilities, let alone leisure or culture attractions which would benefit the town centre as a whole. The application for the development (but not the bus scheme) was approved by Ealing’s Planning Committee on 17 December and subsequently by the Mayor in January 2009. However, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has called the application in for determination (an unusual step). This means that the application was the subject of a local public inquiry which ran for three weeks from 23 June 2009. Sir Peter Hall’s address to the inquiry is available here as a PDF download, and more information on the inquiry is available at Save Ealing’s Centre’s website.

Last Updated 09/2009