BACKGROUND

Introduction

Community can mean slightly different things to different people. It suggests joint ownership, and a place providing social and other services to a neighbourhood. However neighbourhoods can be of different sizes for different purposes.  The town centre of Ealing serves the community at several different levels;  the local government facility of Perceval House and the Town Hall covers the whole of Ealing borough neighbourhood (ie all 23 Wards and 300,000 people), while other services reach different areas.  These include

• police
• healthcare
• education
• parks/open space
• sport
• information and advice
• meeting rooms of varying sizes for use by community groups and private events
• crèche and playgroup services
• and for the increasing elderly population, drop-in cafes and organised lunch clubs.

It only takes a cursory review to realise just how impoverished central Ealing is in respect of services to its immediate community, and how far provision falls short of Ealing’s UDP.  This states policy as: “To encourage the provision of community facilities to meet the wide-ranging needs of people living, working, studying in and visiting the borough; and to ensure that these facilities are located where they reduce the need to travel and enhance town centres.”[14]  However the central area is relatively small, with limited space for additional provision.  Any significant increase in the resident population will inevitably place even greater strain on available facilities.  

Specific services

1.          Public Safety

The present Police Station in central Ealing (in the Uxbridge Road) is recognised by the police as well as the public as not fit for purpose, with no custody cells and a highly unsatisfactory front counter.[15]  It presently houses several Safer Neighbourhood Teams, most of whose territories are outside Ealing centre, and who should be based in or near their own wards. Though the Borough Commander has stated that it is the intention to find more suitable premises, up until now no suitable alternative has been found near the town centre.

2.          Healthcare

The present GP provision in Ealing centre is at capacity, with no space for expansion.  As quoted by Tibbalds[16], the Primary Health Care Trust (PCT) considers that any significant increase in the resident population would probably require a new practice, for which specific space would be needed.

3.          Education

There are no open entry state primary or secondary schools in the centre of Ealing. There is only one infant and one junior school within 800m (1/2 mile) of The Broadway, and both are Church of England controlled with limited access.  Even with existing population trends, new provision will be needed in the near future.[17]  There is no obvious location within reasonable distance of the centre for any new building.

Similarly, Tibbalds notes that all the secondary schools within 1,500m of the centre are over-subscribed, despite the area having a relatively low percentage of secondary age children.  An increase in the relevant population in the town centre to anything like the average of the rest of the borough “will become even more of an issue”[18].

4.          Parks/open spaces

The centre of Ealing has been identified in the UDP[19] as an area of “moderate deficiency” in the provision of local public community and open space.  Although Haven Green and Walpole Park are well established and well used, Haven Green in particular is coming under increasing pressure with encroachment of bus stands and public utilities. 

5.       Sport

There are no public sporting facilities within a ten-minute walk of the centre of Ealing. Again as noted by Tibbalds, “there is a distinct lack of informal space for older children to play”, with the nearest sports centre (Elthorne) over 800m away. There are three private gyms in the area (one with a small swimming pool), and a members’ squash club.

6.            Information/Advice

The Central Library has recently been refurbished and re-purposed as much more of a study centre than it was previously. Some people have suggested that there appear to be fewer books than previously and space that could have been used for displaying books is now a café.   However the library is much brighter and welcoming than it was previously.  There is no Citizens Advice Bureau or similar service in central Ealing.

7.           Affordable space for family and community events

Space for private functions is limited.  The Town Hall facilities are both busy and expensive, and in generally poor condition. The central Ealing churches do offer halls for community use, but these spaces may not always be suitable or appropriate for people with differing faiths – or no faith at all - and may have restrictions on the nature of usage.

8.           Creche/playgroup/child minding facilities

The 2001 census tells us that there were 3,642 children aged four or less in the wards of Ealing Broadway, Cleveland, Hanger Hill, Ealing Common and Walpole.  Whilst only a proportion of these live within the immediate centre, any significant new housing would create a demand for appropriate facilities which do not exist at present.

9.           Community facilities for elderly people

The 2001 census found 8,180 residents of 65 years of age or over in the Wards of Ealing Broadway, Cleveland, Hanger Hill, Ealing Common and Walpole. However, other than the Polish Centre in Windsor Road there are no publicly available drop-in cafes or lunch clubs for the elderly in the centre of Ealing.

AIMS

Wherever residents live in the borough they have legitimate expectations to have ready access to a range of local community services – which are typically available in other communities across the country. The community services to be provided in central Ealing should be tailored to match immediate local needs as well as the requirements of the wider borough.  Any plans which will lead to greater demand, particularly building substantial numbers of flats, must be matched by dedicated space to accommodate the required facilities.

PROPOSALS

1.          Public Safety

As a centre aspiring to attract visitors from a wide regional catchment area, Ealing needs a fully functioning Police Station convenient to the main public areas, with proper counter service and all main public support functions.  This could probably best be provided in purpose-built premises in Dickens Yard, close to the Town Hall/Perceval House and accessible to the main areas of the centre in a “civic quarter”. The Safer Neighbourhood Teams serving the wards bordering on the middle should be based there, but the objective of locating teams within their own wards should be followed wherever possible. 

Consideration should be given to space within the civic quarter for a new magistrates’ court.

2.          Healthcare

In order to cater for any significant increase in the resident population, specific space would need to be reserved for a new GP practice.  The PCT and public bodies such as LINk must be fully involved in consultation about the level of service required before approval is given for large-scale residential re-development.

3.          Education

The absence of adequate public schooling facilities in the centre must be a major factor when considering any possible new housing which would increase education demand.  Sites for a new primary school within reasonable distance of The Broadway must be identified before any specific applications for new housing are agreed.  Appropriate plans to cope with a rise in the number of secondary school pupils must also be made in advance.

4.          Parks/Open Spaces

In line with existing UDP policy, we believe

• public open spaces in the central area of Ealing must be protected and restored; any development of adjoining land should preserve or enhance its open character
• new space should be provided for arts, cultural and entertainment uses.

5.       Sport

Public facilities must be provided in the centre of Ealing for sports activities like badminton, bowling, tennis, table tennis, 5-a-side football, riding on a BMX circuit, or basketball.

6.            Information/Advice

The Council should ensure that funding is provided for the establishment of advisory services such as a Citizens Advice Bureau to meet the needs of the local residents and the wider surrounding area.  This could be based in a refurbished Town Hall.  Funding should not only come from S.106 money, but if necessary from an on-going levy on any private property company managing new housing in the centre. 

7.           Creche/playgroup/child minding facilities

Following the model utilised in Grand Union Village, a Day Nursery should be planned in to any decent sized new residential development in the centre.

8.           Community facilities for elderly people

New developments in the centre of Ealing should make provision for suitable space for drop-in centres or lunch clubs for the elderly.

9.           Central Ealing Community Centre

The needs described in 6, 7 and 8 above could be met by building and managing a Central Ealing Community Centre. This would sit very comfortably in the proposed civic quarter.