SEC Vision - Culture
BACKGROUND
1. Introduction: the town centre in 2008
As the administrative and cultural centre of the borough, Ealing is a large town with good communication links to most of its outlying parts. The attractions it offers to its residents and those of neighbouring areas are however limited. At present the centre offers shopping, some restaurants and occasional art exhibitions in Pitzhanger Manor Gallery. In the evening there is a plethora of licensed drinking venues and clubs which notably attract the young. Other evening entertainments include pubs, a cinema (now undergoing refurbishment), or Ealing’s highly-respected amateur theatre, the Questors.
The town centre also hosts the Ealing & West London College, Ealing Studios and Thames Valley University. Currently these institutions’ programmes of cultural activities for the general public are somewhat restricted.
The Council has initiated the summer Comedy and Jazz festivals and other summer events in Walpole Park which have been immensely successful, suggesting that there is a hunger for a wider range of cultural activity. Nevertheless, over the last decade Ealing Broadway has failed to develop in a way that will improve the quality of life of Ealing residents, or to encourage people from beyond the Borough’s boundaries to visit and spend their money here.
2. The future
Arts, culture and leisure are essential ingredients if the town centre is to be revitalised. Ealing Broadway lacks any current focus for such social activity. It is shunned in the evenings by many local residents of all ages who do not enjoy the prevalent alcohol and drug-fuelled atmosphere. It offers one cinema, one amateur theatre, some restaurants, cafes and many pubs and clubs. Simply adding thousands more residents and some additional shops will not increase its attraction as a vibrant hub, nor improve the lives of the wider community.
Two major residential developments in the heart of Ealing Broadway are currently under consideration. Together with other possible smaller proposals and the recent construction of a number of flats along the Uxbridge Road, they will have a major impact on the life of our town centre. However, if questions of social cohesion through a rounded policy for culture, leisure and sport are not addressed, the impact could be problematic.
Indeed, Ealing has been highlighted in a GLA study[3] as being one of ten London crime “hotspots”. The main reason for this is the predominant provision of alcohol in the numerous pubs and clubs, plus other drugs, leading to the street crime. (Similar concerns are echoed in a later Ealing Council report[4] and in the proposed Ealing Alcohol Strategy 2008-2010.[5]) The GLA document recommends, as one of the ways of resolving this problem, “encouraging the diversification of the evening and late-night economies so that they are not so dominated by young people and by alcohol and other drugs…..There are plenty of avenues to explore” such as “shops, cafes, galleries, libraries museums and other cultural venues”. (Our emphasis)
The study
further states that “in much of Europe [there] was a completely different state
of affairs, which was plain for any visitor to see. City centres were lively,
attractive places, full of people and with a wide range of things to do
throughout the day and into the evening. They did not become empty and
threatening after dark, as concerted efforts had been made to keep them alive
by promoting restaurants, bars, theatres, cinemas and other cultural facilities
(4). The idea of ‘cultural and
entertainment led urban regeneration’ had been first advocated in Europe in the late 1970s and was put into practice at that
time in such cities as Rome.”
AIMS
SEC supports the statement on the Ealing Council website that “we … want to
realise the borough’s potential as a leisure and cultural destination.” We believe this is essential if the town is
to regain a position as an attraction in the wider region, and as a counter to
the draw of competing shopping centres.
There is potential to involve a great many people in activities in the town centre. Our vision is that this should be achieved by its becoming an interesting venue for pursuits for all, from sport to music, arts, dance, and day/evening classes, particularly involving young people who currently find little positive to do in the centre. We also aim to change the negative attitude many people have to the current evening/night-time life in Ealing.
PROPOSALS
SEC proposes turning Ealing’s town centre into an exciting place with activities that will attract young and old from around the borough and surrounding areas. A major element of this would be an Arts & Leisure centre. Such a Centre should be an integral part of a town plan so that all elements of development combined will enhance our community.
1. Cultural
strategy
For the cultural regeneration of Ealing, SEC suggests the following:
· A Concert/Conference Hall - an adaptable multi-purpose performance space that can be used for music, dance and literary events, featuring Ealing’s own talent as well as professional performances by national and international artists. The Hall would be flexible and let out for conferences/meetings on a commercial basis.
· Studios for: dance, recording and practising music, painting and crafts, IT related skills, photography and film, etc.
· Flexible rooms for teaching courses (written and spoken literature, TEFL, life skills, etc.) that could also be let as meeting rooms.
· Cinema, including a screen for art-house films.
· Indoor sports centre and outdoor sports area
· Spaces for hire and a wide-ranging programme of day and evening courses to involve all sections of society, but especially young people and the disadvantaged.
A full-time, professional arts administration team would create and manage the centre as well as involving local arts and educational establishments in an integrated programme.
There is an urgent need to engage young people in more meaningful activities – and young people themselves say this. The Council recently (2008) ran a survey among young people through its Connexions youth service called “How I would spend £1m in Ealing”. The results of the survey should be included in a cultural plan for the town centre.
2. Use of
facilities
Cultural and leisure activities should be developed using existing facilities in Ealing as well as new build. For example, there may be rooms in the Town Hall that could be adapted for music and other activities where light is not a significant factor. However, art studios, where good natural light is needed, may have to be purpose built.
Multi-purpose use of facilities is important in this context. The proposed Concert/ Conference Hall is the best example of multi-use, since it is envisaged that it will not only be used for music events, dance and drama, but double up as a conference centre. The Hall, with catering facilities attached, could also be used for weddings or business events/parties. By being flexible in this way, it should be able to fund itself.
3. Sites
Whether we have one or more buildings is not critical. The Tibbalds report[6] identifies the need for a cultural quarter, east of the Questors theatre in the area of the cinema and the land south. We agree that an arts and leisure centre could be built there, linking naturally with the Ealing College, Ealing Studios and TVU, all of which could be encouraged to develop public cultural activities. However, at the moment Empire cinemas have not been approached and may re-build before any decisions are arrived at by the Council.
Alternatively, the Town Hall building has enormous potential for internal restructuring. It may not, however, be possible to house all the Centre’s facilities there.
Dickens Yard could provide space for a building to be constructed behind the Town Hall linking with the old stables. The fire station and stables could be adapted for craft studios. A youth centre might be put into an enlarged ‘Community Hall’ building.
Finally, the Arcadia site is a good position for the Concert Hall/Conference centre.
3. Funding
The opportunity exists to identify an arts and leisure project which will need to be specifically funded and for which specific money can be raised from developers, other businesses and from grants. We feel that this is the best approach because the general pool of S106 monies would hardly produce the requisite amount.
The new facilities should strive to be self supporting but they may well qualify for funding, especially if there is strong provision for the young and for the disadvantaged.
Charging for facilities can vary according to the user group, with special, affordable prices for registered member groups – as is operated at the Priory Centre, Acton and Ealing Library. But charges must be affordable to young people and the less wealthy.
4. Conclusion
Introducing several thousand more residents into the heart of Ealing without planning carefully for a more worthwhile area of culture, entertainment and sport in the centre would exacerbate the social problem the town centre already has.
Efforts have been made over many years to persuade Councils to take this social problem seriously. Now our scarce, available land is about to be developed. Crossrail will make Ealing Broadway even more accessible. Housing and retail developments must go hand in hand with a culture and leisure programme if our town is to be successfully revitalised.