15 July 2008
Legal & General has entered into exclusive talks with Doughty Hanson and Plus Shops to sell its £175m, 275,000 sq ft Ealing Broadway shopping centre.
See 15 July Property Week here http://www.propertyweek.com/story.asp?storycode=3116316&encCode=2079231881BC011555708JTBS737226611
We all must lobby our councillors to insist Ealing Council puts together an overarching integrated development plan, that combines residential, retail, transport, infrastructure and community facilities for Ealing Town Centre. This will attract the right type of developer for our prime sites and ensure that the developments, as a whole, will provide the right mix of facilities that will make Ealing the centre of the community once again.
Introduction
The Ealing Broadway Centre shopping mall with its own car park and office space, was opened in 1985. It houses Ealing Library, which is currently closed for refurbishment, and a Virgin Active gym. The 'anchor' stores are Tesco Metro, Marks & Spencer and Primark. There are 80 stores operating in the centre and currently 11 empty retail units.
The centre, bounded in the north by The Broadway and to the west by High Street, is owned by Legal & General who have placed it on the market for sale.
The centre was conceived after almost 20 years conflict with the GLC which in the 1960s proposed a town centre plan which incorporated a town centre bypass along Mattock Lane.
The architectural style of the centre is human scale, low rise and uses red brick - a heritage feature of Ealing's Victorian villas and Edwardian residential terraces. It fits in with its surroundings.
The very last rumour (June 2008) is that Legal & General has found a buyer for the centre. Whether this buyer wishes to refurbish or re-develop is not yet known.
It is critical for the future of Ealing Town Centre that the Dickens Yard development sets a good example so that future developers, who want to re-develop their sites, have an understanding of what is acceptable and what is not.