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10 Dec
05: Duke of Kent Hearing Result |
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Ealing Council's Licensing Panel met on 8 Dec 05 to
consider the application for increased licensing
hours at the Duke of Kent. The meeting started
with Fullers trimming half an hour from their
revised proposal and ended with the panel trimming
off a further half an hour. Last orders will
now be at 23:00 every day except Saturday, when you
will be able to buy a pint up to 23:30. More
details on Pitshanger Voice
here. |
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14 Jul
05: Open All Hours at the Duke of Kent? |
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Following the application by Fullers to extend the
licensing hours at the Duke of Kent, around 50
concerned local residents gathered at the Methodist
Hall in Pitshanger Lane to hear the licensing
process described by Paul Kettle, Ealing Council's
Licensing Officer. Also present was John
Popham, a local Ward Councillor who is also on the
Council's Licensing Committee. For more
information, see the dedicated area on Pitshanger
Voice
here. |
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21 Apr
05: Ron Calls It A Day |
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After five years of outstanding service as PCA
Chairman, Ron Bloomfield has decided to step down
from the Committee. Ron has been at the centre
of all that the PCA has achieved over the last five
years and leaves the PCA in a very healthy position.
Tim Sumpter is the new PCA Chairman. There are
two other Committee changes to report: Lynda Pullman
has brought her second stint on the Committee to an
end, and Robert Jones has been co-opted onto the
Committee with special responsibility for liaison
with the Brentham Club. Full details of the
PCA Committee can be found
here. |
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6 Feb
05: Basketball Court Open for Business |
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Following on from the news item on
15 Jan 05,
the basketball / football goal-end is now fully
operational in Pitshanger Park, and is already
attracting a steady stream of prospective young (and
not so young) Harlem Globetrotters. Work
continues on the green space near the bandstand that
redresses the loss of natural surface associated
with the goal-end. |
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15 Jan
05: One-Ended Basketball Court |
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Work has started in Pitshanger Park on the
installation of a combined one-ended basketball
court and five-a-side goal. Requested by the
PCA to cater for youngsters who have outgrown the
existing playground, this is the latest
collaboration between the PCA and Ealing Council
Parks and Recreation Department. (We're
ploughing £4,500 from the profits of our major
events into the project). To make up for the
new area of hard standing, an equivalent area is
being restored to a natural surface near the
"bandstand". |
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20 Nov
04: Paul Mamoorei |
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The PCA has learned with regret of the death of Paul
Mamoorei, proprietor of Bistro Ravané
in Pitshanger Lane. Paul's death has robbed
The Lane of both a notable local character and a
quirky and highly individual eating place. The
many floral tributes left at Ravané
are a mark of Paul's popularity among the local
community. Our sympathy goes to Paul's family
and friends. There are
details of the funeral arrangements, and a chance to
share your own reminiscences of Paul's life, on
Pitshanger Voice. |
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20 Nov
04: A Refreshing Development at the Playcentre |
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Saturday mornings in Pitshanger Park have just got
better. Spotting a gap in the market,
Pitshanger Playcentre has thrown open its doors to
serve tea, coffee and a selection of biscuits and
cakes. Not only that - you can use their loo
too. Congratulations to Marion and Denise for
banishing all those desperately crossed legs and
anguished cravings for a cuppa. The Playcentre
will be open each Saturday morning from 10am to
midday. |
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28 Oct
04: Burglary at Oscars |
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By a supreme irony, the meeting with Ealing Police
on 27th October was followed only a few hours later
by the theft from Oscars of their cash tills and
entire stock of films. There had been two
unsuccessful attempts in recent weeks. The
films are too costly to replace, so Oscars will
continue as a café
without the film rental business. You can read
a full statement from Oscars
here. |
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27 Oct
04: Antisocial Behaviour Meeting |
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Around 90 local people came to St Barnabas Church
Hall to hear Supt Joe Wadsworth report on progress
with antisocial behaviour since the
previous meeting
back in March. The main news is that two of
the local ringleaders are now the subject of Anti
Social Behaviour Orders, and a number of others have
entered into Acceptable Behaviour Contracts.
Supt Wadsworth also described the "Safer
Neighbourhoods" scheme, which will see each Council
Ward manned by one Sergeant, two Constables and
three Community Support Officers. The only
catch? We won't get ours until 2006. |
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Much of the credit for the recent rounding up of
local troublemakers must go to PC Neil Roberts, who
has been our Home Beat officer for the last four
years. Unfortunately for us, Neil will be
leaving soon to take up a new post that he hopes
will
pave the way for a return to Pitshanger in the rank of Sergeant.
Needless to say, Neil goes with the best wishes of
the PCA for his future career. We are waiting
on news of interim cover while Ealing Police seek a
new Home Beat officer for Pitshanger and the
surrounding area. |
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12 Jul
04: Pitshanger In Bloom Now Blooming |
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The first phase of the PCA's Pitshanger In Bloom
initiative is now complete, with 19 hanging baskets
placed at intervals along Pitshanger Lane.
Unlike conventional hanging baskets which need
watering every day, these ones have special water
retaining features that mean they can last up to a
week without a drink. Organiser Lynda Pullman
has the watering in hand at the moment, but anyone
who would like to help can contact Lynda
here. |
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11 Jul
04: Graffiti - Now You See It, Now You Don't |
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The picture to the right, taken on 11 Jul 04, shows
the wall at the side of Wine Rack. To see what
it looked like a week earlier, roll you mouse over
the image. The transformation took place on
6th July, when Ealing Council's anti-graffiti squad
visited Pitshanger Lane to blitz as much graffiti as
they could in a day. The anti-graffiti day was
organised for us by Cllr Nigel Sumner. |
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10 Jul
04: 2nd Place for Pitshanger Bookshop |
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Walter and Bee Wyeth, proprietors of the Pitshanger
Bookshop were on tenterhooks at the LBC/Independent
Living London Awards on 30 Jun 04, where they were
in the running for Best Bookshop. The final
ranking, announced live on air by Sandi Toksvig, put
the Pitshanger Bookshop in 2nd place. The
award ceremony was held at Ronnie Scott's, which
Walter observes is not seen at its best in daylight
hours. |
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16 Jun 04: Bookshop in Top Three |
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The Pitshanger Bookshop has been voted one of the
top three bookshops in London. Starting as one
of ten bookshops nominated for the LBC/Independent
Living London awards, the Pitshanger Bookshop has
been voted into the top three. Proprietors
Walter and Bee Wyeth will attend the awards ceremony
at Ronnie Scott's on 30th June, where the final
ranking will be announced. Check here for
further news. |
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15 Jun 04: Playground Apparatus In Place |
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The contractors' fencing in Pitshanger Park
Playground came down today, allowing many excited
youngsters a first play on the new apparatus (news
item 12 Apr 04). Pictured is the new "space
net" climbing frame, gained through negotiation with
Ealing Council. To go with the space net,
there is a new large slide and new swings. A
large area of vividly coloured soft flooring should
ensure safe landings around all the new equipment. |
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13
Apr 04: Tennis Coaching Suspended |
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Floyd Williams, Director of the London School of
Tennis (LST), has announced his decision to cease
teaching at Pitshanger Park until the court surfaces
are improved. In a letter to players, Floyd
explains that the courts have deteriorated to the stage that
they are unsuitable for teaching.
The new season of LST courses will be held only at Trailfinders Sports Club. LST will continue to
occupy the keeper's lodge in Pitshanger Park and
look after court bookings. |
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12 Apr 04: Pitshanger Playground Equipment |
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Lobbying from the PCA has resulted in a promise of
better than expected replacement play equipment for
the public playground in Pitshanger Park. The
vacant slide and climbing frame spaces will be
filled by a new slide and a modern "space net"
climbing frame. At the same time, the large
swings will be replaced and proper soft flooring
will be laid. This has been achieved at no
cost to the PCA. |
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11 Ap 04: CPZ Consultation Results |
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Draft plans drawn up by Ealing Council following the
Hanger Hill CPZ consultation leave the Pitshanger
area safe for now. The nearest the proposed
CPZ will come to Pitshanger is an enclave around
Hanger Lane tube station, with its boundary just to
the East of Clarendon Road. The plans have
been approved by the Ealing Area Committee and
passed to Ealing Council's Cabinet for a final
decision. Implementation could take up to nine
months from the Cabinet decision and may be subject
to a further round of consultation in the meantime. |
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10 Apr 04: St Davids Planning Decision |
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Despite opposition from local residents and some
Councillors, a recent meeting of the Ealing Planning
Committee voted 6:4 in favour of a proposed
development in the grounds of St Davids Home.
The development will involve the demolition of four
existing houses and erection of three groups of four
townhouses in their place, behind the wall fronting
Castlebar Park. Further details on the St
Davids development and the local opposition to it
are available from PCA member
Andrew Dixon. |
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27 Mar 04: Pitshanger Vision
Dinner |
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An invited audience of community representatives
gathered at the Brentham Club to hear Chairman Bill
Nicholson outline his ideas for the future of the
Club and its relationship with the local community.
Admitting that the Club had lost touch with its
roots, Bill announced the formation of the
Pitshanger Community Partnership in conjunction with
the PCA and the Brentham Society. PCA Chairman Ron
Bloomfield and Brentham Society Chair Sue Elliott
endorsed the new Community Partnership and made
short presentations on their respective roles in the
Pitshanger community. |
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24 Mar 04: Anti-Social Behaviour Meeting |
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"Antisocial behaviour is now one
of my top priorities". This was the message
delivered by Superintendent Joe Wadsworth of Ealing
Police to a packed audience of 250 at St Barnabas
Millennium Hall. Flanked by Police colleagues
including Pitshanger Home Beat Officer PC Neil
Roberts, Supt Wadsworth was bombarded with questions
from concerned residents and traders.
Explaining that new Home Office guidelines allowed
antisocial behaviour to be targeted as never before,
Supt Wadsworth agreed to return in 3-6 months to
review the results.
One theme that emerged from the meeting was the
importance of communication between the Police and
local communities. To this end, the PCA web
site now has full contact details for Ealing Police
on the links page, under Metropolitan Police.
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