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PCA Newsletter 20 - April 2007 |
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Streets
For People Meeting
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Ealing Council’s outline
traffic planning proposals for Pitshanger Lane were
finally unveiled at a public meeting organised by
the PCA on 26th March. St Barnabas Hall bulged at
the seams as over 150 local residents and traders
arrived to hear presentations by Peter Tonkin of
Ealing Council, Glenn Higgs from MVA Consultancy and
Tony Purton, a PCA member who has studied Pitshanger
Lane’s traffic and parking problems over a period of
several years. The published aims of the TfL-funded
Streets for People programme are "...to improve the
image, accessibility, pedestrian ease of movement
and safety, and deliveries within a specified area
and its hinterland...". |
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Glenn Higgs described his approach to
evaluating the current situation in Pitshanger Lane
and explained his outline proposals, which are based
on a number of linked measures including raised
tables at junctions (to displace corner parking,
control traffic speed and create informal crossing
points), new partly-inset bays (to accommodate
parking displaced from corners), partial insetting
of the existing parking spaces on the South side,
and new dedicated loading bays based on specially
strengthened and marked areas of pavement. There
will also be improvements to the pavement surface
and “street scene”.
The presentations led to a lively and
at times heated session of questions and answers –
something of a surprise to Ealing Council and MVA
Consultancy who had regarded the plans as “not too
radical”. PCA Committee member John Bird, who
arranged the meeting, said “The huge turnout has
shown everyone involved just how much local people
care about Pitshanger Lane. The meeting very
usefully exposed a number of sensitive areas, and we
will be probing these more thoroughly via a
questionnaire and a design workshop. The aim will be
to maximise local influence on the Council’s plans
before they are presented back to us for formal
consultation later this year”. The PCA will keep
members fully involved via the Newsletter and web
site.
Resources already available on the PCA
web site include a dedicated thread on
Pitshanger Voice, presentation material from
MVA Consultancy and
Tony Purton, plus plan views of outline
Option 1 and
Option 2. |
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Don’t
Delay – Join Today
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About a third of last year’s members have yet to
renew their subscriptions. Now, we know some of you have good
reasons but you others, come on! Think of all the good stuff the
PCA does – keeping you entertained and looking after the
interests of Pitshanger residents and traders. If
you’ve lost your renewal form, download one from the website
here or contact our membership secretary, Pam Walker, on
8177 9999 or
pam.walker@pitshanger.org.uk. Alternatively, send a cheque
(payable to the PCA) to 11 Summerfield Road, W5 – it’s £6 for
individuals, £10 for households and traders. After all, is life
without the newsletter worth living? [Why do you think I haven’t
sent mine yet? – Ed]. |
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Check
Your Blood Pressure
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Co-op
Now Legal
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Hanwell and Northfields Rotary Club,
with which the PCA has good links, is holding its
annual Blood Pressure Testing Day on Saturday 28th
April in The Church Hall, Christ The Saviour Church,
New Broadway, W5. There are no appointments – just
turn up between 10 am and 4 pm – and the service is
free. Don’t risk a heart attack or stroke just
because you don’t know your blood pressure.
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The Co-op convenience store has now
got planning permission for its opening hours. Until
recently the shop was trading well outside its
permitted hours. However, all is not rosy in Co-op
world: permission for the ‘trolley bay’ formerly
positioned outside the shop has been refused on the
grounds that it would have “a detrimental effect on
pedestrians”. A better reason might be cruelty to
animals. On one occasion the thing was dragged along
the pavement for almost 100 yards by a very
distressed dog that had been tied to it.
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Pitshanger Fun Run
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The third annual Pitshanger Fun Run, organized by
our good friends at Fit For Sport, will take place
on Sunday, 13th May, starting at 11 am. As in
previous years, there will be a 5 km course for more
serious runners (aged 13+), and a 2.5 km one for
children, walkers, joggers, dogs and anyone else who
can’t quite face the prospect of 5km. Both courses
will start in Pitshanger Lane and finish in
Pitshanger Park. The entry fee is £10 for
individuals, £20 for families and £35 for teams with
up to six members.
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You can get your application form from the PCA web
site here
or from Fit For Sport on 0845 456 3233 or
enquiries@fitforsport.co.uk. |
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Get Used
To It
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We’re sorry to report that the Council’s efforts
to atone for their error in ‘accidentally’ granting O2 planning
permission for their Scotch Common mast have failed to persuade
the company to move it. O2’s “Community Liaison Officer", Jim
Stevenson, has written to the Council saying that “this would
not suit our radio plan for the area”. Perhaps members will
remember this when they come to making their own ‘radio plans’. |
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Follow
Ups
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Further to the black bags versus wheelie bins
debate in the last couple of issues, David Strange writes with
an intriguing discovery. “We had weekly issues with some animal
taking chicken bones from our sacks until we changed to white
sacks four months ago. Since then not one problem”. Any
explanations, anyone? We named a couple of local
authors in the last issue – Veronica Heley and Desmond Malone –
only to find there’s at least one more in the area. Member
Victor Osborne tells us that the paperback edition of his book,
Digger’s Diary (based on his column of the same name in the
Daily Telegraph), is out on April 20th. It’s set on the Ascott
allotment site behind St Mary’s Church in south Ealing and
describes the ups and downs of a year in the life of a dedicated
gardener. Roger Gates, acting head of Parks,
Countryside and Events at Ealing Council, has confirmed to the
PCA that a permanent Brent River clean-up team is to be
re-established as soon as they’ve received delivery of their new
Land Rover. A one-off clearance is to take place shortly. |
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Reports
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The PCA Quiz Night (2nd March) was an outstanding
success. Organised by Karen Jacks and superbly
presented by Karen’s husband David (no, that’s not
him pictured), the 100 or so competitors were
treated to a quizzical tour de force, full of
interest and innovation. More than one person was
heard to say it was the best quiz they’d ever been
to.
This year’s Ferret Race evening (23rd March) raised
£400 for the PCA’s Community Projects fund and kept
80 people off the streets.
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As always much merriment was had as
the animal kingdom’s awkward squad did their level
best to do exactly the opposite of what was expected
of them. |
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Head ‘Em
Off At The Pass
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New Shops
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Our colleagues in the Brentham Society
have had some success in moderating Council traffic
plans. It seems their petition against the proposed
Birkdale Road – Mount Avenue 20 mph zone and allied
measures has paid off, the Council persuaded that
the scheme will create rat runs to the north of
Pitshanger Lane as drivers try to avoid speed bumps
and the like. Problems in this area will now be
looked at again in the context of a ‘Pitshanger
wide’ solution. The Society has also got a promise
that it will be consulted about any extension to the
controlled parking zone west of Lynwood Road/Birkdale
Road.
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“Bring ‘em on!”, was the reaction of
one local estate agent to the news that Northfields
are setting up on the Lane. Not sure how the café
owners will react when a competitor opens in the old
‘Veronica’ hair salon. To be called ‘Cinnamon’, the
venture is the brainchild of PCA member Ann Khoshaba
and will opening in May. Concentrating on
‘healthier’ snacks, items on offer will include
smoothies, afternoon teas, Pembroke’s ‘all natural’
award-winning ice cream, and healthy wraps.
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More
Scams
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Cleveland Ward police sergeant Steve Driscoll
warns us of another couple of scams operating locally. In one,
targets receive a text message stating that they have been
caught using their mobile phone while driving and have been
traced via their registration plate. A number must be called to
sort the matter out, but don’t – it’s a premium rate line. The
other involves the sale of stock from a shut-down off licence.
Excellent bargains are on offer, money changes hands, the goods
to be delivered later. Except, of course, there is no later. As
Steve says, “If it seems too good to be true, it usually is”.
Full contact details for both the Cleveland and Hanger Hill
Safer Neighbourhoods Teams are on the PCA
links page (click
Metropolitan Police). |
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Your
New, Improved Post Office…?
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Julian Cave is one of several members who have
complained about the refurbishment of Balfours and
the Post Office. He describes it as “an absolute
eyesore on the Lane” and notes that as they’ve moved
the tills to the left hand side as you enter you
have to battle through the queue to get to the other
side of the shop and the Post Office. Julian hopes
that people will “vote with their feet” until the
owners “realise the error of their ways and restore
both [the] frontage and layout to something more in
keeping with the standards of Pitshanger Lane”. And
it’s not only customers who are unhappy: at least
one member of the staff has expressed his/her
feelings in similar fashion.
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Forthcoming Events
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Ealing Choral Society, sponsored by the PCA, is
holding its next concert at St Barnabas Church on Saturday 19th
May at 7.45 pm. Rutter’s Gloria, Bruckner’s Mass in E Minor and
Mozart’s Serenade no.12 will be performed with the London
Orpheus Ensemble. Tickets are available by calling 8991 2730 or
at
ealingchoral@btopenworld.com. PCA members are entitled to a
10% discount, and PCA secretary Debbie Edwards has four tickets
to give away to the first callers on 0870 908 7744 or
debbie.edwards@pitshanger.org.uk.
The Pitshanger Fun Run on Sunday 13th May is
mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, and of course, it’s
Party In The Park on Sunday 24th June. |
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