Forum Topic

What would you like to see built in Acton?

It's pretty clear what contributors to this forum DON'T want to see built in Acton, but it would be interesting to hear what they WOULD like to see built.

Peter Evans ● 4118d54 Comments

Independence from Ealing Council, and a passport to Acton. Not as in Pimlico.  Home rule for Acton.

Ewan Howard ● 4080d

Exactly. But you would be hard pressed to find an area anywhere which doesn't have some bad parts! I've been living in Acton for just over a year now (originally a country bumpkin) and I've become very fond of it. I think it's pathetic that people would suggest avoiding the area.

Lucy Hewitt ● 4080d

There are parts of Acton I would avoid but equally there are lovely areas. Everyone who visits me, in my delightful suburban Edwardian street, is very complimentary.

Fran Leslie ● 4080d

I do SO agree witheverything you postulated. Acton Centre is a dirty depressing area . I avoid it other than visiting Morrisons and my Church. Mind you, Ealing is soon going to be a vast area of steel and concrete buildings. Planners no longer consider people and their quality of life. Seem to try to out do each other as to who can build the tallest monstrocity!!

Beryl Bashford ● 4080d

Hmmm that's a bit rude

Lucy Hewitt ● 4080d

a flyover to avoid it

Diana Oneill ● 4080d

Well, if the Council had gone for our perfectly-timed and accurately-costed bid for an Arts Centre, we'd've started the process of converting the building by now. The only reason we didn't get it was that we couldn't offer the money up-front; we got a bit tired of telling them that we'd be able to give them the money when we got the building - which is how public-sector arts funding works. I'd like to know what's happening - if anything, the building needs to be conserved and protected. Doesn't 'alf drive me maaad...

Glynne Steele ● 4083d

the most exciting model I have seen recently is that of Frome. But the key is to get candidates standing in all wards. This is particularly true in our rotten borrough, where Hanwell and Southall councillors can be whipped to vote through unpopular decisions in Acton and vice versa presumably. Frome shows what genuine independence of mind can achieve though without party ties. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/may/22/flatpack-democracy-peoples-republic-of-frome

Charlie Mawer ● 4103d

I think Peter Evens is being misleading. He blames the Government and an increasing number of people blame the residents. A well connected local was calling the Friary Park residents liars rather loudly recently. I hope he is getting round to an apology.I The Council tin ear, so aptly described by Richard Grange is not the responsibility of central Government. Sure the budget must be cut, and there must be partnerships with both the private and voluntary sectors. But as the Labour run Borough of Islington shows, there is no need to allow Developers their head completely, as we seem to do in EalingThere is no need to front load cuts of 42% to the voluntary sector,so all the reductions and job losses are in election year and there isn't much time to look for creative solutions or plan for change.There is no need to be so very rude to anxious residents, worried about their environment. And certainly there is no need for the Around Ealing magazineTempted by the statue of Julian Bell though. Should it be by subscription?

Maire Lowe ● 4103d

The Tories only got a small percentage (24% I think) of the overall vote. That means the majority of the population did not vote for them. It tells me that our voting system needs to be overhauled and to get rid of FPTP to make Government more representative of the people.

Chris Hurley ● 4104d

People may feel powerless, but I think we have to accept that the local council, who seems to be the butt of everyone's frustration, is pretty powerless as well. The Conservative government is reducing Ealing council's budget by nearly half over the next few years so they'll only be able to provide the most basic services to meet their obligations.  They certainly can't provide housing, or schools, or arts/leisure/sports facilities, which must increasingly be left to the private sector.  But then we know the present government wants to reduce the role of the public sector and let the private sector take the strain - and the profits.  And after the recent general election, that must be what the majority wants to happen.

Peter Evans ● 4104d

What comes through from reading this thread is how powerless everyone feels.We all live in this community but feel like we have little or no say over how it evolves.We are supposed to have a council that is elected to represents our interests. But it seems pretty clear that everyone sees them as in the pocket of developers while turning a tin ear to the people who voted for them.

Richard Grange ● 4106d

The buy to let curse is ripping apart communities. Worst still we pay for Housing Benefit.....(or rather Landlord Benefit) through our taxes, so that landlords can be can have their mortgages paid by rents that their victims can seldom pay from earned income. I have noticed more families living in studio and one bedroom flats due to the exorbitant rents and we have to suffer advertisements for Landlord insurance etc that normalize and praise the accumulation of property such that those owning only one property are now seen as failures. What a sick society.

Robert Murray ● 4106d

It is high time the council took action against uncaring landlords. They are only interested in the revenue and couln't care less about the state of the properties they rent out. Some gardens are so overgrown, I wonder who is responsible for maintenance, the landlord or the tenant?Parking is at a premium in Acton yet more and more homes are divided into bedsits and some landlords just think it is OK to dump mattresses and belongings into the front garden or into the street when their tenants leave.When people are just passing through they may not really care for the state of the road where they are living, fewer homes are now owned by families and I can't see the situation changing for the better.I totaly agree that the industrial site should be put to better use.  Horn Lane is the worst area for pollution but I don't see anyone from Ealing Council doing anythng about it.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4106d

There is a shortage of good family housing, if the newspapers are to be believed. Houses in our area of Acton are being extended into their gardens and roof spaces. We do not need anymore bedsits or HMOs. If you walk along Emanuel Avenue and Messaline Avenue, you can spot the houses that are rented out by uncaring landlords.Crossrail is making every property owner and developer, including Catalyst, eager to cash in. How about turning the site of the industrial waste business next to Acton Main Line station into starter homes? It is an environmental health hazard and we would be glad to see it go.

Fran Leslie ● 4107d

Yes Angela, I read it on the ActonaW3 forum, let's hope does not go ahead. The councillors obviously couldn't care less for Acton residents.Unfortunately these people were voted in and the rest of us have no say in the matter.I don't know whether they have a death wish, perhaps they are so sure of themselves that anything goes. Including introducing wheelie bins and fortnightly collection next year!We don't even have Angie Bray to fight for Acton residents.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4107d

If only that wish would come true.

Bob Little ● 4107d

Hi Jean.  Did you read this in the ActonW3.com newsletter?  If so, it says the Sec of State has called in the application and deciding whether to veto it or not.  All the Labour Councillors voted to dump this hotel and 2 blocks of flats on West Acton.  Maybe they have a death wish Jean!

Angela White ● 4107d

Just read that Developers have been given the go ahead to build a 100 Bedroom Hotel and 2 blocks of flats at Gypsy Corner.To hell with what the residents want it seems!With Horn Lane high levels of pollution and the over development in this area it really is getting beyond a joke!

Jean F Fernandez ● 4107d

We could get more social housing if the Council insisted that the Mayor of London’s social housing requirement (50% in significant developments) were followed but this has been cast aside in recent proposals on the Western Avenue and the Oaks. Much of central Acton is quite densely residential with terraces and semis, leaving relatively few opportunities for development, making them all the more precious and important to use effectively. Beechworth House (the old car park facing the High St with the row of shops below) could be converted to residential. Hansons and the waste transfer plant to go with office/residential development. I’d look at selling the West Acton Community Centre site and using the money to up better community facilities on the former bowling green site at North Acton Playing Fields; the pavilion building is completely inadequate for such a purposed and the current community centre is not somewhere one would stumble across it.

Vlod Barchuk ● 4108d

We need more social housing and less by to let landlords, more jobs created and less development for section 106 money that never benefits Acton

Diana Oneill ● 4108d

I met Glynne Steele recently and he said he was still interested in the project into which he had put so much work. Wed both noticed that the cinema has not yet begun work and I think he was going to ask the Council about the delay.

Maire Lowe ● 4110d

I still love the idea of an arts centre in Acton. The recent proposal for Acton Library had the aspiration of Norwich Arts Centre, which has live music concerts, theater, creative workshops, an art gallery, and is perfectly sustainable as an arts charity, housed in a small beautiful church. There must be plenty of other venues in Acton for the dream to come true. I would encourage the campaign leaders to link with Norwich and get some reinforcement and live proof for a renewed campaign for Acton.

Tatiana Collins ● 4110d

Whenever I am there (most days) it's seems packed with users, even early, even daytime, and evenings and weekends it bursts at the seams.

Sara Nathan ● 4110d

The tallest building in the world, that should put us firmly on the map. Up your shard or burg is what I say.On a more serious note, the new gym/pool is a great asset, more people need to use it.

Jeremy Beckett ● 4111d

Now that is a really good idea. Since the proposed new Ark school is apparently going to be built on our parkland, then there should be money available to buy land in South Acton Perfect.

Maire Lowe ● 4113d

The industrial estate in South Acton reclaimed as a park, with a secondary school on the fringes of it.With the housing density in the South Acton estate doubling, if not tripling, people need accessible green spaces to get away from their concrete blocks. Another secondary school in such a well-connected spot, next to Acton Town and South Acton stations, would be ideal, while there is a desperate shortage of school places in Ealing. If the Council is selling land elsewhere in prime locations, it could surely buy some as well?

Tatiana Collins ● 4113d

Message: What a lot of interesting, and some rather fanciful, suggestions as to what you'd like to see built in Acton. I detect a preference for places where people can live, such as genuinely affordable but small scale housing, and places where people can relax and play, such as arts and leisure centres and other community facilities.  Places where people can work, like factories, offices, retail outlets  and certainly hotels, don't really feature; neither does infrastructure like new roads, rail services or even a modern tramway.  I guess the next question is how some of this list might be paid for. We know that central government restricts local councils so much that they can't afford to provide any of these things.  For some time local authorities haven't really been able to build social housing and have to go in with housing associations and other developers to do this. Equally, we know they aren't allowed to open new schools, and again have to go in with third parties who want to set up academies or free schools. We also know that the new Acton Library, swimming pool and leisure centre could only be built thanks to the sale of council land behind the Oaks centre to a developer, who can now provide new shops and homes on the site. Tricky isn't it?   

Peter Evans ● 4114d

Sorry, that last post was supposed to go after Christopher Bell's comment.Pardon my cynicism.

Bob Little ● 4114d

Dream on.

Bob Little ● 4114d

I like the idea of a statue of Julian Bell, but the problem is, he'd want us to pay for it.

Richard Grange ● 4114d

Been to a gathering of huge Labour party supporters tonight - interesting that the die-hards amongst us think Ealing Council are anything but socialist.  I thought it was just me.  They need to pull their socks up and please the public, whatever colour you vote.

Angela White ● 4115d

A statue of Julian Bell?

Mark Bird ● 4115d

A massive slide. Maybe from the top of St Mary's Church curling around the tower and landing at the bottom.

Richard Grange ● 4115d

A 150 bed state of the art Respiratory Centre built on the Hanson site, to deal with respiratory disease caused by the pollution they, and the council have infected us with.

Ewan Howard ● 4116d

"If you build it, they will come!"  Famous quote from film, and, so true.  We build, they will come.  The maths isn't right for me.  I think all this building stuff is an excuse to make money.  Call me old fashioned.  My ex was a developer.  I know the game very well.

Angela White ● 4117d

I'm hoping that Peter's post is tongue in cheek. But just in case you aren't Peter it might be worth having a look at the last census figures.

Jan Farlow ● 4117d

Yes, me too, Christopher.  I'm very disappointed currently, although always optimistic.

Angela White ● 4117d

When you say "housing - lots of it" who are these houses for?  What is the purpose of that?

Angela White ● 4117d

Trust, both in councillors and the council

Christopher Bell ● 4117d

Housing. Lots of it. Low rise and high rise. For all demographics. We won't see much improvement in amenities and retail until there are enough people with sufficient disposable incomes to make them commercially viable.

Peter Millman ● 4117d

er not sure anything much has happened since Curzon won the bid...

Chris Hurley ● 4117d

It's an interesting thought though. Don't both charities have a lot in common? Perhaps there is room for more do operation between them.

Maire Lowe ● 4117d

We were going to have an ARTS centre in the Old Library remember? It was a good commercial proposal with proper funding and a lot of support.  The Council preferred to go with an alternative bid from Curzon cinemas because 'they would move faster'

Maire Lowe ● 4117d

Yes, an arts centre with artists studio's,  theatre, dance studios', music studios to offer courses and workshops in various disciplines. Concert venue.A skate board park, for older children.Like Angela i would love to see a town square we can be proud of with grass and trees where you want to relax and meet friends before seeing a performance at the Arts centre.

Kim Rugg ● 4117d

How about an arts centre?

Adam Kimmel ● 4117d

What a surprise - not. I thought it was too good to be true.

Chris Hurley ● 4117d

Sadly not the case. The tenant who received that assurance from Councillors at the Ward Forum was told by Catalyst on Saturday that no guarantee was offered. She has written to Councillors to inform them.

Maire Lowe ● 4117d

The area - like the rest of London and the south east - needs more housing. But some of it needs to be small and quite a lot of it could be sheltered - for the over 60s - which would encourage down-sizing and diminish care costs. It needs to be on a human scale and supported by the area's infrastructure and provision of public services.Of course, public rented accommodation would also ensure that London maintains its mix of wealth, age and ability. Teachers, nurses, care-workers, policemen all need to live somewhere near where they work....but I know that is politically wholly unlikely.

Sara Nathan ● 4117d

And Chris, don't forget, even if the residents aren't allowed back because it's not financially viable for Catalyst, they got a glimpse of what their balconies, windows, brickwork would have looked like if only they had have been able to return.

Angela White ● 4117d

At last!  Someone is interested in talking to Acton's people about what they WANT in Acton (pity you're not the Council, Peter). My husband has just shouted across the room "a decent swimming complex!" as he says the new pool is uninviting and basic and a missed opportunity to build community.  He also said "a good town square" where the Oaks is planned for, as The Mount is just a bleak, windswept expanse of pavement, too open and cold. I agree with Ben re the sports complex - not a private outfit, as we have Virgin and the Park Club, but something nearer the High Street which has lots of sports opportunities for children/teens in particular.I would also like to see low-rise housing, like the small scale apartments in Horn Lane next to Springfield Park - they've even got a canopied area at the rear for those living there, as a garden area and they look GOOD!  I hope they're as nice to live in as I think they look.  Oh, and they have underground parking.More green areas, with lots and lots of plants and flowers.  A proper skateboarding area in one of the parks.  An athletics track (other than the Linford Christie Stadium - one that's nearer).  A high street that Acton deserves with an M&S food store.  A Town Hall where Acton Council is housed, when we finally break free of Ealing.

Angela White ● 4117d

ah, but don't forget we have a committment that all the current tenants in Friary park will be rehousd on the same site

Chris Hurley ● 4117d

Studio and one bed social housing, suitable for single persons,and couples. The proposals for the regenerated Friary Green estate show about half the current one bed flats and all the studio apartments won't be replaced.

Maire Lowe ● 4118d

An indoor sports complex that would cater for different types of sport. Indoor cricket, football, volleyball to name a few.

Benjamin Dawson ● 4118d