Grrrr. Tired of Acton being bashed, so much so that I actually went through the registration palaver at homesandproperty.co.uk and posted a comment. Bandwagon anyone? Here 'tis:Mr Spittles, time to step away from your desk and the developers' glossy marketing bumph and actually get out and see what's happening in the borough of Ealing.Ealing Broadway, far from a bustling Oxford Street clone, has been gutted by Westfields. Many of the usual anchor chains have fled. Count the pound shops. Acton High Street is being regenerated, albeit slowly, but the parallel street to the north, Churchfield Road, is verging on the cool and buzzy. It's full of practical, independent shops, cafes and restaurants. New homes are on the way too. I've returned to my patch after several years working abroad and am pleasantly surprised at the sense of community that's developed in my absence. Helping hands are proffered at every turn. I think you'll find Acton is tipped to be a Crossrail winner too. And though sprawling, it deserves more than your copy-paste of the appraisal you first wrote four years ago. Thanks Google: David SpittlesPublish Date: 30 November 2010Chiswick and Acton in west London are neighbours of the "chalk and cheese" variety. The former is a gentrified inner suburb with tree-lined avenues and a riverside mall, or promenade; the other is a sprawling urban mishmash, carved up by train tracks and busy roads into small, badly-linked chunks that undermine any sense of a cohesive community.I know many in this increasingly cohesive community will take multicultural Acton over homogenous Chiswick every time. Ditto Ealing and Shep's Bush.
Susan Flory ● 4528d