PCA Newsletter – Issue 20 – April 2007
Streets For People Meeting
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...". 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, where there is already a good deal of information in the Pitshanger Voice section.
Don’t Delay – Join Today
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 or contact our membership secretary, Pam Walker, on 8177 9999. 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].
Check Your Blood Pressure / Co-op Now Legal
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. / 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.
Pitshanger Fun Run
/ 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 5km 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. You can get your application form from the PCA web site or from Fit For Sport on 0845 456 3233 or .
Get Used To It
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’.
Follow Ups
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.
Reports
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. 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. /
Head ‘Em Off At The Pass / New Shops
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. / “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.
More Scams
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”.
Your New, Improved Post Office…?
/ 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.
Forthcoming events
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 . 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.
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.
Published by the Pitshanger Community Association
12 Sovereign Close W5 1DE e-mail: web: www.pitshanger.org.uk