In my local park (Southfield Recreation Grounds) a tennis league takes place every 6 weeks where you pay £10 and play each person, of varying standards, over the 6 week period. The winner is the one who gets the most points. It is really fun and if anyone wants to know more please tweet me at: @CllrGaryMalcolm
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| My view watching the Olympics |
Myself and many others have spent more time in the variety of restaurants and shops in Ealing to help support local businesses in the post riot time where many insurers seemed not willing to pay the shopkeepers the insurance they said they were entitled to.
In 2013 the Liberal Democrats hope that some proper work on a new cinema will take place. Ealing hungers for a new cinema and we should not have had to wait this long.
We have also been fighting to ensure that our local hospitals and fire stations can be protected from being downgraded. These vital services are not ones that can be taken away without any harm being caused to Ealing's residents.
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| Another missed collection |
Some of the decisions taken by Ealing Council's administration have not to me been focussed on protecting our most vulnerable residents. How much or little money a Council has it needs to look at how it can protect the elderly, those with disabilities and the many community services that Ealing residents use. The Liberal Democrats will continue to stand up for these in 2013. We are clear this is one area which the administration needs to be reminded about.
Despite a number of disappointments this year in Ealing the Olympics has given many people a positive spirit which we must build on.
I wish everyone a great New Year.
I would have liked to see more promotion of heritage in the borough during 2012. There is so much modern music heritage here, as well as some very old and wonderful buidings, and we seem to be more interested in demolishing it than preserving it. I really think we lost out on tourist income by failing to capitalise on places like the Starlite Ballroom and the former Granada cinema, venues played by some of the greatest twentieth century British musicians. We've also allowed historic buildings like Greenford's 18th century community centre to deteriorate. In any other European country these buildings would be cherished and promoted. In Ealing they just about survive until a property developer notices them and knocks them down. The attractive Art Deco era architecture that is everywhere could be smartened up and be a draw for tourists but this has also been overlooked (the way the cinema in Ealing was dealt with is a disgrace - the rest of Europe would laugh at us for failing to preserve that kind of building). I want to hear less about our green spaces (they're a heartbeat away from being built on) and more about getting tourist revenue into the area through the restoration of Victorian and Art Deco architecture. We have missed out on millions of US tourist dollars by failing to make the most of Victorian Ealing at a time when it was made fashionable by films like "The Young Victoria". Shortsighted and foolish planning decisions will no doubt exacerbate the situation througout 2013.
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