Ten shopping parades across the borough have had a facelift to the tune of £1.5m thanks to Ealing Council.
The recently completed Shopping Parade Improvement Programme made significant enhancements to the look of selected shopping areas by concentrating on pavements, street furniture and signage. The project, which started in Spring 2010, also made pedestrian access easier and created better cycling facilities.
The shopping parades which benefited are:
Acton
- Horn Lane, south of Acton Main Line station
- The Vale, by borough boundary with Hammersmith and Fulham
- The Vale (near Acton Park)
Ealing
- Queens Parade
- The Avenue, West Ealing
Greenford
- Ruislip Road, by Verulam Road
Hanwell
- Greenford Avenue, by Bordars Road
Northolt
- Oldfields Circus
Southall
- Lady Margaret Road, near Ruislip Road East
Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, cabinet member for Transport and Environment, said:
“This investment has made a real difference to these shopping areas. The streets look much improved and I’m sure all visitors’ shopping experiences will be enhanced. We know the appearance and quality of our streets is important to residents, which is why we chose to invest in this project. And it’s not only shoppers who benefit from this – businesses in the area will also have more trade and the local economy gets a welcome boost.”
Michael Protopapas is the owner of Vogue Ladies & City Gents hairdresser at Oldfields Circus. He said: “This work is exactly what the area needed. The pavement is much more even and therefore safer. It’s cleaner and it looks lovely. It was a very worthwhile project – it’s lifted the whole area. I’m delighted the council invested in these smaller shopping areas as it really helps the businesses by bringing an increase in trade.”
Before the works took place, local people were asked to identify the types of improvements they wanted to see. This input played an important part in the design process and throughout the project the council and local stakeholders were in contact. This programme complements town centre regeneration projects where cash is invested into town centres to attract more visitors and benefit businesses.
Works to Yeading Lane have begun following consultation with local residents, businesses and councillors. Works have started at the south side of the parade and will include new stop and shop facilities, new trees, additional lighting as well as resurfaced paving. Key to the works is the much requested resurfacing of this stretch of Yeading Lane itself which will be completed once other works have been done.
Bassam Mahfouz 