Concern over the future of West Ealing's 'jewel in the crown'
Fears have been raised over the future of allotments on Northfield Avenue.
The Ealing and Brentford Consolidated Charity - which currently owns the land - has been in talks with the council about possible development.
Although it has been ruled out for the time being the charity says the idea could be revisited.
David Highton, allotment owner and chair of West Ealing Neighbours, calls on Ealing's new administration to offer more protection to allotments.
''I'm most concerned about the future of the Northfield allotments. They should be a jewel in the crown for West Ealing: 100 allotments right in the heart of West Ealing and within easy walking distance for many hundred if not thousands of residents.
'' They are close to the Green Man Lane and Sherwood Close estates, both of which are due for redevelopment and will probably double the overall number of residents. GML alone will go from about 800 to 2,000 residents and I imagine Sherwood Close, though much smaller, will see a similar scale of increase.
''They are close to the new developments at the old Daniels building along with the Luminoscity and Sinclair House developments. These allotments should be at the heart of developing a sustainable, greener future for West Ealing and not be concreted over for yet more homes and more pressure on our creaking infrastructure.
''They offer local people the chance to grow their own food, be part of a thriving and multi-cultural community and contribute to building a healthy, sustainable community that will become ever more important with the ever-increasing pressures of urban development on the health and well being on all of us.
''I guess what I would like to see from the new Labour administration is for all our allotments across the borough to be treated as valuable assets for the whole community. To this end I would like to see all allotments fully protected and valued in the Local Development Framework which is the plan for 2011-2026.''
May 11, 2010
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