The new plans are indeed an improvement on the old ones, as Will French's very helpful report indicates, but there's still room for improvement. The frontages along the Uxbridge look good, much better than the current ugly mishmash, but the building proposed to replace the Carphone Warehouse on the corner is a characterless brick and glass box. It's a shame to lose a building of at least some architectural merit to faceless rectangles. But what's really worrying is the question of the shops. We're promised 'high quality retail' but look who's in charge! The very people who gave you those high quality shops TK Maxx, McDonalds and Morrisons in the Arcadia centre. And there MIGHT be gym; there MIGHT be a cinema (another one?) but no promises, it depends on who they can attract. The most worrying thing, however, is the thought that what will happen is what's happening to Dickens Yard. Half occupied, but not one of the promised shops because they're too busy selling the flats to overseas investors to bother with letting them. Ealing will lose a big chunk of its shops for at least two years while the building work is going on. If Benson's aren't forced to fill the retail space first, as a condition of planning permission, there will be dozens of empty shops in Ealing's main shopping area for three, four, five years to come.
Christine Gratus ● 4022d