Things were very different then. It was not about bumper profits and collusion with developers. It was neglected and decaying buildings and obsolete buildings with no further use.It was a time of real austerity and make do and mend, and very limited resources.Restoring and converting buildings was something that was simply not done hence the loss of a great many wonderful buildings that had they survived another 25 years would have been restored and converted to great use and would now be the most sought after of buildings.And not all old buildings were nice, some were quite grotesque and unsafe.What is being missed is that the new buildings erected, although modern were in proportion to those beside them. They did not dominate or disfigure the street line or roofline.What remains is a mix of the better structures and ironically those that are looking down at heel are those built in the 1950s.But what is planned is out of proportion, devoid of character and simply out of keeping with the whole ethos of Ealing as a town.Unlike the 1950s, there are choices, means and ways but this council and it's planners seem rather myopic and developer led rather than able to deliver something right and fitting.At least previous councils listened and stopped. What was originally planned for what is now the Ealing Broadway Centre was so awful it would have been demolished by now. And the track record for the rest of the borough is none to great either.
Mark Kehoe ● 3627d