COVID-19 news - and more

Council goes on line
As we move cautiously towards relaxing lockdown, Ealing Council is restarting some of its meetings through the use of streaming as well as video conferencing.

The full Council meeting due on 5 May to elect next year’s Mayor has been postponed. However, some key committees are going online. Cabinet, Scrutiny, Planning Committee and Licensing Sub-committee will take place in May as scheduled, with the public able to watch. Links will be published on the Council web site with each agenda.

The Forum has welcomed this move as key to ensuring that, while face-to-face gatherings remain suspended, deliberations by the Council do not take place with little or no public scrutiny.

It is hoped that further committees will be streamed and recorded for U-tube. Where questions are normally permitted arrangements are being examined to allow public participation, by arrangement beforehand. If you want to take part, contact the relevant Committee clerk at 020 8825 7497.

Greenford tip can reopen – but when?
A Government instruction has been issued to councils to reopen waste disposal and recycling depots, and many have done so. Ealing has not responded to our question about when it will, but it’s clear that arrangements will have to be made to prevent long queues when they do. Don’t all rush!

News about testing – and more
A further edition of Ealing Covid-19 Newsletter with a range of news items about how Ealing is responding to the coronavirus has been published by Eric Leach, co-editor of West Ealing Neighbours, and can be seen here.

Warren Farm sale off
Ealing Council wants to withdraw from the Judicial Review into the Warren Farm sale, as QPR pulls the deal after finding a new training ground. Instead, the club has committed to helping develop the Ealing site for community sports use.
See https://www.qpr.co.uk/news/club-news/community-sports-facilities-commitment-for-warren-farm/

Tower block developments
A London School of Economics team is running a survey to better understand what Ealing residents think about tower blocks. Their invitation to participate says:

It is hard to find land in London to build on. One suggestion is to increase density - to allow more to be built on a piece of land. To this end, my colleagues and I at the London School of Economics have put together a survey to better understand what Outer London residents think about this.

The survey can be accessed by clicking on the link below and then, after having read the instructions, by clicking ‘Continue’. It consists of two parts. The first is a short questionnaire and the second contains a series of images for the participant to respond to. More detailed information, including a consent form, can be found on the survey’s introduction page. Participants are encouraged to complete the survey by May 31. Responses will be anonymous. If there are any technical questions or issues, please feel free to email: j.g.karlsson@lse.ac.uk.

Link to the survey: https://urban-experiment.com/share/jzx8JB.