Around Ealing Winter 2016-17 | Page 4

Councillor Anand (front) at the Ruislip Road site with council leader Julian Bell, Jamie Hunter from Hill and Dave Baptiste from the council UP FRONT 1 Christmas and new year. Only essential and critical cover will be in place for Ealing Council services between 25-28 December and on 1 and 2 January. Limited services will run on 24, 29, 30 and 31 December. Check www.ealing.gov.uk for more information on services. 2 Your usual collection day for rubbish and recycling may change over the Christmas and new year period. See the back page of this magazine or visit www.ealing.gov.uk 3 Real Christmas trees will be collected free of charge on the same day as your rubbish and recycling collections between 28 December and 27 January. Alternatively, you can take them to be recycled at several outdoor sites across the borough until 12 February. Turn to pages 10-11 for more details. 4 The council’s re-use and recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Normal winter opening hours (8am-4pm) will apply on all other days over the festive period. The centres are at Stirling Road, Acton; and Greenford Road, Greenford. Visit www.ealing.gov.uk/ recycling for more information. 5 Burglars are usually opportunists and winter nights tempt them with their longer hours of darkness, people being out at festive get-togethers and the lure of Christmas presents. So, do not make it easy for them: Make sure presents cannot be seen through windows, put lights on timers if you go out and tear up packaging for pricey gifts before putting them in the recycling bin. Visit www.ealing.gov.uk/staysafe for more tips. speedread 4 around ealing Winter 2016/17 Brownfield conversions Ealing Council is unlocking 21 underused sites to build more than 200 much needed new homes. The council-owned sites are located across the borough and range in size, including a number of garages currently underused or vacant. The parcels of land will be redeveloped to collectively provide 87 affordable homes for rent, and 129 homes for private sale. It is being done in partnership with Hill, an award-winning UK housebuilder, and in accordance with the Mayor’s London Land Commission. The deal represents one of the largest partnerships in the capital to better develop small-scale, brownfield sites. Councillor Jasbir Anand, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Developing these underutilised sites gives us the scope to help tackle the housing crisis we are facing in London at a local level. This joint venture with Hill exemplifies the council’s proactive approach.” Two larger sites at Ruislip Road, Greenford, and Trinity Way, East Acton, are the first being developed. These will be followed by a further 19 small sites. Smart for business Small and medium sized companies in the borough have been slashing energy bills thanks to the council’s smart business grants scheme. Sign up now to avoid missing out. A free survey looks for measures to cut spending on things like heating and water. A grant for up to 50% of costs may then be made available (between £1,000-£5,000), with the remainder match-funded by the business There are now only a small number of free energy surveys and grants left. Alex Molokwu, owner of Co Work Hub in North Acton, received a grant for work which he said would save him almost £10,000 a year. He said: “The support has been invaluable.” Visit www.ealing.gov.uk/sbg or email [email protected] Alex Molokwu’s Co Work Hub is saving money