Forum Topic

Walpole Park theatre

An interesting idea but one not without potential drawbacks. Relocating the very popular summer festivals for a start. Where would the beer festival go? Southall?  Northolt? Not Lammas though with its huge and unnecessary drainage holes.It’s quite a sizeable chunk of the park to take out of public use for three years. For many local residents it’s the only access to outdoor space they have.One also wonders what the covenants on the park say about putting up a semi permanent structure there. LBE has form in ignoring proper governance of its public buildings and spaces (the Victoria Hall and Town Hall spring to mind) so doubtless it will railroad this proposal through. The dangling of ££ in front of Mason and co’s noses will be too great a temptation to resist, no doubt.

Simon Hayes ● 9d17 Comments

  Trash Ealing - Vote Liebore!

Rosco White ● 9d

Judging by the article on the front page it’s a done deal. Expect the usual sham consultation from LBE.All well and good saying it would improve the cultural offer in the borough but it depends what shows get put in there and whether the cost is sustainable. Will there be discount tickets for residents (who help pay for the parks with council tax)?Looking at the websites for the Canary Wharf and Wembley Park venues it’s obvious they are in proper buildings rather than a glorified marquee. The Canary Wharf theatre cost £26million to build. Nobody will expect anything like that in Ealing so Mason’s ‘long term plan’ is anyone’s guess.It’s fairly easy to access the West End from Ealing so it’s a tough ask to try to compete with the huge variety on offer there.But of course we are governed by geniuses so everything will turn out great!

Simon Hayes ● 8d

Wouldn't many of the festivals such as comedy, jazz and blues be accommodated in the new venue?One concern I would have is the impact on Questors. The Troubadour Theatre wouldn't necessarily be putting on the same sort of shows but it would give an another option for a night out.

Tricia Arbuthnot ● 8d

The reports I’ve read say the existing festivals will relocate. If it’s a commercial venue operating to host west end shows it wouldn’t be suitable for the beer festival, and it would also have to pause its productions to host the music and comedy festivals.No doubt we will be fed some dubious information in due course.

Simon Hayes ● 8d

If the real reason for this “initiative” is to test Ealing’s appetite for culture why something so big and disruptive, when The Questors Theatre, 400 metres over the road in Mattock Lane, is already well established and would fit the bill adequately. Or is there another motive?

Tom Challenor ● 7d

We are dealing with LBE under Liebore, there WILL be another motive.Which will be revealed and we will all learn of after "Mission Accomplished."We have a Lovely Council.

Rosco White ● 7d

The council can charge rent for hiring out the park - it does so for other events already - and getting three years guaranteed income will help top up the coffers  for those councillor allowances.There will be the usual grandstanding from Peter Mason, a man so uninterested in the borough he barely knows where the ward he represents is. Some years back Julian Bell was making wild claims that Ealing could host the Olympics (yes, really!) as part of his sales pitch to developers. Mason is touched by the same hubris, unluckily for Ealing residents.

Simon Hayes ● 7d

Surely people can see the agendas for these clueless clowns they’ve voted into power have?They are actively handing London’s parks over to private businesses whilst taking a nice fee themselves.They do not care that these places were created by the Victorians for the free enjoyment of the local population which led to community etc. You will do as the state tells you and permits.Car ownership is a sin worse than the torture of small animals.Unless, of course, you are good with having your pocket picked to swell the council coffers so it can be blown on ever more hare brained schemes.Stay in your little boxes unless you come out of them as the state permits.THESE PEOPLE DO NOT REPRESENT YOU

Colin Goodman ● 5d

Tell it to The Lobotomised Lemmings who keep voting this shower back in.You'll never sway those of "The Vested Interests" though, for obvious £££££ reasons.                We have a Lovely Council.

Rosco White ● 5d

I’m told by one of the Ealing Beer festival organisers that the theatre idea was put to them a couple of years ago and that they would need to find an alternative venue for the festival. It was quietly withdrawn ahead of the elections but has resurfaced since Labour got back in.There’s no viable alternative site for the beer festival so if the theatre gets the go-ahead it’s another Ealing tradition down the pan.There’s apparently a demonstration outside  Perceval house tomorrow afternoon at 4.30. More effective would be to sign the official petition on the council website https://ealing.moderngov.co.uk/mgEPetitionDisplay.aspx?ID=105&RPID=3856230&HPID=3856230&fbclid=IwY2xjawUM_LFwZG9mBGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzQwOTk2MjYyMzA4NTYwOQABHlGsUFMh32OCus5nN4YI8S5zTSKOJYk9i1aVZ2OP_sDeX2LBVuR6UAYzMepv_aem_RcIBbPudCgEz2Lh8YjhaQAA decent venue for live music and other events would be great in Ealing, but not at the expense of yet more of our parks. Perhaps the well-paid council officers and councillors should have thought more about finding a brownfield site in central Ealing instead of fibbing us off with this.

Simon Hayes ● 3d

Having watched the Cabinet meeting this evening there’s no doubt that the theatre in Walpole Park will go ahead. Yet again Mason proved himself a master of bullshit, ably supported by his acolytes. A lot of guff about the benefits to the local economy, but no guarantees that such a boost will come, and more crucially no mention of how much the council stands to make from leasing out a large chunk of the park and where that money would be spent.Considering there’s currently no suitable permanent site for a theatre in central Ealing it’s unlikely such a site will miraculously appear in 2030. The land there is too valuable for housing development.It’s hard to be reassured by councillors who have repeatedly broken pledges in the past (‘no more tall towers’, Cllr Mason). This is a sleazy quid pro quo that ignores the wishes of those who live by or use the park.This will be another stitch up by the council. Have no doubt of that.

Simon Hayes ● 1d

Well there goes the Ealing Beer Festival. 30 odd years down the pan, I'm glad that I managed to go to most of them. Similarly the Blues and Jazz festivals need to find another place to go.

Peter Tolhust ● 1d

We have a Lovely Council.  Trash Ealing - Vote Liebore!              👍

Rosco White ● 1d

The idea of a high quality professional theatre in Ealing is a good one, but this isn’t it. Mason blathered on about Richmond and other places being ‘lucky’ to have traditional theatres. But what he’s proposing is entirely different.A marquee staging a long run of a West End style performances is very different to those theatres where there’s a constant turnover of plays, stand up and live music. Sure, some residents will onto what’s on offer by Troubadour, but unless they are uberfans it will only be the once. Many won’t be interested at all.We’ve had a Labour administration in Ealing for 16 years. Funny how they’ve never shown any interest in a cultural offer before. It took them over a decade to get Filmworks up and running and apart from the cinema that development is a pretty desolate place.Knowing the cost of something is different to knowing the value. Peter Mason and his chums should learn that lesson.

Simon Hayes ● 1d

"...they’ve never shown any interest in a cultural offer before." depends on which culture, some they will fall over themselves in the rush to throw money at it.

Rosco White ● 1d

So, not one dissenting Councillor.Just remember they are not listening to you even though you (the ones who did) voted for them.Have a think as to why this is being pushed through at the start of a new term in power and not near the end of it.Use your memory when the time comes

Colin Goodman ● 9h

Where is very simple reason to explain the lack of dissent. Dissenting means that you are moved from your position of responsibility as often happened under Julian bell. Being removed from that position means that you lose an allowance or perhaps two. (Example special responsibility and cabinet) those allowances can run into tens of thousands of pounds. Turkeys, or possibly more appropriately, pigs with their snouts in the trough, do not vote for Christmas.

N V Brooks ● 5h