The point, surely, is does Ealing need big shops. I don't mean big names but large retail premises.We all bemoan the disappearance of Kays, Squires, Shellshears, Clay Brothers, Bentall's foodhall, Daniels, Sanders, Rowses, Abernethies, and so on; but why did they go?As Peter said, if we had large shops it would attract traffic from further afield and then we'd all be squeaking. What benefit to us locals?The most successful shops in EB Centre I would suggest are Argos and Primark. They both sell value for money products at a price people can afford. I would go further and suggest they are the most successful non-food shops ever in central Ealing.It's very nice to have a big name shop, which might well be value for money but it requires money to run it. Even M&S countrywide are feeling the pinch - the product is too expensive. Unless Ealing Broadway can come up with the area from Ealing Broadway station, including the platforms, to the fire station, and from Gordon Road to Uxbridge Road it will never compete with Westfield or Kingston. But does it need to?We'd all complain like hell if a gas-fired electricity generating station were to be built in central Ealing. Why shouldn't we have one? It's near the consumers.A new hospital would be a better option, completely separate from the one on the west bank of the River Brent.
Alan Brainsby ● 6537d