UP FRONT
WIN a
A new bridge
race place
Southall is to have a new pedestrian and cycle
bridge across the railway, to make it safer and
quicker to cross.
People are flocking to
sign-up to take part
in the fifth Ealing Half
Marathon. Take part in
our competition and
you could win one of its
coveted race places.
Currently, cyclists and pedestrians have to take
a much longer route, over the busy South Road
bridge. The new bridge from Merrick Road will
replace an old footbridge which is in disrepair
and has been closed for many years.
The annual event will take place on 25 September and recently won
best half marathon at the Running Awards for the third year in a row.
It costs £36 for affiliated runners to take part and £38 for unaffiliated
runners. But you could be in with a chance of winning a race place for
free, along with an official ‘hoodie’ top and T-shirt, by entering our
competition at ealingnewsextra.co.uk/features
The race starts and finishes in the council’s Lammas Park and
features a 13.1-mile route on closed roads and parks. Ealing Half
Marathon was started in 2012 to build on the legacy of the Olympic
and Paralympic Games in London, with the endorsement of local
organisations including Ealing Council.
Skating ahead
Ealing’s popular skate park, outside Gurnell Leisure Centre,
will be open all summer despite the planned changes at the
centre itself (see page 14). The skatepark is a great, free
activity for children of all ages and a chance to enjoy outdoor
sports together. Working with the council, the Ealing Skatepark
Association organises many events at the park throughout the
year – visit ealingskateparkassociation.com for updates.
It will include lifts and ramps to make it
accessible to wheelchair users and pushchairs.
Designs will include landscaping as well as high
quality lighting and CCTV.
The project will be funded using £3.45million
section 106 money contributed to the borough by
developers as part of their planning agreements,
£1million from the council and £500,000 from
the Heathrow Airport Transport Fund.
Every little helps
The borough’s Tesco customers
have chosen a community
project to win a first prize
of £12,000 in its Bags of
Help scheme. The money
was raised from the new 5p
plastic bag charge.
It will be put towards work being carried out by the
Hanwell and Norwood Green Orchard Trail group.
It is a community project started by residents,
and supported and organised in partnership with
Ealing Council and the Canal and River Trust.
The group, aided by council park rangers,
planted a trail of 40 native fruit trees in February
2015. The plan, in due course, is to extend
the trail along the waterway in either direction,
linking the green open spaces of Hanwell and
Norwood Green. The orchard provides free
fruit for residents and food for wildlife as well as
making the route more attractive
You can read more on the trail in the December
2014 archive at ealingnewsextra.co.uk/features
around ealing
Summer 2016
7