London Deputy Mayor RIchard Barnes has said town centres in Ealing are unappealing and need urgent attention to compete with the growing threat of shopping centres outside the borough.
Speaking to the Ealing Gazette, Mr Barnes warned central Ealing risked becoming as "dead" as West Ealing and that an imaginative approach was needed to invigorate high streets along the length of Uxbridge Road.
His criticism comes as Ealing Council this week published Town Centre studies for Ealing, Acton and Southall authored by consultant Tibbalds, and sought public comment on the proposals. See the previous lookwest article on the reports.
"There should be a development masterplan for Ealing because the pressure is on from White City and from other successful shopping centres in Uxbridge and Harrow," said Mr Barnes, who oversees regeneration at the GLA and is the Assembly member for Ealing and Hillingdon.
"The council has got five challenges along Uxbridge Road – Acton, Ealing, West Ealing, Hanwell and Southall. All of them look as if their only purpose is to bypass them.
"There’s no attractive reason for stopping there. It really does need an open-minded look at what’s there."
