Arcadia plans: developer responds

2:33pm Sunday 14th October 2007

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THE developers of a controversial shopping centre at the heart of Ealing have responded to news that residents are forming a pressure group against their plans.

It was announced on Wednesday that several residents' associations and community groups were banding together under the banner of Save Ealing's Centre (SEC), to fight the plans for the Arcadia centre.

SEC claims that the development which will include 700 new homes, including a 40-storey skyscraper, and the Dickens Yard development which will bring more homes to the town centre, will stretch the infrastructure to breaking point.

A spokesman for Glenkerrin, the company behind the Arcadia plans, said: "We have held open meetings with stakeholder and single interest groups and have tried to reconcile and respond to those issues.

"We have also held two public exhibitions and most of the feedback has been positive and, in many cases, enthusiastic about the benefits the scheme will deliver to Ealing.

"We are also winning strong support from the Ealing business community whom we have also met to discuss the proposals.

"Both big and small businesses appreciate the investment potential and boost to business the Broadway Leaf Development will bring to the town.

"Further exhibitions are planned at the both the Arcadia Centre and the town hall to ensure that local views are heard and taken into account.

"It must be remembered that the redevelopment is part of the approved urban development plan for the area to promote a vibrant and prosperous town centre and Glenkerrin's proposal is in response to this."

A council consultation is in progress, with letters being sent out to 60,000 homes in the borough, while SEC plan a series of public meetings to discuss the problems.