Innovative Plans Unveiled For West Ealing

Appeal for supporters to help 'Cultural Community Quarter'

Mandie Wilde (OPEN EALING) and Katie Peploe ( ECIL)

Proposals are underway for a unique and environmentally friendly shop in West Ealing aimed at helping regenerate the area.

OPEN Ealing which delivers art and cultural events has joined forces with Ealing Centre for Independent Living (ECIL) to create the beginnings of a 'Cultural Community Quarter'.

The initial idea is to rent a vacant shop on West Ealing Broadway and turn it into a joint venture, part retail and part community arts hub.

Katie Peploe from ECIL says they would sell affordable mobility equipment which has been refurbished and upcycled on site by a team of apprentices who are clients of ECIL many whom face additional barriers to entering the job market. The shop will be the first of its kind in the area and help cut down of the huge amount of disability products that end up in landfill.

The 'Wellbeing Cultural Quarter' as it's being known will also offer a wide range of art activities accessible to all

Mandie Wilde from OPEN Ealing says: '' We’ll be able to learn about the area’s diverse culture via exhibitions, classes & events all curated by the community for the community.
We've identified a space but need to raise funds to secure it!  We applied to the Mayor's Good Growth Fund who suggested we tried crowdfunding so we launched a bid and have a couple of months to find the money.''
Their proposals:

• we want to take over the empty shop that used to be Hawasana cafe in West Ealing and create an amazing diverse retail and artistic space.
• will offer a diverse range of community engagement art activities accessible to all promoting inclusion, mental and physical wellbeing and independent living within the area.
• want it to be a place where people can meet old friends, make new ones and express themselves.
• shall be able to learn about the areas diverse culture through exhibitions, classes and events, all curated by the community for the community.
• shall create a retail unit stocking and selling affordable mobility equipment that has been refurbished on site by our team of Apprentices under the watchful and skilled eye of a qualified mobility engineer. The shop will be the first of its kind in the area and do a lot to make West Ealing accessible to all.
  

In order for the Mayor and his team to consider supporting the project, they need at least 100 backers by 17 October.

You can support the project here on the Spacehive platform

The full financial target needs to be met by 17 December.

October 15th 2018