Community Spotlight: Ealing Broadway Centre
The Ealing Broadway Centre in Ealing, west London, is a retail complex which comprises approximately 85 units. It takes in the town square and the Ealing Central Library and is situated on The Broadway.
There are several ‘household name’ stores, such as Marks & Spencer, TK Maxx, Next and a Tesco Express, along with some smaller specialised outlets such as vintage and charity shops. There is also a number of eateries and coffee shops, so it is somewhere to meet up, chat and spend time together, being well connected for local bus services and conveniently located very close to Ealing Broadway station, as well as having over 600 parking spaces.
It was designed by Keith Scott of Building Design Partnership and has several walkways, courtyards and open-air spaces that can accommodate events and community initiatives.
The wind can whip through the walkways on occasions! I can attest to this, having spent a cold December day fundraising for BEfriend with a colleague at the Charity Hut, a facility for local charities that is available in the run-up to Christmas for publicising local services, raising awareness and funds.
The Ealing Christmas Market takes place in the Centre and surrounding streets and runs from late November to the end of December, cultivating a family-friendly atmosphere, with refreshments and live entertainment.
The Ealing Broadway Centre, a development which also consisted of office space and a gym, was on a 12 acre site that formerly consisted of housing and cost £60 million to build.
A smaller shopping centre was built in 1986 adjacent to it at a former 19th century department store called Sayers. It went by the name The Waterglade Centre, and was later renamed The Arcadia. It was redeveloped in the 2010’s and replaced by 1-8 Broadway. In 2013, British Land purchased the site and spent £12 million upgrading the centre with the intention of attracting premium tenants and increasing footfall.
Further back in time, Ealing Broadway railway station was opened in 1838 as the first station from Paddington on the Great Western Railway (GWR) line. (As the only station in the area, it was initially named Ealing Station).
Although the station brought visitors to the area, development continued slowly until the late 1870’s and early 1880’s, when a period of growth was triggered by the new suburbs to the north. The district line opened in 1879 and the central line in 1920.
Development continued on and off until a major expansion of office space in the 1960’s and eventually the construction of the Ealing Broadway Centre, which was opened on 7 March 1985 by Her Majesty The Queen.
Now an important community feature, Ealing Broadway Centre is a hive of activity and is used by some of our clients and volunteers as a meeting place or a convenient venue for a coffee and a chat.
Author: Kevin Derbyshire
