The Christmas season will be going into full swing this weekend with the arrival of the Christmas market and Santa's Grotto on Town Square. Filmworks will be Lighting a Christmas Tree after a jam-packed two-hour stage performance of carols sung by local schools. Picture House will be rounding off a day of fun at 5.30 pm with the offer of two special one-day-only cinema screenings of the Muppet Christmas Show and It's a Wonderful Life at incredibly low prices!

Mark the date: November 18th and Make It Ealing

Big news for Ealing Broadway was the opening of Picture House at Filmworks on October 20th. It is a fabulous venue and so much more than just a cinema. With its welcoming cafe, two bars, eight screens, and hire facilities, there will always be something for the art-house lover or blockbuster groupie.

It was great to catch up with so many businesses at the networking event on November 7th. Getting together has proved that catching up with our business neighbours and putting names to faces is good for the soul. Many thanks to Miguel at Reineta for hosting our event. Everyone enjoyed the delicious wine, nibbles, and relaxing atmosphere, which inspired plenty of connections and information sharing.
As requested, the next one will be in February to allow for a virtuous Dry January! The date TBC.

The Levelling Up Bill has passed all its stages and Royal Assent. 

The act can be read here.

New Pavement License legislation.

Details can be read here.

In brief, the £100 (Covid) pavement license expired on September 30th, 2023, regardless of when you applied.

The new pavement license will be £350 for existing license holders for a period specified by the local authority up to a maximum of two years.
For new pavement licence applications, the fee is £500 for a period specified by the local authority.

The council website still needs to be updated, but the concern is whether the yearly charge will be maintained or changed to monthly or quarterly.

Empty Commercial Property legislation.

Details can be read here.

A local authority may arrange for a rental auction to be carried out regarding qualifying empty high-street premises. The detail is complex and quite concerning if rental auctions will become the benchmarks for the curated offer on the High Street.

Make It Ealing is still looking at suppliers for footfall, so the following is general footfall for the UK.

In the final week of October, footfall in UK retail destinations rose significantly. Much of this will be a rebound in activity following Storm Babet in the week prior; however, the rise in footfall last week is similar to trends witnessed in the same week last year, suggesting the half-term school holiday, which occurred in some parts of the UK, also played a key role in driving people to retail destinations.
Much of the recovery last week was felt in shopping centres and high streets, which suggests these are destinations visited frequently during the school holiday period as they offer more of an experiential element to the trip with a blend of retail and leisure facilities available to shoppers. This is also true for retail parks; however, due to their resiliency and stable footfall levels, the rise is less significant when external influences (such as the weather and the school holidays) have a notable impact. Additionally, where shoppers were unable to visit high streets and shopping centres in the week before last, they will have likely deferred their visit to last week, further contributing to the boost in activity..

Ealing is competing with other London boroughs to be the London Borough Of Culture for 2025. If successful, there will be an additional £1.3 million from the Mayor of London to help launch exciting programmes of activity for all ages.  

If you would like to see more places for arts and culture, more spaces for creativity in our communities and more events taking place across the borough, then back the bid.

It's still possible to be a part of our digital Christmas Guide or to have help with your social media messaging by Natasha.

Visiting Santa's Grotto in the Shopping Centre will be very special this year, and grown-ups are not excluded!

At the very least, pop down to find your Elf name; it will make for interesting conversations over a glass of mulled wine!

Remember Christmas Jumper Day, December 7th!