News and Events

ECS organised events

Watch this space for our next Saturday litter pick. Here are some of the pickings from our last one on 6 December: a large metal barrier, the front of an electric guitar, a new set of clothes, a sleeping bag, underpants, and many many bottles.

Your Voice Your Town

Cllr Connie Hersch has sent us this:

I was talking about this initiative  ‘Your Voice Your Town’ at your AGM. The project is live now and you can find more details following the link below.

Any single person or a small group or the group as a whole can apply. The application form should be straight forward. For bigger projects (and more money) you might get an invitation to talk it through with some of the town team representatives.  Any questions upfront let me know.  

This year, £120,000 in funding is available to support small and large ideas for community projects that address the priority of Feeling safe in Ealing Town as identified by its residents, businesses, community and faith organisations. The deadline to apply is Friday 16th January 2026 at 11:59 pm.

 Whether you’re part of a local organisation, community group or just someone with a great idea – we want to hear from you. We also welcome applications from schools, as long as the project benefits the wider community beyond pupils, staff, and families.

We have two pots of funding – small grants from £150-£1,500, and larger grants up to £15,000 to be awarded.

You can find full details and access the application forms via: https://dosomethinggood.ealing.gov.uk/your-voice-your-town/ealing-community-fund/.

Replacing the Horse Chestnuts

You may be aware that the horse chestnut trees are gradually becoming more diseased. They suffer from advanced canker bleeding which weakens the wood. This has been known for some years and in anticipation of them dying, rows of young trees – not horse chestnuts - were planted about 10 years ago, inside the outer border of the Common. Most of these trees are doing well.

We are told that horse chestnuts come from northern Greece. Young horse chestnuts, if planted in the UK, do not thrive and do not reach maturity. It is not economic, or advisable to replace our horse chestnuts with more of the same.

The tree officer has identified seventeen sick or dying trees on The Common. Some already do or could present a risk to road users and the public. The Council proposes to reduce or remove these trees and replace them with sixty-nine trees of different varieties such as limes, hornbeams, cherries and Scots pines, similar to the three Scots pines on the South Common. Some of the trunks will not be removed, but will remain as monoliths to encourage wildlife.

Funding for this work comes from Section 106 money paid by developers in the borough.

The reduction work will start in May and should be finished by August. Planting will begin in the autumn. There are huge numbers of trees to plant across the Borough and it is hoped to complete the work by the spring of 2025.

We will meet the Tree Officer in the autumn to learn more about the planting proposal.

AGM

The AGM was held on 4 April. You can download the minutes here and the results of our survey here.

April 2025