The London borough of Ealing – known to many for the classic eponymous comedies of the 1940s and 50s and now, bang up to date, for the headline-grabbing Amazon Fresh store on the Broadway. 

As an Ealing resident and someone who has worked on a number of projects in the borough, I take great interest in any changes to the landscape and, with news that the giant of retail has just opened in the centre of town, I know exactly where to do my essential shop today.

I start my journey in Walpole Park which has been one of my favourite destinations for walks during the current lockdown period. It’s an amazing 22-acre space which when lockdown ends will once again host myriad music and culture festivals, alongside the stunningly refurbished Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery.

My walk takes me past the famous Ealing Studios – birthplace of said comedies. Today, it’s not only a state-of-the-art film production facility but also a creative hub and home to media schools and recording studios, with artists such as Rhianna and Sam Smith having recorded there in recent times.

As I reach the northern end of the park, I can’t help but notice the Filmworks development by St George which is now nearing completion. Alongside restoring the much-loved and missed cinema to Ealing Broadway complete with its listed facade, Filmworks will be home to a mixture of shops, restaurants and bars together with a number of luxury apartments, all set around a central piazza that will eventually form a much-needed link between the Broadway and the parks.

As I walk westwards along the Broadway, past the original Ealing Town Hall with its striking Gothic architecture, I’m delighted to see that a number of the restaurants and bars are readying themselves for life after lockdown, including some new entrants to the market, taking advantage of the new retail space created by the Dickens Yard development. The bustling street food market in the new piazza is still doing great business to those essential workers seeking out the wonderful mix of cuisines on offer.

Looking through the piazza I can see the gates of Christ the Saviour school, one of Ealing’s many excellent and  Ofsted rated outstanding schools.

Coming to the heart of the Broadway, I reach the Amazon Fresh store and marvel at what is surely the start of a new retail revolution. I wonder briefly why Ealing was chosen as the destination for its first UK high street presence, however looking across the Broadway, construction is almost complete at the new Crossrail station which will put the town centre within 11 minutes of central London. Along with the two existing Underground lines and National Rail services running out of the station, Ealing will soon be London’s best connected borough.

Looking back down the high street at the mix of not only shops, bars and restaurants but also new developments all sitting alongside excellent schools, amenities, creative hubs and acres of green open space, it’s easy to see Ealing Broadway as an exemplar for the modern high street. With community at its heart, this vibrant destination is very much the sum of its eclectic parts.

• At time of writing, shops, pubs and restaurants are still subject to restrictions and outdoor exercise must be local. For more information see gov.uk/coronavirus
  

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