West London is often celebrated for its affluent neighbourhoods, leafy streets, and the allure of a prosperous lifestyle.
But when it comes to Ealing, the answer to ‘Is it a nice place to live?’ can vary significantly depending on which corner of the borough you call home.
Over the last few years, the ‘Queen of the Suburbs’ has had a dramatic transformation, as the council push forward with ambitious regeneration plans which some say are gentrifying the area.
Shabby grey high-rise estates are being replaced with blocks of sleek – but near-identical – new flats that are said to have ‘forever changed the landscape’ of the West London skyline.
But the borough has a jumbled mix of abandoned estates and pockets of construction, all while contemporary coffee shops and trendy bakeries creep on to the high street.
Gail’s Bakery – which was recently embroiled in its own gentrification row – creeped up on Ealing in 2018, and then borough was linked up to the contemporary Elizabeth Line in 2022.
Last year, TikTok famous US coffee chain Blank Street, which is a staple of central London, also opened a branch in The Broadway, where there is also an M&S.
Despite being branded as one of the best places to live in London, its charm is bittersweet, as the high street is described as ‘run down and mostly shut’.
A view of the new buildings at the Green Man Lane estate in West Ealing
Gail’s Bakery – recently embroiled in its own gentrification row – cropped up in Ealing in 2018. The row of shops (pictured left) were knocked down to make room for the new buildings
There are still a few lingering high-rises from old estates, like this one on Green Man Lane
Some of the projects are still under construction, like the Golf Links estate (pictured)
Some believe the revamp is coming at the cost of Ealing’s soul, destroying the local community many call home and say the new residents look down at them while wearing ‘high heels and suits’.
When a prospective renter asked on a forum whether Ealing is a safe place to live, long-time locals were quick to warn them off.
A resident said that the further one gets from Ealing Broadway, ‘the rougher it gets’, and ‘the worst is certainly West Ealing’.
Another said: ‘I’ve been living in West Ealing for over six years. This area has progressively got worse since the time I moved in.
‘The main road is filthy with garbage strewn everywhere.’
Interestingly, some locals seem to band together, perhaps even dissuading ‘middle-class’ newcomers from migrating to their borough.
Some have complained about the influx of ‘posh’ people flooding into the area, lured by the modern new-build flats.
Business owners lamented the new developments, calling them ‘soulless’ and haunted, void of the vibrant community atmosphere they once enjoyed.
One local business owner said: ‘It is beautiful to look at but it is soulless living, the buildings are haunted.’
Speaking to MyLondon, a resident living in South Acton said that when people who have lived there for a long time moved out and ‘posh people started arriving’, the community spirit vanished.
The freedom to dress casually and shop in pyjamas has been replaced with an uncomfortable awareness of judgement from those tottering around in high heels or dressed up in formal suits.
Locals said ‘we [used to] just dress how we want to’ and go to the shops in their pyjamas, but now feel uncomfortable doing this due to the feeling that people in ‘high heels, suits or gym outfits’ are staring at them.
Pictured is a high rise at the Golf Link estate, where the council was given permission to renovate after raising safety concerns in 2008
One of the new modern buildings on the Golf Link estate
Pictured left is the old South Acton estate in 2016. Pictured right is Acton Gardens today
Ealing Broadway and West Ealing also both recently had new Elizabeth Line links installed
‘Urban village’ Acton Gardens, formerly known as the South Acton Estate, which has been undergoing redevelopment since 2012
Even cultural landmarks are not immune to this wave of change.
The iconic Harlech Tower, which served as the backdrop for the beloved sitcom Only Fools and Horses, is slated for demolition, making way for new flats and as part of broader redevelopment efforts.
Harlech Tower, which was used to portray the outside of the fictional Nelson Mandela House where Derek Trotter and his family lived, will be torn down.
The block stands in Ealing, west London, although Del Boy’s home was supposed to be 13 miles away in Peckham, in the south-east of the capital.
It is part of ‘urban village’ Acton Gardens, formerly known as the South Acton Estate, which has been undergoing redevelopment since 2012.
Ealing Council granted outline planning permission for 1,950 homes in December, with more than 3,000 planned for the future.
About half the new homes were be sold to private buyers and the rest are earmarked for affordable housing for the estate’s 5,000 existing residents.
The homes are being built ‘tenure blind’ with new private owners living next to council tenants.
Harlech Tower, the original setting for classic sitcom Only Fools and Horses, will be flattened in 2027 and replaced with £850m flats in South Acton, Ealing
The last scene in the opening titles of Only Fools and Horses showing Harlech Tower
One of the estates targeted for renovation is Copley Close, which the council called its ‘flagship regeneration site’, costing £100m
Posting on TikTok, one local said ‘the Ends will never be the same’ in the borough.
‘Back in the day, all you had to say was the town you’re from and people respect you, no problem.
‘I say I’m from South Acton, back in the days they were like ‘raahh’ but not the South Acton now. The old South Acton with the brown bricks, not the new builds.
‘Because gentrification and the new builds have the dustiest area looking nice. Now when I tell people I’m from South Acton they say ‘that’s a nice area, nice homes’. No.
‘They don’t even call it South Acton estate anymore, it’s Acton Gardens now.’
The pricing within the area has skyrocketed; a flat that once cost £260,000 in 2016 now has a price tag of £600,000 in the new developments.
According to Foxtons, the average price of a property sold this year is £510k. Ten years ago, this was £338k.
Residents in quieter parts of Ealing with picturesque tree-lined streets and charming Edwardian houses are also feeling the pressure.
They believe that the new high rises are ‘totally out of character’ with their neighbourhoods.
Complaints have surfaced about the development benefiting profit-hungry developers at the expense of the longstanding community spirit.
One told The Standard it ‘feels wrong’ and the plans mainly benefit profiteering developers, but cause ‘anguish’ in the community.
Many have set up pages and groups on social media to ‘fight the gross over-development’ of their area.
In the council’s rejuvenation plan, it says: ‘While pockets of deprivation exist within Ealing, [Ealing Broadway and West Ealing] has the lowest rates of deprivation in the borough and its varied neighbourhoods range from spacious villas to mansion blocks, garden suburbs, and 1960s townhouses.’
It states that the most unaffordable homes in the borough are 14 times more than the average salary.
The tower block and grassy area of Copley Close is now a blue building with balconies
A brand new Islamic Centre which was constructed on the Green Man Lane estate
Pictured left is a tower block on the Green Man Lane estate. Pictured right is the new flats
The council wants to build ‘up to 6000 new homes’ but also expand upon ‘Ealing’s cultural heritage in Film and Music to deliver a vibrant cultural heart to the borough’.
In the year 2022-2023, Ealing Council said 2,100 new homes were completed across the borough and that it had the highest number of housing completions in London for the year.
Ealing Broadway and West Ealing also both recently had new Elizabeth Line links installed.
One of the estates targeted for renovation is Copley Close, which the council called its ‘flagship regeneration site’, costing £100m.
In 2008, it was decided the poor housing quality and antisocial behaviour problems could not go on.
At that time, the estate largely comprised of low-rise, late 1970s blocks with parking under the buildings, with no central focal point or community facilities, and open spaces were of ‘poor quality’.
In 2013, a ‘masterplan’ was approved to revamp 680 existing homes and create 757 ‘high quality, energy efficient’ homes.
As of today, Worcester Court, Alton Court, Darlington Court, and Copley Central have all been transformed, with projects in other areas ongoing.
Pictured is the old Green Man Lane estate before it was demolished
The new flats in West Ealing are of a modern style and many have balconies
The Green Man Lane renewal project is valued at over £400m
A two bed flat in Devon Court was valued at £300k last year, which used to be £92k in 2001.
The Green Man Lane renewal project is valued at over £400m, with the first phase costing £56m.
It used to have number of eight-storey and four-storey maisonette blocks and a small number of three-storey town houses.
A three-bed flat on the estate cost £168k in 2013, but one of the new two-bed flats, complete with a terrace, being sold this year costs far more, at £550k.
Walking through the pocket of new apartment blocks, its easy to be duped into thinking West Ealing is a nice area, with lots of balconies overlooking the tree lined streets where children are out playing on bikes.
But lurking in the green areas are people surrounded by empty beer cans and packets.
The estate is just one road over from the high street, where the vibes are the complete opposite of the tidy, family-friendly atmosphere developers are touting to buyers.
In the Golf Links Estate, the council was given permission to renovate after raising safety concerns in 2008.
Pictured are new buildings on a road in the Golf Links estate
Pictured is one of the advertising billboards for new housing
One of the estates targeted for renovation is Copley Close, which the council called its ‘flagship regeneration site’, costing £100m. Pictured left one of the lingering high-rises, pictured right is a new building
It demolished tower blocks and replaced them with energy efficient, high quality housing instead, costing £18m.
Some 125 homes have been built to date in a mixture of one, two and three bed flats and three, four and five bed houses along with a new community centre and nursery.
The largest estate within the borough is the South Acton Estate, where 3,500 new homes will be built across 52 acres.
It was built in the 1850s, but age and extensive bombing during the war left it in a ‘slum-like’ state when the war finished.
The old estate was cleared under post-war redevelopment from 1949 onwards and rebuilt almost entirely as large tower blocks.
