I have just received the June issue of Around Ealing.

While there are many good articles in it, the item on recycling does not reflect reality.

Certainly payment by direct debit is convenient and it was, I thought, efficient when renewal came up this year to get an email to say payment will be taken on April 1.

It was then extremely annoying in mid-April to have to chase up the council when no payment was taken – to be told it would be May 1.

While the article waxes on about the benefits of wheelie bins, the problems suffered by those who have to use green bags remain.

Being of inferior quality and unweighted compared to the pink bags used by the previous administration’s contractors, once emptied, they get blown away.

So to allow for this you have to be on the spot to retrieve them – if you are away from home on collection day you have a serious problem.

I trust this council will address this and ensure that replacement bags are fit for purpose.

Edwin Owen

Mount Avenue, Ealing

Hotel developer jumped the gun

The former £1 shop at the corner of Melbourne Avenue and Uxbridge Road has been quite an eyesore since its closure over two years ago, especially since it is located at a well used bus stop.

Last year there was an application submitted to Ealing Council by the Betfred group for a betting shop licence, which was rejected, and quite correctly, as there are more than enough betting shops in Ealing and surrounding areas.

I then learned earlier this year that a new application had been submitted to Ealing Council for a hotel on the site with added floors.

This brought a lot of criticism from various quarters, including a petition from a flower stallholder, who would loose his site if the plans for the hotel were approved.

I did not read or hear of approval for the project being given at any stage.

More recently mortar which as high up on the Uxbridge Road side of the building started to come away.

I subsequently noted scaffolding had been put in place, and assumed this was to make the wall safe and replace the mortar that had come away.

When passing the location the previous weekend, it was clearly visible that more than just attention to the side of the building was taking place, as you could clearly see daylight through the old rafters.

When attending a ward meeting recently in Pitzhanger Manor, I was talking to an Ealing resident about what issues had been discussed relating to Ealing shopping plans.

I had arrived late so he gave me to understand the new hotel was indeed under construction.

I showed surprise and stated I was not aware the application had been approved.

He responded by stating… “they are obviously pretty certain the application will be granted”.

It seems odd that a company would make a start on a project as controversial as this, without receiving the green light to proceed!

K. Francis

Elthorne Avenue

Hanwell

Visitor vouchers rise is an outage

As a resident in Coningsby Road, I feel trapped by this Labour council.

From April 1 they put up the cost of parking. I don’t mind so much the annual fee for a residents permit, but the visitors vouchers from £3.50 a day to £4.50 is an outrage.

Not as bad as the initial increase some years back when it escalated from £1 a day to £3.50, and they wanted it to be £5. And the hourly voucher has gone up to 60p.

Living in a zone where the restrictions are from 10am to 7.30pm weekdays and 10am to 4pm on a Saturday, we are being fleeced. It is an enormous amount to pay for visitors and tradesmen. Even a 10-minute visit requires a voucher, now 60p.

As a pensioner, I am furious.

Pamela Ratchford

Coningsby Road

Ealing

Death rates rise after A&E closures

The crisis in our accident and emergency departments has been all over the national press in recent weeks.

Last week the King’s Fund warned that waiting times for A&E patients had hit a nine-year high.

This is no time to agree to demolish Charing Cross and close half the A&Es in west London.

Those hospitals that remain would come under severe strain. For example, Jean Doherty, former co-chairwoman of West Middlessex Hospitals public and patient involvement forum, said [Hounslow Chronicle, June 29]. “The West Mid already struggles with the 106,000 patients a year attending its A&E ward. It is hard to see how it would work if the hospital were forced to deal with at least another 30,000 extra patients a year.”

We asked North-West London NHS trust and the Department of Health if there were studies examining the effects of closing A&Es. They shrugged their shoulders.

However, the Mail on Sunday (May 12), in what they claim is the first authoritative study, found the death rate among emergency patients rose by 37 per cent.

Professor Simon Shorvon, a neurologist from University College London and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, said: “As a doctor living in west London, I am appalled by the decision to close all four of our A&Es. It will leave a huge swathe of residents far from a local casualty.

“Time matters in an emergency. Those in charge of the health provision to west London should be ashamed.”

When we sent the Mail on Sunday report to Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s health scrutiny committee, the chairman, Councillor Ivimy, replied: “These allegations run counter to the evidence that the committee heard about the results of reorganising the A&Es. They are clearly serious, and I have asked the NHS for answers.”

We hope that you have received answers, Mr Ivimy, because we want answers too.

For example, in the face of a mounting body of evidence and opinion, how can H&F Council and the scrutiny committee still agree to demolish Charing Cross Hospital and close four out of eight A&Es in our area?

The next health scrutiny committee is on June 19, at Hammersmith Town Hall. We will assemble outside at 6.30pm. Hope to see all your readers there.

Graham Hodgin

Save Our Hospitals (Hammersmith)

The Vale, Acton