On 7 May 2026, residents in the Hanger Hill ward will vote to choose who represents them at Ealing Council.
EALING.NEWS has asked all candidates standing to become a councillor, 7 questions about who they are, what they hope to deliver and why they want residents to vote for them.
Here’s what Athena Zissimos, standing for Ealing Liberal Democrats in Hanger Hill, has to say:
Tell us a bit about yourself, your priorities for the ward and why you want to be councillor for Hanger Hill?
I really like being a councillor in Hanger Hill, and I feel I have achieved much for residents in Hanger Hill, giving them a loud voice at Council and helping them to sort problems with the Council, be it a missed bin collection, a broken pavement or a CPZ permit gone wrong. I would like to see a much cleaner and well kept ward, I would like to work with TFL, to especially make the Gyratory a much safer, cleaner place to transverse.
What motivates you?
I would like to see a nice pleasant clean and safe place for residents to live in. I like to see things done, and if that means I have to write that 10th email, I will, if it means harassing a council officer to have something done, many times, I will. It is nice to see something completed after chasing it for many months or even years, the new crossing on Hanger Lane took years to happen.
What is your own personal connection to either Hanger Hill or any other part of the borough?
My husband grew up in the house we live in and we have lived in it together for more than twenty years, we live in Hanger Hill Ward.
What do you consider to be your 3 top political, work or personal achievements and what impact have they had?
Getting OPDC funding to fix up the subway by Park Royal Tube (announcement about this after the election).. Finding the S106 money £235,000 given to TFL by the borough to help repair the gyratory subway, that was ‘lost’ by TFL, but then found 18 months later after much chasing..works in progress for the Gyratory. Finally getting the pedestrian crossing on Hanger Lane, after seven years…even though the money was there for it seven years ago. I have asked about the crossing for four years, it is fair to say that it was a Department of Education responsibility. It also fair to say, that despite some of these things not being wholly the responsibility of the borough, it should be the borough’s responsibility to keep a track of promises made by third parties are kept, and especially of monies given for such projects.
What do you consider to be the top 3 challenges Hanger Hill faces and how will you as a councillor address them?
Getting around Hanger Hill is becoming increasingly difficult with many decisions made by TFL seemingly with no proper regard to what it will mean for locals, with huge tailbacks on residential streets, increased traffic on a few streets that have become the only way to get into the whole estate, There is no back up from the council, to ask TFL to mitigate these difficulties for residents living in Hanger Hill, the borough just does what it is told, that needs to change.
The borough needs to stand up for residents to TFL. The Borough also needs to take on the responsibilities it has on TFL roads, and not continually hide under “it is not our responsibility” mantra, where I as a Cllr have to chase maps to give to the borough to prove to them their own responsibilities.
What do you love about Hanger Hill and the borough of Ealing?
I love the fact that ‘Hanger’ is a Saxon word for wooded, and that Hanger Hill still has a wooded hill still! I love those green spaces, the almost village-like atmosphere in some parts of Hanger Hill, mixed in with the more urban parts of Ealing. I like that you can go and eat Japanese, Korean or Indian, and it is all there.
How accessible will you be to Hanger Hill residents and how can they get in contact with you now and if elected how will you ensure you are accessible to them in the future?
Residents can contact me by email now, and will hopefully be able to continue to do so in the future. You can ring me, if you wish but it is often better to email especially if there is a paper trail, and I am happy to arrange a meeting to come to see you, if you so wish.
Click here for all Hanger Hill candidates standing.
Full coverage of the 2026 Ealing Council local elections and candidates standing can be found here.
