On 7 May 2026, residents in the North Hanwell 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 Dominic Kirkbride, standing for Ealing Green Party in North Hanwell has to say:
Tell us a bit about yourself, your priorities for the ward and why you want to be councillor for North Hanwell?
I’m 35, and I moved to Hanwell a couple of years ago. I immediately felt the sense of community here—more than any area of London I’ve lived in—and started getting to work becoming involved in the community. Having successfully led the campaign against the 24hr slot casino on Hanwell Broadway, and started the community gardening project Hanwell Guerrilla Gardeners, I’ve seen how coming together and organising people can really make a difference. I want to continue this work for Hanwell by becoming North Hanwell’s first Green councillor in May.
What motivates you?
I wouldn’t be a Green if I didn’t say that climate change motivates me—to do more, and faster—but what I’ve learnt in the time I’ve been trying to help battle climate change is that there’s no climate solution without social justice. Ealing borough was recently ranked among England’s most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis, with 79 of its neighbourhoods particularly socially vulnerable to the effects of rising temperatures. This motivates me to get myself into a position where I can help Hanwell and the borough more widely by pushing the council to go further and faster in adapting to our future.
What is your own personal connection to either North Hanwell or any other part of the borough?
We came to Hanwell because my partner has taught at a local school in Ealing for over 10 years, and all his colleagues and friends recommended it to us (we’re so thankful they did!). The part of North Hanwell I feel most connection to since moving here is the Churchfields Rec. I absolutely love walking there, seeing the Thatched cottage across the way, and then heading down into the Bunny Park to see the wildflower meadows in Summer.
What do you consider to be your 3 top political, work or personal achievements and what impact have they had?
First, organising the campaign against the plans for the 24hr slot casino in Hanwell. I was so proud of how the community came together, achieving 2,000 objections on the application, and multiple rallies. Once these slot casinos open on high streets, they rarely close and the impact on the community is devastating, so the impact defeating it had was removing the impact!
Second would be organising the community to raise nearly £2,000 to help the Hanwell Guerrilla Gardeners rejuvenate the Clocktower Flowerbeds. With everything the council has to pay for these days, it’s clear that they can’t keep up our green spaces in the way we’d like. While that’s disheartening, it was heartwarming to see how the community responded to help us replant the space—people care in Hanwell! We’re hoping to have them fully planted up by summer.
Third would be litter picking (and logging with LAGER Can) enough around Hanwell station to get an extra bin put on Station Approach. The amount of litter around the station is not the welcome to Hanwell that our town should be proud to give, and I’m pleased to have helped improve it.
What do you consider to be the top 3 challenges North Hanwell faces and how will you as a councillor address them?
The top issue on most people’s minds in North Hanwell is HMOs. There’s approximately 5,500 HMOs already across Ealing borough, and while the wait for a socially rented 3 bed family home is, on average, 14 years, this is not okay. As a Green councillor, I would hold the Labour-run council to account, to use its powers to regulate, inspect and limit HMOs to help ensure residents have access to the right home, in the right place, at the right price and the community is protected.
Second would be the uncertainty around the council’s plan for the Regional Park, which will go across North Hanwell through Brent Valley golf course. The plans aren’t clear, and residents worry the reassignment of space is a smokescreen to siphon off land for developments that don’t fit in with the town’s character and reduce actual open space available to all. I would scrutinise the plans and speak out to get residents the transparency they deserve.
Third is anti-social behaviour and low-level crime. As a Green councillor, I would work hard to get services and support that help prevent people falling into antisocial behaviour and low-level crime reinstated, rather than just sticking-plaster remedies.
What do you love about North Hanwell and the borough of Ealing?
I love the Green space—whether it’s the bunny park, golf course, allotments or even the very quaint village green—there’s a great amount of it, and it’s so good for us and our well-being. Ealing is a very green borough in general, and we must protect that.
How accessible will you be to North Hanwell 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?
I plan to be very accessible! I’m already fielding questions from residents of North hanwell via our northhanwell@ealing.greenparty.org.uk email (which I’m happy to continue doing), and one of the things I’m proud of the Green Party candidates in Hanwell Broadway for is that they have committed to continue door-knocking after the election to hear from residents directly (something we haven’t seen much of from other parties outside of election time) and this is something I will commit to also.
Click here for all North Hanwell candidates standing.
Full coverage of the 2026 Ealing Council local elections and candidates standing can be found here.
