Will Copping is a Conservative candidate standing in Pitshanger at the Ealing Council local elections on 7 May 2026. He sets out his views.
Ealing Conservatives have heard about many local issues on the doors in Pitshanger in the last year of campaigning. However, in terms of damage done to the spirit of the ward, it is hard to top the incredibly bad decisions that Labour councillors have made regarding Pitshanger Lane.
In a country that is perhaps seeing a decline in its number of high streets, Pitshanger Lane has always seemed to be a beacon of the high street as somewhere where you would actually go out of your way to meet friends and run errands. The range of shops and the intimate feel of the street was one of the reasons that I moved to Ealing, only a 5-minute walk from the lane.
All of that is under threat. It is no secret that Labour nationally have made things so much harder for businesses with their changes to business rates and national insurance contributions, but you really see the effects when you see longstanding small businesses shut up shop for good.
Adding to this, the Labour council have seen fit to make things even worse by introducing a Stop & Shop charge to Pitshanger Lane, essentially requiring visitors to register to park and to pay for parking beyond a certain time limit.
Ealing Council have already taken an aggressive approach to parking in the borough; CPZ’s popping up everywhere with sham consultations and raking in money from fines. That’s one thing, but given the small amount of time that people spend in Pitshanger Lane on an average trip, most residents are wondering how much extra money the Stop & Shop measures can really be generating, compared to the damage it is doing to businesses already operating on extremely tight margins.
Pitshanger Lane is all about convenience. If you make parking harder for residents who may be pushed for time or less familiar with the technology, you’re just going to push people elsewhere. But Pitshanger Lane is also about the quality of its amazing shops and pubs. If they have to go, if residents reluctantly head into Ealing Broadway or West Ealing, the whole lane becomes in danger of losing its lustre, which will just be another blow to footfall and another nail in the coffin for that village feeling that makes Pitshanger so special to me and many others. To add insult to injury, the council are now charging shops money to put up advertisement boards…outside their own shops!
You may have heard that the Conservative Party wants to scrap business rates for small businesses in pubs nationwide. It is a natural follow-on that Ealing Conservatives would seek to immediately reverse the Stop & Shop scheme.
But for us that is the bare minimum. We want to actually rejuvenate business, not just reverse the damage that Labour have done. So we would be seeking to pilot 3pm parking in the whole Borough to boost local businesses, and we want to add a renewal fund where high streets, including Pitshanger Lane, can apply for grants for small public realm improvements.
So when you’re next in the lane, especially if you’ve been in Ealing for a while, take a good look around and count the much loved shops that are no longer there. If that hurts, then know that it hurts us too. On May 7th, vote for your three Conservative candidates, and help us get our lane back.
Full coverage of the Ealing Council local elections and candidates standing, can be found here.
