We hope you all have a successful festive season and that 2026 brings greater success and fewer challenges.

Make It Ealing will be changing as it enters a new BID term from April 2026.

The current CEO, Gerry Barwick, is stepping down, and a new COO will be appointed to lead the new five-year BID term.

From Jan 2nd, an Interim COO will be appointed while the board interviews prospective candidates.

 

 

Make It Ealing has always prided itself on never offering just more of the same. We continually explore new ideas and build on your feedback.

 

Every business is part of the plan, so if you would like your business voice to be part of the decision-making process over the next five years, please contact one of the existing board members or email. Info@makeitealing.co.uk

With the new Town Centre Police Team due to start in early spring, Make It Ealing will focus on how we can support businesses and the police with reporting. The more reports registered in the police database, the higher the stats will be, which will illustrate the need for more police resources.

 

Ealing Broadway has already seen an increase in Police presence since being registered as a Tier 1 area. In addition to implementing a Town Centre police team, there has been additional funding to support multiple Retail Crime Focus days, which have delivered significant results based on data collected at Make It Ealing.

 

 

The ShopSafe Alert will remain operational, but there will be no response team while we put together the new plan.

In January, the new interim COO will contact businesses via our security App to gather input on scheduling security meetings for the retail and evening economy sectors.

Spread the word on your social media about the unique Safe Haven at Ealing station, monitored by police to ensure everyone gets home safe after a great night out in Ealing.

Link people to the Christmas information page here; it has all the details they need for shopping, dining out, activities, and transportation.  

Don't forget: every time you post on Instagram, tag @makeitealing to collaborate, so your post appears on our page and website. Check it out here.

If you haven't already, you can find the new rateable value assessment for your business from April 1st 2026, here. Most businesses will see their business rates increase, and despite the new lower multipliers, their bills will still rise. Some of the increase will be offset by the new Supporting Small Business Relief, which replaces all previous existing discount schemes, without exception. The council will automatically adjust business rates bills with the relevant Supporting Small Business Relief applicable to your business. Examples of how the Supporting Small Business Relief will work are available here.

Don't forget that most Table and Chair licenses expired at the end of September. Details on applying for a new license are available here. The form must be downloaded here, completed, and emailed to streettrading@ealing.gov.uk. The Pavement Licence is not an online application. It can be confusing because there is also an online application for a street trading license, which incurs a monthly fee, whereas the Pavement Licence is £100 for a year.

The next First Aid at Work course is on Tuesday, February 3rd. You can book your place here.

Remember, no matter how small your business, you need a First Aid at Work protocol in place.

Read a Q&A guide on what your business should have in place here.  

Information on all our training courses is available here.

Don't forget to ensure your waste management is compliant. Enforcement officers are checking businesses.  

Every business must have a waste transfer notice (WTN) for general waste. The Make It Ealing offer of an allocation of free recycling bags via First Mile will also provide you with a recycling WTN.

 

It has also come to our attention that businesses are ordering their assumed free allocation of bags from Biffa and invoicing Make It Ealing. If you ordered Biffa bags on the Make It Ealing account, they will not be collected unless the invoice is paid. Biffa has now withdrawn Make It Ealing from its database due to ongoing issues.

 

Please note that the BID office must authorise free allocations. If a business orders bags directly, they will be responsible for the invoice.

The Board at Make It Ealing would like to wish everyone a Happy Festive Season and a prosperous and exciting New Year.

 

PS. Numbers for bank holiday emergencies are available here.