St Marks and Canal Conservation Area Appraisal - Ealing Council

St. Mark’s and Canal Conservation AreaCharacter Appraisal5.5. The extent of intrusion or damage(negative factors)There are a few intrusions into the CA: The new Ealing District Hospital andaccommodation blocks, exacerbated bymonolithic massing and the topping and croppingof trees on the hospital site create a verydisruptive element at a very narrow point of theriver.The dismissed plots and industrial premises alongthe canal west of Windmill Bridge contribute to theabrupt change in the character of the CA fromrural to industrial. The canal itself gave rise to theindustrial development of this area, and the visualquality which any such location has can only be akind of attraction if it was not for small scaleclutter and detritus. The state of abandon andneglect of sections of the canal make the massesand colours of the sheds and the profile ofchimneys and boats become an unattractivemess.The loss of front garden trees and fences together withloss of garden walls constitutes a threat to the area’scharacter. Boundary walls between properties were animportant element of the character of the 19th Century.However, large portions of original boundary walls andfences have been demolished (see Lower Boston Roadclose to the junction with Uxbridge Road) and replacedinappropriately. This has resulted in a significant loss indefinition of the streetscape and a loss of the originalspatial hierarchy between public and private spaceswithin the CA.Later boundary walls have been executed with materials,design or technologies, which are inappropriate to theircontext. The thinning of trees and hedges along GreenLane, in front of the Victorian properties along LowerBoston Road and Westminster Road, but especiallyalong the western-most stretch of the canal betweenThree Bridges and the Top Lock is one of the threats tothe character of the CA.The CA is under a number of other threats that include: Extensions that are disrupting the traditionalspatial relationship between buildings Bulky dormers windows that disrupt the roofscape Continuous porches Loss of the traditional fenestration patternstogether with later doorways where material,design and decoration patterns are not in keepingwith the character of the CANew security unit of Ealing Hospitalseen from Fitzherbert WalkMonolithic massing of Ealing HospitalDismissed plots and structures alongthe western section of the canalHardstanding in front of terraces alongLower Boston RoadEaling Borough Council 2006 38