THE owners of Acton Old Town Hall are being urged to fix its famous clock.

Ealing Central and Acton MP Rupa Huq wrote to One Housing, which redeveloped the hall into 71 flats in 2019, after receiving complaints from residents about the stopped clock.  

In a letter to the housing association’s chief executive, Richard Hill, she wrote: “As the custodians of this fine Grade II-listed piece of local heritage, I would strongly urge One Housing to work proactively to get the clock functioning again as quickly as possible.

“Our town hall deserves to be well looked after and for its clock tower once again to be a source of pride – and of the correct time – for residents of Acton, rather than the reminder of failure it now seems to be serving.”

Ms Huq has asked to receive news on repairs, having previously raised concerns about the motionless clock in October last year. 

One Acton resident, who wished to remain nameless, said: “The stopped clock is a complete disgrace to our town centre. Why won’t they sort it out after all this time? 

“It reflects poorly on our town, and makes the place look uncared for and run down.”

Ms Huq said: “At the weekend, the umpteenth constituent stopped me in the street and told me what an embarrassment to Acton the broken clock was. I have to say I completely agree.   

“I will keep pressing One Housing to take immediate action to sort out the broken clock – let’s see what comes of this letter.”

Robert Marcantoni, Group Director for Development at One Housing said, “Since 2014, One Housing has worked closely with Ealing Council, Historic England, local community groups and residents to redevelop Grade II listed Acton Town Hall and deliver much-needed homes, including affordable homes. The sensitively designed development retains a number of the building’s original features including its façade.

"One Housing has previously presented options for repairing the clock to Ealing Council as the clock had not been working for some years prior to our involvement. We remain happy to carry on working closely with local partners to agree a solution that continues to preserve the heritage of Acton Town Hall.”