Category: Planning / regeneration

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Builder of local Council homes goes bust

Henry Construction which won £40m contract from Ealing Council to build over 130 homes has gone in to liquidation. Henry were building the new homes on the Dean Gardens car park site and the 20-storey tower by West Ealing station amongst other local developments. The constructionenquirer.com website says ‘Insolvency experts took control of the London-based residential tower builder’ last week.

It seems hundreds of suppliers and sub-contractors are left out of pocket. The website says ‘One rival main contractor said: “Henry’s have been buying work for years and it all seems to have come to a head as soaring costs and labour caught up with them” ‘.

I imagine it will take a while to hear what the Council will do to re-start these building projects.

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19-storey tower proposed for Waitrose site

Following on from their initial consultation last summer, John Lewis have now put forward their more developed plans for redeveloping the Waitrose site in West Ealing in a new round of consultation. Yesterday afternoon was athe first of two open sessions for the public to view these more detailed plans. The second session is on Saturday morning (25th February) at West Ealing Library.

I dropped in to the first session and it was crowded with people so there is clearly a lot of interest in these plans. The stand out feature is probably the proposed 19-storey tower, one of four towers, which contribute many of the homes in the planned 430 homes for this site. The towers range from 10 to 19 storeys. if you are unable to get to Saturday morning’s viewing then you can find out the details on their special website.

The Ealing.News website has more useful information and, in particular, some questions from the Stop The Towers campaign with answers from a John Lewis spokesperson.

David Highton

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Leeland Terrace – transforming a neglected green space

For a long time, the Seaford-Leeland Terrace corner was just a neglected spot with brambles and always far-to-reach blackberries. All that changed when I saw a notice at the West Ealing Neighbours notice board near Sainsbury’s in Melbourne Avenue (a good source of info) asking for neighbours willing to help spruce up a few forgotten council-owned green corners.

It was a good call as I was looking for volunteering activities now that my kids are mutating into teens. The first meeting was very lively, full of people bursting with ideas; and finished with the creation of a WhatsApp group, of course. The subsequent Saturdays were busy, with many hands trying to control the aforementioned bramble, the creeping and in some places overhanging ivy; and trying to devise ways to keep the fence from toppling over.

And then it happened as with some chemical reactions: after a big burst of effervescence the contents of the beaker calm down and nothing seems to happen, but if you look carefully crystals start to appear where the liquid evaporates. And so around those first crystals, a group of a few regulars (always open to newcomers and occasional passers-by) has formed, creating a new group called West Ealing Green Spaces of which the core (and to whom thanks and admiration are due) is bubbly Simone!! And Simone will say it’s not true, but when she is in the plot more people stop and chat than if it is just Mary and me, say.

Thanks to this group friendships are being created, we get to meet new people with fresh (and sometimes different) points of view, and we have created a place to be proud of. It even makes me more willing to pick up litter! For me, it has been amazing to be spreading mulch (several layers of it), to build up the raised beds, and to receive the spontaneous “thank you”, “good job” and once or twice a helping hand from passersby. Being part of this motley crew is also a great reminder that when people get together with a common objective, great things happen!

So thank you David for giving the initial push and to all helpers, be they regular or one-timers. And I have plans to tutor a bramble along the (not toppling now) fence for ease of berry picking.

By Andres Requena Gutierrez, WEGS founding member


If you want to get involved in this project then drop by on a Saturday morning at 10am and one of the group will be there. Also, if you have a site in mind you’d like to see transformed please contact westealinggreenspaces@gmail.com.

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Draft 2023 Ealing Local Plan – a West Ealing Perspective

Apparently this plan ‘will shape and guide the future development (of Ealing) and help ensure this is sustainable’. This plan is expected to become approved in 2024. (The current Ealing Local Plan – the oldest in London – was published in 2010).

Ealing Matters (a group of over 60 Ealing community and residents ‘organisations) has produced a 14-point checklist of broad areas of comment and objection

To view the whole draft plan go to: www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201164/local_plan

You have until 8 February 2023 to send your comments on the plan to the Council. Comments can be sent to localplan@ealing.gov.uk

Planning Committees do not have to follow the new plan. Ostensibly all Planning Applications are judged on the merits of the application. The Local Plan will offer ‘guidance’.

There is no dedicated section on West Ealing – not even on the centre of West Ealing. This is because the Council does not view West Ealing (W13) as a separate community – but part of Ealing (W5). This is strikingly perverse as both the centre of Ealing and the centre of West Ealing have recent Council approved Neighbourhood Plans.

There is no specific plan for West Ealing but what does exist are summary details of 14 development sites. All the sites are primarily residential sites. So the message here is that the development of West Ealing is primarily about enabling an increase in the population of West Ealing.

The details of these West Ealing development sites (EA14 to EA28) can be viewed on pages 174 to 203. There are no details given about density of development i.e. how many homes can be built on each site. Below is a list of the sites with small descriptors and some comments from me:

EA14 – Arden Road car park, W13 8RA. Residential and commercial. Already has an approved Planning Application. Height can be up to 21 storeys.

EA15 – 1-19 Broadway, Aviation & Pioneer Courts, W13 9AN. Pioneer Court is a fairly new co-ownership residential block. This seems like wanton destruction of existing modern flats. Residential and mixed use. Up to 13 stores.

EA16 – 66-86 Broadway, W13 0SY. A residential and mixed use scheme which is an extended version of the 2010 Local plan site. Up to 13 storeys.

EA17 – 59-65 Broadway (Lidl), W13 9BP. This sits with the rumour that Lidl will move its supermarket across the road to the current Wilko site (90 – 94 Broadway). Apparently Lidl owns the site on which Wilko sits. Residential and retail. Up to 8 storeys.

EA18 – Sainsbury’s and Library, 77-83 Broadway, W13 9BA. This site is somewhat different to the site in the 2010 Local Plan. It includes West Ealing Library and O’Grady Court (Sheltered accommodation). In the proposed use statement there is no explicit reference to a supermarket or a library. The open space which currently runs from Leeland Terrace to Broadway is part of the development site. The northern part of this is effectively West Ealing’s town square. There is no indication that this open space will be preserved. (Some/all? of EA18 site was purchased in recent years by a developer who specialises in hotel development). Up to 13 storeys.

EA19 – 1-10 Chignell Place and 112-126 Broadway. Up to 13 storeys. If this is a tower of 13 storeys it will tower over the rear of the West London Islamic Centre. Residential-led and mixed use.

EA20 – 99-115 Broadway, W13. this development includes the St James Court open space. It’s unclear whether the open space will be retained. Up to 12 storeys. Residential-led and mixed use.

EA21 – 130-140 Broadway. W13 0TL. Residential and mixed use. Up to 13 storeys.

EA22 – 131-141 Broadway. Mostly Kwik Fit. W13 9BE. Up to 6 storeys in height. Residential-led with retail.(see separate articel below for more details of the application for this site)

EA23 – Green Man Lane Estate (GMLE). W13 0RJ. This presumably is the last stage(s) of the development began with demolition in 2011. 714 homes were agreed in the Planning Permission of September 2010 – with completion scheduled for 2022. Now over 1,000 homes are being built with an actual final completion date of who knows when. Up to 13 storeys.

EA24 – 2 Alexandria Road (Waitrose). W13. The proposed use is ‘residential and community’. There is no mention of a new supermarket. Up to 13 storeys.

EA25 – ‘West Ealing Station Approach’ 44-54 Drayton Green Road and 41/42 Hastings Road. W13 8RY (Majestic, Halfords, plus parade of shops) Residential and community. Up to 13 storeys. The latest development intention if for 408 student flats

EA26 – 119 Gordon Road, Castle House. W13 8QD. This is the second stage of developing the old BT building. No reference to building heights. . Residential-led with some affordable workspace.

EA27 – Access House & T. Mohan, Manor Road. W13 0AS. No indication of building heights. The site plan shows Jacob’s Ladder (footbridge) but gives no indication of access to the bridge from the development site. Mixed use.

EA28 – Gurnell Leisure Centre. W13 0AL. ‘Leisure-led with enabling residential use’. No reference to building heights. The Council’s first attempt at this development failed at the Planning Application stage.

It’s surprising that these other sites are not included in the plan:

+ Orion Park, Northfield Avenue. W13 9SJ

+ The old Woolworths site at 96-102 Broadway. W13 0SY

+ The remaining phase(s) of the Sherwood Close Estate (recently, bizarrely christened ‘The Bowery’).

Eric Leach

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Deadline looming for objections to plans to add new storeys to Azalea Close and Court

Information about this application was posted on our Facebook page and it is covered in full detail on the Ealing Today website. In brief the freeholder wants to add a new storey to Azalea Court and two storeys to Azalea Close. The extra height will affect all the surrounding roads such as Shirley Gardens and Nightingale Road as well as the visitors to the nearby Kensington and Chelsea cemetery.

The deadline for comments is 15th August and the Ealing Today article has the planning application reference details.

Thanks to the local residents who posted this on our Facebook page.

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Possible west London ban on new homes as electricity grid is out of capacity

Interesting story in today’s papers about developers in Hillingdon, Ealing and Hounslow having been told it could take another 10 years before new homes can be connected to the electricity grid. According to the Greater London Authority one of the problems for west London is a series of planned date centres that use massive amounts of electricity. Apparently, one data centre can use as much power as 10,000 homes.

Later: In Monday’s (1st August) business pages there’s a story with more detailed information about the proliferation of data centres in west London. It seems about half on the country’s estimated 200 data centres are in the South East with a large number in the Reading to Ealing area. It goes on to say that there are seven outstanding applications for new data centres in Ealing.

So what next for planned developments in West Ealing such as on the old Woolworth’s site, the tower next to the new station, the Majestic Wine Warehouse site, Waitrose’s plans to build new homes on its site and so on?

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John Lewis plans to build homes-to-rent over Waitrose in West Ealing

John Lewis’ plans to build 10,000 homes to rent on its sites in the South East was written about in the press a few months ago. Now, according to an article in today’s business pages, one of those stores will be the one in West Ealing. The retailer is quoted as saying residents in the area will be invited to a public consultation over the coming months.

Later: There will be an public exhibition about the plans in West EAling Library on Friday 1st Juky 4-8pm and Saturday 2nd July 10am-2pm.

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Too little too late? Council puts forward its views on tall buildings

The increasing number of tall buildings across the borough is proving highly controversial. Do tall buildings maximise the use of a very limited resource – land? Or are they repeating the planning failures of the 1960s and letting future generations pick up the bill to put right today’s mistakes?

As part of draawing up its new local plan, Ealing Council has published a position statement on tall buildings. It has also released a video about its tall building policy.

The Ealing Today website has a detailed article about this with comments from Stop The Towers and others.

There is also a new Council survey asking for your views about how you feel about your local area.

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Manor Road tall tower – did the Council withhold crucial information?

West Ealing Neighbours fully supported the efforts of the Stop The Towers campaign to halt the proposed Manor Road tall tower next to West Ealing station. In October 2020 the Council’s planning committee rejected the proposal but the developer took it to appeal and in October 2021 it won. Most of the area of the site is now fenced off though the computer repair shop seems to be holding out.

One of the key factors in the developer winning its appeal was the Council’s failure to provide proof it was meeting its annual housing target and had an adequate pipeline of housing supply for future. The developer’s legal team made much of this lack of information. Yet, just a few months later the Council was able to supply these figures having been made to by the Local Authority Ombudsman. Why did it take a referral to the Ombudsman to force the Council to fulfil its statutory duty? Have a read of the response from Stop The Towers below and make up your own mind:

‘Was information withheld from the inquiry? 

With work about to begin on the controversial Manor Road tower, Stop The Towers (STT) has discovered that key evidence supporting our case, which Ealing Council said didn’t exist, is in fact available, but inexplicably wasn’t presented at the inquiry.

At the inquiry an important issue was Ealing’s housing supply figures; not just evidence of what had been built in the past five years but also anticipated five year land supply figures. If Ealing Council had met its annual housing targets and could prove that there was adequate supply in the pipeline, then there was little justification for the Manor Road tower. But if Ealing Council couldn’t show it had met its target, there’d be a presumption in favour of development(known as the ’tilted balance’) so planning permission would be granted – a point seized on by the developers and their lawyers.
 
Prior to the Manor Road planning inquiry, STT repeatedly requested these figures from Ealing Council’s leadership / head of ‘Good Growth’. The Council should have already published them in an Annual or, recently renamed, Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) which all authorities have to produce. But unbelievably Ealing Council have failed to publish any AMRs since 2014 and despite STTs attempts to obtain information, Ealing Council repeatedly claimed the figures didn’t exist.  In fact conversations were had with senior Cabinet personnel who implied that were STT to force the issue, then any figures may show that the Council couldn’t meet their targets (currently 2,157 units per annum).
 
Local residents group, Ealing Matters reported Ealing Council to the Local Authority Ombudsman who ruled that Ealing Council had failed to fulfil their statutory duties and that these figures MUST be produced IN FULL by December 2021. In response, the council published an ‘Interim Authority Monitoring Report’ covering the five year period 2014/15 – 2018/19.

Shockingly this interim report proves that Ealing Council met its housing delivery test results for 2018-2020 with up to 135% over delivery *.  Not only have they consistently exceeded targets (which isn’t surprising given how many cranes that are visible in the skyline over the last few years), but over 11,000 new units have been given Planning permission that are yet to be built.  So even without the 2021 planning approvals or any new pre-application discussions, this should meet the five year land supply figures. 

Why were the figures withheld, and what does this mean?
 
Ealing council had a statutory obligation to correctly record these figures, which it failed to do. It also had a moral obligation to disclose them to the inquiry, again which it didn’t do. Was this incompetence, or a deliberate ploy?
 
Whilst not a silver bullet, had our barristers had these figures it would have greatly improved our chances of succeeding at the inquiry. But as a result we lost, and Ealing council has to pay the developers huge legal bill, possibiy circa £250,000**.  So not only has this incompetence caused the Manor tower to be approved/built, it’s also cost taxpayers wasted legal fees.
 
Whilst the failure to record the AMRs was during Julian Bell’s time as leader, the person at the helm of housing from 2018-2020 was none other than Peter Mason, now council leader. He has been in overall charge of the Council since May 2021. He and Cllr Shital Manro (Cabinet lead for ‘Good Growth’) refuse to explain the reasons behind these failures. The Interim AMR still lacks figures relating to a five year land supply and the full report has not been published in time to meet the Ombudsman’s ruling.
 
Such incompetence needs to be called out.
 

WHY DID EALING COUNCIL LEADERSHIP NOT DEMONSTRATE A FIVE YEAR SUPPLY?
 
WHAT IS THE COUNCIL LEADERSHIP’s EXCUSE FOR FAILING TO DEFEND THEIR OWN PLANNING COMMITTEE DECISION IN AN ADEQUATE FASHION?
 
WHY HAVE THESE DECISIONS NOT TO PUBLISH BEEN ALLOWED TO COST EALING COUNCIL TAX PAYERS AN UNNECESSARY HUGE LEGAL BILL?

Questions we will ask the council leadership. If we get answers, we’ll let you know.

 
Thanks again for your help and support.
 
Best regards

Stop The Towers’
www.stopthetowers.org

To donate click here
For posters click here

* Figures taken from Housing Delivery Tests published within LBE Interim Authority Monitoring Report Click here

** A Freedom of Information request has been made to Ealing Council asking them to reveal the amount awarded to cover the developers costs in full.