West Ealing Neighbours Blog

Ealing Matters’ latest newsletter has an useful update on the developer’s appeal against the Council’s decision to refuse their application for a tall tower in Manor Road next to West Ealing station.

Planning application for 51-56 Manor Road and 53-55 Drayton Green Road (corner site next to West Ealing Station (202231FUL)

The appeal against Planning Committee’s decision to reject this application for a 20-storey tower block took place online during the last two weeks of July. The appellant employed one of the country’s most respected planning barristers Christopher Katkowski QC, to argue their case. Stop the Towers (STT), whose campaign helped to secure 2,400 public objections including one from local MP James Murray, fought hard to uphold the decision. By contrast, the Council failed to field a single officer, relying instead on a consultant who had never previously worked on the scheme to make its case.

Mr Katkowski seized on the Council’s failure to publish any information about Ealing’s house-building programme for the last six years (the AMRs referred to earlier) to argue in his summing-up that the decision should be tilted in favour of his client, and used it further to lodge a claim for costs against the Council. If successful, not only will it be we as taxpayers who will have to pay for the borough’s negligence in this case, but it will subvert our elected representatives’ ability to reject officer recommendations for other schemes for which there are otherwise perfectly reasonable planning grounds to do so.

Planning application for Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) at Gurnell (201695FUL)

After being rejected by Ealing’s Planning Committee on 17 March by 10 votes to one with two abstentions, this application was submitted to the London Mayor for a final decision. Sadiq Khan chose not to intervene, so this particular scheme is now dead. Since then Save Gurnell has been campaigning for the leisure centre to re-open. Cllr Mason appeared alongside campaigners on BBC London’s Drivetime programme on 17 August to argue that it would cost £18 million to bring the complex up to standard. We are aware that a number of refurbishment options have been considered, but that only the most expensive one has been shared with the public. Are we being softened up for a new planning application?

With thanks to Eric Leach for his contribution to this latest issue. Contributions that you think would be of interest to Ealing Matters member groups are welcome.

Ealing Council has published the results of its recent consultations on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. The results show strong opposition across most LTNs except LTN 48 Adrienne Avenue and a part of LTN 21 in Hanwell – Deans Rd/Montague Ave where the majority of residents were in favour.

The Council hopes to make its final decisions in September as it has to meet new government guidance on justifying the removal of any LTN.

The full details are on Ealing Today’s website

Only a few days left to give your views about possible changes to private rental in Ealing. This is the Council’s press release:

‘We’re considering making some changes to our property licensing schemes, to make private renting in the borough safer and better.

Since 2017, many privately rented homes in Ealing have needed a licence to be let. Licensing has been a big success, delivering safer homes for tenants, more support for landlords, and a reduction in neighbourhood nuisance and anti-social behaviour.

The new proposals would mean that the majority of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and all rented properties in 15 wards of the borough would require a licence. Under the schemes, a licence holder would have to comply with several conditions relating to their property, including gas, electrics and fire safety.

But before any decisions are made, we want to hear what our residents, businesses and other interested parties think about the plans. To take part in our short survey, please visit www.ealing.gov.uk/prslicensingconsultation by Monday, 16 August.’

After well over over a year of being closed we welcome the re-opening of West Ealing library. Now known as West Ealing Community Library, and managed by Ealing and Hounslow CVS, the library is open from 10am-2pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during August.

The library team are looking for volunteers to help with two roles:

• Home Libraries Club

• Customer Service

For more information on volunteering at the library follow this link

West Ealing Neighbours received this press release from Friends of Victoria Hall (FoVH) about helping to fund their efforts to save Victoria Hall for community use rather than being absorbed into the plans for a boutique hotel in the town hall.

‘ The latest development in the five-year battle campaign to prevent Ealing’s Victoria Hall from becoming part of a luxury hotel is that FoVH is taking the Government’s Charity Commission to court to challenge its acquiescence in support of Ealing Council’s attempts to take over the property of the Victoria Hall Trust.

Tomorrow morning (22 July), to raise the money to pay for specialist legal advice, we’re launching a new crowdfunding campaign at https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-the-victoria-hall/ 

Although we’ve done as much as we can to keep legal costs to a minimum, we’ve set ourselves a challenging target to raise £35,000.

To help us get there, an early response is important to inspire others to donate. I’d be grateful if you would make a donation as soon as possible after 9am on the 22nd. It doesn’t have to be a large amount, we need some early activity. (If you would like to donate a large amount, please contact me).

There are other ways you can help. If you use social media please share, retweet the posts that appear over the next few days on
https://www.facebook.com/VHFriends  and https://twitter.com/VhFriends

As well as publicity in local media we’re hoping to generate interest regionally and in the specialist press.

It’s clear that the Charity Commission hasn’t listened to the people of Ealing. It’s ignored hundreds of complaints from local people, over 4,000 signatures on two petitions and detailed submissions from a dozen community organisations.

By rendering the Hall unaffordable, impractical, and unavailable at weekends, the ill-conceived Council scheme would bring to an end to the Hall as the centre of community life in Ealing, easily accessible from all parts of the Borough.

We don’t think that’s right.

I hope you agree and will put time aside tomorrow or over the next few days to show your support at https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-the-victoria-hall/‘

The Council’s plans for 26-storeys at Perceval House have got the final green light as the Secretary of State has declined to intervene.

Ealing Council’s final vote on the future of LTNs is now open. It is important as many residents and businesses as possible vote so the Council gets the most accurate information it can on whether or not to make permanent any of the current eight LTNs. (The West Ealing South LTN21 was stopped when Hounslow Council closed Swyncombe Ave for road works) There is a separate vote for each LTN. Here is the link to the Council’s page with the links to each LTN vote. Deadline to vote is Friday 23rd July.