Proposals are being worked on to build new homes at the Mattock Lane end of the Northfields allotments. The allotments are owned by local charity Pathways. It also owns Dean Court which is accommodation for older people on the other side of Northfield Avenue. Pathways would like to redevelop Dean Court to increase the amount and quality of housing for older people. Their aim is to provide a total of approximately 110 Pathways social homes and 30 homes for sale across the whole development.
Part of their plan is to take about 10% of the allotment site, at the north end, and build 18 new social homes and four homes for sale. These homes wil be in two buildings, one five to six storeys high and the other three to four storeys.These homes would be built first in order to move existing residents of Dean Court in to these homes whilst Dean Court is redeveloped. Residents can then return to their new homes in about two years.
These proposals are likely to prove controversial as the arguments about the urgent need for more housing are set alongside the role and value put on green space in an ever increasingly built up area. These plans are at a very early stage and Pathways are now starting a lengthy period of consultation with the local community. More information about the plans and how to ask questions and make comments are available on Pathways’ website .
(I should add that I have an allotment on the Northfields site but my intention with this post is to put information in the public domain. There is another occasion for a close look at these proposals and the different points of view within our community.)
With so much new building going on in Ealing, I really do not agree with the use of valuable green space for this proposed site. Housing for the elderly can be socially integrated into existing development projects that are being built on current – already developed – sites, without encroaching further into gree space.
There is already a huge amount of residential building going on in Ealing why build on green spaces ? The allotments are very useful for people who have no access to a garden why take that away ?