West Ealing Neighbours Blog

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.

I only joined the volunteer litter picking group LAGER Can last year so am new to this. Even so I was with a group in December cleaning up Witham Road and we did get given a box of cucumbers. So it does have some rewards!

In 2021 LAGER Can filled 24,561 sacks full of rubbish across the borough with bottles and cans making up a significant percentage of this rubbish. LAGER Can’s Cathy Swift makes a good point that a national deposit scheme for cans and bottles would greatly cut down how many of these are just thrown away. I’m old enough to remember collecting bottles as a child and taking them back to shops to claim the deposits. So, it’s been done before so why not again?

With my West Ealing Neighbours hat on, WEN has been working with LAGER Can, West Ealing Business Improvement District and local councillors to try to resolve some of West Ealing’s litter and fly-tipping hot spots – Canberra Road, Witham Road, library car park and so on. The problems identified include flats with no bins; clothes left outside charity shops at night which get searched through and end up strewn across the pavements; one or two shops not disposing of their waste correctly; and night-time fly-tipping.

These are not always quick and easy problems to solve but we are trying. LAGER Can has played a vital part in looking for solutions – talking to shop owners, talking to residents and looking for evidence of who is fly-tipping. I hope between us we can make more progress in 2022 and continue to help clean up West Ealing’s streets – watch out for LAGER Can’s distinctive blue bags – and maybe some cucumbers – as signs of action happening.

We featured the earlier campaign in Hanwell to save the Arts & Crafts house in Church Road. This campaign was successful. There is now a threat to overdevelop the property’s rear garden with considerable loss of green space and the danger of setting a precedent in a conservation area. This is the information we have received about this new campaign:

THANK YOU very much to the residents who raised 400 objections which stopped a planning application to demolish a 1912 Arts & Crafts house at 178 Church Road, Hanwell W7 3BP to build six flats and two houses in a conservation area.  Objectors included James Murray, MP for Ealing North, Ward Councillors, numerous individuals and groups.  A new application has been filed by the developers Luxegrove Homes and the battle is now on to prevent the rear garden from being replaced with:

• Two, 8.5m high 4-bed semi-detached houses with bin storage and 6 cycle racks for 14 people

 Could you PLEASE object to this new planning application to prevent:

• 60% loss of greenery – 18 trees, a 200-foot hedge and shrubs which all mitigate climate change
• Setting a precedentfor back garden housing in a conservation area and for future builds

The saved Arts & Crafts house facing the road, will be turned into two flats with a rear extension, roof terrace and green roof to house 7 people.  A mix of flats and housing is a gross over development with an odd layout, poorly designed houses and a lack of privacy for the 21 proposed residents and neighbours.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE:

• The two semi-detached houses do not complement the existing house.  The design is poor, with a crude amalgamation of various traditional elements which lack cohesion and architectural integrity
• The small gardens are not in keeping with the conservation area which features spacious plots
• The Hanwell Village Green Conservation Area Appraisal states that “gardens should preferably be maintained” whilst The Mayor’s London Plan, sets out ‘the principle of no net loss of overall green cover’ for new builds. The plot is greenfield, not brownfield land, as stated by the developers
• The houses are 0.7m from 2 neighbour boundaries – too dense, overbearing and over shadowing
• Two parking spaces for the houses are sited in front of the flat windows an inconvenient 65m walk  
• The configuration of the site in co-locating both flats and houses compromises the special character of the Conservation Area, diminishing self-containment, privacy and peace for future residents 

RATIONALE FOR REFUSAL:

• Overdevelopment of a long, narrow site to house 21 people is not appropriate in this area
• Loss of important landscape features and the openness and character of generous plots
• The rear semi-detached houses are not of an acceptable quality and their design would be out of character with the pattern of development in the area and detrimental to the conservation area
• Adverse impacts on the amenity of nearby dwellings
• The benefit of extra housing does not outweigh the harm to the conservation area

ACTION NEEDED:

Please go to: https:///pam.ealing.gov.uk/online-applications/ and search for 216269FUL.  You can view the ‘Documents’ tab and object on the ‘Comments’ tab.  The deadline is Wednesday 8 DECEMBER 2021.

Contact jeanetteanngrose@yahoo.co.uk for any queries. Thank you – your help is really appreciated!

West Ealing library is back open again for three days a week. It’s looking for volunteers to help extend its opening hours and for ways to once again be a hub for the local community. It’s already running a range of classes and activities and are looking for ideas to expand these. The library’s development officer Rachel Bangera de Souza writes:

“After a backdrop of council cuts in the area, West Ealing Library became community managed in 2020 and began a phased opening to the general public in July 2020. Our team of dedicated volunteers and Ealing and Hounslow Community Voluntary Service (EHCVS) gave been working hard so far and we’re now open every week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10am-4pm. We’ve also got the knitting group back in the library, have storytimes running every Tuesday with sessions at 10am and 10:45am and have Digital Champions providing drop-in digital support 3 times a week. To keep up to date with how we’re getting on, have a look at our website www.westealingcommunitylibrary.co.uk or our Facebook page.

We’re keen for the local community can get involved in the library to keep the library going as a thriving community hub. If you’re looking to volunteer at the library then please go on our website here, to look at our available long-term roles and register your interest. We also welcome offers from groups for one-off jobs like washing windows, cleaning and decorating, so please email westealingcommunitylibrary@ehcvs.org.uk if you’d like to set something up.

Now, we’re also looking for ways that local groups and businesses can support us to keep expanding our activities, so if you’re looking for a long-term base for your organisation, or looking for a venue for meetings, activities and events, we have just the solution for you! Explore our options for venue hire and permanent office space and help support the running of West Ealing Community Library with the added benefit of having EHCVS’ network of charities, community and voluntary groups at your fingertips.

We have permanent office space and hot desking options with kitchen facilities, internet connection and printing/copying services available for your organization to use. We also have venue hire options including the newly built training room in the library which are all modern and wheelchair accessible. For more details and prices please email bookings@ehcvs.org.uk.

Not interested in room hire but are looking to support the library in other ways through your business whether it be financial or otherwise? Please email us at westealingcommunitylibrary@ehcvs.org.uk.

We look forward to welcoming more of you back in the library and getting the community fully involved!”

Sadly, the decision by The Planning Inspectorate to give the go-ahead for this tower is no great surprise. The documentation with this decision is long and detailed. These are some of the key points about the Inspector’s decison:

‘The Council’s acceptance that it cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.’ The Council appears not to have proper records to prove it does not need this site to meet its housing targets.

The area around the site is largely non-residential.

There are already ‘buildings of significant size in the immediate area’ – Waitrose, Luminoscity, Sinclair House, Dominion House and the new station.

The proposed site itself is single -storey buildings of poor quality and under-used.

The starting point to assess the proposed tall building is ‘whether the site is worthy of the gesture. A spine of taller development is evolving along the path of the railway.’ This proposal would be seen as another part of that spine. So the site is worthy of the gesture.

The proposed building (not as high as that originally proposed) would not appear as an alien insertion into the townscape. It would be an indicator of the transition from buildings of lower size and height to the more intensive uses and buildings of greater height around the node or hub formed by the meeting of the roads, their crossing of the railway and the station.

The design, as long as the materials are of high quality, will be an exemplary piece of design that will make a positive contribution to the area.

The proposed building is well outside the conservation area and we should not equate visibility and harm.

The Council is delivering at best 40% of its objectively assessed need for affordable housing. The provision of these 144 units would be all be affordable homes.

There is no unacceptable impact on the living conditions of existing residents through loss of sunlight, loss of daylight, visual impact, overshadowing, overlooking and loss of privacy.

No Blue Badge parking will not be a deterrent given it is next to the step-free access station and the developer will give £10,000 to the Council to provide Blue Badge parking nearby.