Dear Stop The Towers,
Thank you for writing to me on the proposed Towers development in West Ealing on the former Majestic Winehouse site. I have met with campaigners from your group and affirmed my support and pledged to fight inappropriate development see:
https://twitter.com/RupaHuq/status/1143926483167195136?s=20
I completely and unreservedly oppose this monstrosity as completely out of character with the low-rise Victorian and Edwardian character of the neighbouring streetscape. I am against all densification of our suburbs be it in Ealing, Acton, Chiswick or beyond.
My maiden speech when first elected as an MP in 2015 addressed how Ealing, Queen of the Suburbs is an ideal type of living form spanning many suburban housing styles. See:
Prior to my election I have written three books and a number of academic papers on preserving suburban skylines:
On the Edge – The contested cultures of English suburbia
Making Sense of Suburbia through Popular Culture
Alas under first the coalition of Liberal Democrats with Tories then the Conservatives alone oversaw a huge deregulation of planning law where the National Planning Policy Framework is on the side of developers. It is not even a case of “pile ‘em high, sell ‘em cheap” as these tend to be luxury apartments at odds with the family housing Ealing is renowned for.
As MP while I do not have a formal role in planning which is dictated by the NPPF and then implemented at a local government I can apply pressure as best I can including making speeches in Parliament to try to influence national direction. I can also use the good relationship I have with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to oppose building on green spaces and the direction of the London Plan. I helped apply the necessary pressure on the relavant then governement minister to release the landbanked site where work is now ongoing to build Ealing Cinema anew by compulsory purchase order.
The Evening Standard wrote up my plans for saving our suburbs back in 2015.
I hope on Thursday 12th you can vote for me as a lifelong local and longstanding enthusiastic member or Ealing Civic Society. Please be assured that I am 100% on your side if lucky to be re-elected and look forward to working together on this to preserve the Ealing that we know and love.
Yours sincerely,
Rupa
Rupa Huq
Labour Candidate
Ealing Central and Acton
www.rupahuq.org.uk