IMPORTANT UPDATE: THE CONSULTATION HAS BEEN POSTPONED. IT WILL NOW TAKE PLACE ON THE 29TH SEPTEMBER AT THE SAME VENUE AND SAME TIME.
We hope you had a nice, if a little too hot, summer.
With research showing climate change impacting Ealing more than many other parts of the UK, https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/14/uk-weather-five-areas-in-england-most-at-risk-from-hotter-weather-16996750/, due in part to the number of tower blocks, Stop the Towers (STT) is disappointed to learn that FOUR more inappropriate tall blocks are earmarked for West Ealing.
The plans, by Tide Construction for the Majestic Wines site, are for one building with four towers, of 22, 20, 19 and 12 storeys. However rather than being affordable housing, they will house 408 self contained student units, for students at undisclosed universities. STT has spoken with the developers, who claim their planned buildings will ‘have a relationship with 55 West’ aka the controversial 22 storey Manor Road tower diagonally opposite. That tower is yet to be started and was opposed by 2700 locals, 3 MPs, the GLA and rejected at planning. We’d argue this isn’t a relationship to get into!
A public consultation on Tide’s proposed towers will be held at the Drayton Court Hotel on Monday 12th September from 4-8pm. STT urge all our supporters to attend and give their opinions on whether we need more towers in Ealing.
Silent Drumming?
This new proposal is despite Peter Mason (Ealing Council leader) promising before the election that he’d be ‘clamping down on tall towers’ and promising STT that he was ‘banging a drum loudly and sending a very clear message to developers’ that towers weren’t wanted in Ealing.
Justine Sullivan of STT commented, “Sadly Tide, and other developers like John Lewis, don’t appear to have heard Peter’s drum. Maybe it needs to be louder because we now have more towers in the pipeline to add to the 22 storey tower on Manor Road including what John Lewis are planning on their Waitrose site. It’s particularly worrying as the site-specific guidance for the Majestic site is four storeys!”
Tide have dropped some leaflets locally about their public consultation exercise, although there’s NO mention of height and no pictures of the proposal despite promising to be transparent. Also this is only for the Majestic Wine site; how many more buildings can Tide squeeze in, if and when they acquire the Halfords Site next door?
STT was initially set up in response to the 183 flats, 25 storey tower block on the whole of that site from A2D. And then within weeks and 26 storey block on the opposite corner on Manor Road. The Manor Road application was narrowly REJECTED by the Council Planning Committee but that was overturned on appeal to the planning inspector, in part because Ealing Council had failed to publish its housing supply figures (AMRs) for several years.
Justine adds “This left a very wide open-goal for the developers. And this open goal still exists, with no Tall Building Policy and no updated local plan to speak of. We residents are like sitting ducks just waiting for more and more developers to ride on into the wild west of West Ealing, grab some land and declare outlandish plans where they hope to ‘improve the area’ by building more 20 storey tower blocks! Mr Mason, your residents believed in you when you said you’d clamp down on tall towers. Please live up to your pre-election promise”