You, and everyone over the age 18 living in Ealing, have the right to make your comments to the Council about the proposed development at the corner of Manor Road and Drayton Green Road.
The Council must note your comments and respond to them, as well as summarizing them for the Planning Committee.
However, the planning team follows strict rules when it is preparing its report. If anything does not qualify as a ‘legitimate’ reason for objection it will not be passed on to the planning committee and can’t influence the outcome.
This guide will help you submit a valid objection.
If you prefer to read this guide offline you can download it here as a PDF.
We will tell you how to go about objecting below – but first let’s look at what you might say. We suggest you write out a draft objection in a separate file and then copy and paste it.
Objections to these tower blocks must reach Ealing Council by 29 July 2020
Reasons to Object
There are many reasons to object to this proposal. If you want to use some of the reasons that Stop The Towers have uncovered, you can choose (pick and mix) from the list below. But you can write what you think. We want you to use your own words because if you cut and paste the whole list planning officers will pay less attention to your objections.
NB: The council website planning portal only allows 5,000 characters which is just over 800 words.
You must only refer to the legitimate grounds for objections which are Material Planning Considerations or valid reasons. These are listed below with some relevant facts.
Issues such as loss of your personal view, or effect on property values are not ‘legitimate reasons’ and the Council will reject them so please do not include them in your official objection. Issues such as fire safety, effect on local water and sewage systems, schools, etc. get dealt with by different processes so also should not feature in your comments either.
Please note: some of the terminology and phrasing in the bullet points below may seem a little unnatural. This is because we have deliberately used the wording that has meaning in an official planning context as we think that this will have the maximum impact with the planners.
Main Points for Objections
This application does not answer the points raised in the consultation in June 2019 when more than 500 people submitted objections. That is not acceptable. The majority of the objections were concerned about height. Although the height of the tallest tower has been lowered a bit, at 19 storeys it would still tower above all the local buildings and dwarf neighbouring homes. It is still a very tall building in the wrong place. It is now a bulky building as well because the second tower has had a massive increase in height and will now be 13 storeys. Southern Grove want to shoehorn too many units into too small a space with a poor design. This proposal is new and has not been shown to the community for prior consultation which is a breach of planning law.
I object to these plans because:-
Too tall – 67.97m tall
- Maintenance plant adds a 20th floor, roof garden on shoulder adds a 14th floor
- Only a few metres lower than the Apex building – the tallest building in Ealing
- Almost half as high again as the nearby Dominion House (13 storeys, set down from the bridge, not near Victorian housing)
- Not consistent with the London Plan tall building policies
Massing is excessive
- The overbearing, oppressive and intrusive nature of the mass of both the tower plus the shoulder on surrounding residents
- Developers say slender – it is not
- Two massive overpowering brutalist tower blocks
- High negative impact on the neighbourhood
- It fails to complement the existing streets and local area
- It does not blend in with the new station
- No attempt to blend in with adjoining properties
Very high density
- 144 units (2 more than previous design) just squeezed in more tightly
- 366 habitable rooms = 4,319 / hectare – a massive increase
- Massively exceeding an optimal increase in density from the existing local buildings (should be a gentle increase according to new guidelines)
- Exceeds limits in the Adopted London Plan
- Not consistent with draft London Plan
Excessive development of site and local area
- Lots of small flats – 65 one bedroom / studio flats
- Other developments already underway (e.g. Gordon Road, Green Man Estate) will massively increase local population
It claims to be fully affordable but does not help those on the housing list
- No social rents, nor London Affordable Rents for LBE residents on social housing list
- Not delivering the type of housing LBE need
- Exclusively for middle income households
- Tower block living is not good for families
- 79 flats aimed at families but limited outside usable space due to noise levels
- No play area for children
Poor design
- Limited floor space – it only just meets new Minimum Space Standards
- Many single aspect units
- Residents will not be shielded from noise in hot weather when ventilation is needed
- Inadequate amenity
- Small balconies unusable due to frequent high noise levels
- Garden on 14th floor subject to frequent high noise levels
- Lack of transition between other buildings
- Out of character, not complementary with local area
Not consistent with existing planning documents
- Does not comply with the ‘Site Specific Guidance EAL12’ nor the West Ealing Neighbourhood Plan
- Exceeds capacity as set out in EAL12
- Site not designated for tall buildings in Ealing planning policy
- Does not respond to the Crossrail station, nor to the other buildings at the intersection
- Does not enhance the setting of the quality nearby buildings
- A mix of small commercial units is not provided
Shadow and loss of sunlight
- Overshadowing of the neighbouring two storey homes over a wide area
- Significant loss of light to nearby homes
Sustainability
- Triple glazing (installed to cut noise) will not be effective when opened for essential ventilation in summer
- Balconies affected by noise levels
- Excessive carbon footprint of tall buildings
Interference with the Crossrail station
- Towers will jar and dominate the new station
- Very close to narrow platform
- It will interfere with and does not enhance the station approach
- 2.5 YEARS to build; construction will interfere with station access
Transport and access
- Only one blue badge space for 15 wheelchair accessible flats
- Only three parking bays – insufficient for deliveries
Lack of open space and amenity space
- No on-site provision of play areas for children
- Local parks are already heavily utilised by new builds without gardens
- Section 106 provision will not create new green space
Town visual heritage assessment
- Southern Grove say it will be a landmark building but it is just tall, not distinctive
- Adverse impact on views from St Stephen’s and Ealing Green Conservation Areas, local green spaces and views from local surrounding streets
- No transition in scale between these towers and surrounding area
- Out of keeping with locally listed Sorting Office, Stowell’s Corner, Drayton Court Hotel and neighbouring Victorian two storey homes
How to Object
There are three options:
- Via the council’s website using the planning portal (This is probably the quickest and easiest way to object but you are limited to 5,000 characters – about 800 words).
- You can e-mail the Ealing Council Planning Department directly
- Post your objection to the planning team or hand deliver it to the Town Hall
1. Objecting via the Council Website
The following link will take you to the page on the Ealing website for submitting comments (i.e. making an objection) about the Manor Road development.
This will take you straight to the ‘Make a Comment’ page for the Manor Road application which looks like this:
Be sure to check the reference number for the proposal. For Manor Road it should be 202231FUL.
If you are not already on the ‘Make a Comment’ page click on the ‘Make a Comment’ tab.
If you want to view any of the planning documents for the proposal just click on the blue ‘Documents’ tab and it will show you the documents for this proposal (53 in total).
It is absolutely vital that you complete the first section (see below) giving your name and address. Without this your objection will not be accepted.
Everything with an asterisk ‘*’ has to be completed.
Do not press the ‘return’ key but use your cursor keys or mouse to move between sections. If you accidentally hit ‘return’ then it will try to submit the form. Any lines with an asterisk that have not been completed will then generate an error message.
Be sure to select ‘Object’ on the ‘Stance’ line (see below).
The form on the ‘Make a Comment’ tab begins like this:
NB: don’t forget to select ‘Object’ in the ‘Stance’ box.
The web page continues – see below.
You will then be asked to check some tick boxes and we suggest the following:
Next you need to enter your comment in the text box, you can type it in but the easiest way is to copy and paste it from your draft into the box. It’s important that when you do this you follow the valid reasons as above. The box only allows 5,000 characters (about 800 words).
Once you have finished click ‘Submit’ or ‘Submit and Register’.
You will receive an automatic confirmation e-mail from the Council.
That’s it you have objected.
Please ask your friends & family to object as well.
The more valid objections that are received, the more notice the council will take.
Thank you for objecting.
2. Objecting via an E-mail Response
You can e-mail the Ealing Council Planning Department with your comments directly. This does not limit how much you write. We will soon be able to provide more detailed Material Planning Considerations or valid reasons that you could use.
Send your e-mail comments to planning@ealing.gov.uk but please ensure that the application reference number ‘202231FUL‘ is in the email title, as well as the address – ‘51-56 Manor Road & 53-55 Drayton Green Road‘.
Make it clear that you object to the development proposal.
As with the online form you will need to give:
- Your name
- Your address including your postcode
- The capacity you are objecting in – i.e. you are a neighbour to the development, an Ealing resident, you are objecting on behalf of a community group, etc.
We suggest that you ask for an acknowledgement of receipt via e-mail.
Thank you for objecting.
3. Objecting via a Written Response
As with the online form you will need to give:
- Your name
- Your address including your postcode
- The capacity you are objecting in – i.e. you are a neighbour to the development, an Ealing resident, you are objecting on behalf of a community group, etc.
You also need to be crystal clear on the application what you are commenting upon.
The Reference Number for the Manor Road development is 202231FUL.
Use the site address – 51-56 Manor Road & 53-55 Drayton Green Road.
Make it very clear that you want to register an objection.
The response should use the same headings we suggested above as valid objections. Soon you can get more detailed guidance on what you might want to say in our information about the Manor Road development. Please e-mail planning@stopthetowers.info to request this information.
When you have completed it send it to:
London Borough of Ealing
Planning
4th Floor
Percival House
14-16 Uxbridge Road
London
W5 2HL
Or you can take it to the reception desk at the Town Hall in person and ask for a receipt.
Thank you for objecting.
And finally
The Stop the Towers team really appreciate your support. You might like to help our campaign by putting a poster in your window, donating funds to assist with legal fees and campaign expenses or in practical ways like helping us deliver leaflets.
If you want to you could e-mail your ward councillors (find your councillor) to say you have objected and a few words as to why.
If you do this we suggest you state that you hold them as your elected representatives responsible to serve their community for the benefit of the community, not to appease developers. They are responsible for the policies and approach to planning that have invited this type of proposal.
You might also like to email:
Peter Mason (peter.mason@ealing.gov.uk) – cabinet lead on planning
David Scourfield (ScourfieldD@ealing.gov.uk) – Chief Planning Officer