Decision on Council's 'Monster Tower' Deferred

Housing mix felt to be wrong in 26 storey central Ealing scheme

CGI of how the tower might look from Walpole Park

A decision on the council’s application to build a 26 storey tower in the centre of Ealing has been deferred.

At a borough planning committee held virtually this Wednesday evening (17 February) councillors voted to require changes to be made to the scheme to improve the housing mix.

The motion to defer the scheme was backed by a vote of 7-6 after two hours of debate on the application to demolish Perceval House and replace it with a new civic centre and library with 477 flats in six tower blocks.

Concern was raised during the meeting about the mix of housing that would be offered in the scheme with too few of the units being suitable for families with only seven of the planned units having three bedrooms.

Local MP Rupa Huq spoke to the meeting expressing opposition to the scheme

In a rare five-minute address to Councillors, the MP said,“Let’s fix this now. Let’s ensure that we can say to our children we did everything possible, not just conform to the bare minimum for a developer who wanted to turn a quick profit before getting out and leaving us to deal with the fallout.”

She added that Ealing Council’s Design Review Panel (DRP), which convenes in two weeks’ time to adjudicate on future planning applications, should have the opportunity to scrutinise the proposals before any final decision is made.

After the meeting, Dr Huq told us, “I am delighted by the decision to defer. I simply could not stand to allow this 26-storey monster tower, so ill-suited to Ealing’s housing needs, to be waived through. It’s a proposal that was dreamt up pre-Covid by a greedy commercial developer, which is now completely inappropriate to future market demands when we are all told we face a new normal.

“The Council must insist on housing that tackles the spiralling number of working families on the housing waiting list -- over 10,000 at the last count. It must insist on the very best fire safety practice. These blocks need two fire escapes -- it’s not a legal requirement, but post-Grenfell it’s clearly the right thing to do.

“We now have the chance to rectify these problems, and draw upon the expertise of the architectural experts that will sit on the Design Review Panel. I am clear that if these issues aren’t addressed, then the Planning Committee must reject the application.”

The Ealing Stop The Towers group also made representations against the proposal, pointing out that the main tower would be as high as New York’s Statue of Liberty. They also claimed that, with vacant units in the nearby Dickens Yard development, the financial case for the scheme may be unsound.

It said, “Ealing Council’s over development of the site DOES NOT address the current housing crisis as the vast majority of flats will not be available for social renters. Not only would this development, (if approved) set a dangerous precedent for tall towers reaching skyward in the centre of Ealing and surrounding roads, there is also a huge conflict of interest. Ealing Planning team cannot make fair or impartial decisions on this application.”

CGI of the development from Uxbridge Road

Conservative Councillor Seema Kumar, who represents the Ealing Broadway ward in which the scheme is situated said on social media, “At tonight’s #Ealing #PlanningCommittee,I spoke on behalf of my #EalingBroadway ward residents & other objectors, who have had enough of high towers overdevelopment.Lots more small residential units not fit for families.”

The true level of affordability of the proposal was questioned with Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball saying after the meeting that the claimed figure of 50% was mainly made up of flats that would not be genuinely affordable.

Cllr Praveen Anand called for the application to be deferred, which was voted in favour by seven to six councillors.

He shared concerns with councillors that government guidance says opposite sex siblings should not share a bedroom after 10 years old and the problem this poses for mature families in this development.

He said, “We’re really not paying much attention and this being one of our properties and were not paying much attention to the family mix…I really feel the three-bedroom emphasis which is not even two per cent…is substantially low for a development we are actually pioneering so I’m really, really upset about that.”

And he added: “We’re supposed to have a diverse community…we are actually forcing three-bed families in different areas, in deprived areas…why can’t we have a combined community where everyone can mix together?”

There were many objections to the original scheme including from Historic England which said Ealing’s conservation areas and listed buildings would be harmed by the height and design of the proposal and wanted it reduced in scale.

The planning reference is 203275FULR3.

An Ealing Council spokesperson said, “ This decision has been deferred pending further clarification on the affordable housing mix including the size of the homes, tenure and rental levels.”

February 25, 2021