Council Leader Blasts Plans for Development of Waitrose Store
Says designs too tall and lacking in affordable housing
A visualisation of the proposed development. Picture: Sechi Smith
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John Lewis has recently released more detailed plans for its proposal for its Waitrose store in West Ealing ahead of a submitting a full planning application in the next few months.
The designs have prompted an angry response from the leader of Ealing Council, Peter Mason, who has accused John Lewis of trying to ‘bully through a scheme’ which is too tall and doesn’t contain sufficient affordable housing.
The scheme envisaged would include four tower blocks, the tallest of which would be 19 storeys, above the new supermarket with 430 housing units provided on a build-to-rent basis. There would also be a new public square, extra retail space along Alexandria Road, parking for 170 cars as well as improved pedestrian access. The current building is only 17 years old.
Residents of the new scheme would have garden areas on a podium, a residents’ lounge as well as a co-working space and gym. As well as flats within the tower blocks there would be some Mews style homes in two blocks along the railway to the west of the store. None of the housing would be provided with parking and would not be eligible for resident parking permits.
The proposal would see traffic removed from the western end of Alexandria Road with pavements widened and new trees planted.
The new piazza could be made available for community events through the year.
Drawing showing the scale of the towers in context. Picture: Sechi Smith
The housing would be managed and decorated by the John Lewis Partnership, which as a broader strategic move is seeking to increase the proportion of its earnings from property. It has stated that some of the units will be classed as affordable but is not giving more details at this stage.
There has been dismay from local resident groups about the proposals. Stop The Towers (STT) met with representatives of John Lewis along with James Murray MP for Ealing North. The group has pointed out that the Draft Local Plan guidance for the area is between nine and 13 storeys and the proposal would see buildings looming over low rise homes in the area.
Visualisation of the scheme. Picture: Sechi Smith
Justine Sullivan of STT, said, "Why has Ealing Council been talking with John Lewis about these plans since 2021, but not insisted John Lewis stick to Ealing's own draft local plan?
"Now is the time for Peter Mason (Leader of Ealing Council) to stick to his election promises and 'clamp down on tall towers'.
"Surely, he's not going to sit there and do nothing and let developers tell him his plan has no weight."
The council leader, Peter Mason, has responded robustly to the proposal on Twitter saying that the Build-to-Rent market is dominated by cruddy homes and bad landlords. He questioned the commitment of the developer to providing affordable homes saying that the guideline minimum of 35% has not been referred to in the outline plans and previous discussions have indicated the scheme would contain less that that. He said, “That won’t stand.”
Cllr Mason added, “Our recently published new Local Plan sets out very clear guidance on a range of sites that we believe will be developed over the next decade.
“The guidance here was for a 7 - 13 storey development.
“I'm certain that this will still be too big for some.
“All of this feedback has been given to the developers, directly, by Ealing's planners and politicians.”
He continued, pulling no punches, “at the moment it feels like a big institution are trying to twist arms & bully through a scheme, that could be far better, through a precarious planning process using the ever present threat of an appeal.
“Ealing needs housing. This is true.
“So we publish plans for a reason. To help guide developers and to give confidence to people about the changes happening around them.
“If John Lewis have a problem with that, thankfully they themselves have a solution.”
He then linked to a page on the John Lewis site for the purchase of spectacles.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Jon Ball, Opposition Spokesperson on Planning and Housing
“While we recognise the importance of providing the additional genuinely affordable housing that Borough residents need, unchecked tall buildings harm the character of our Borough and 19 storeys is far too high for that location as admitted by the Labour administration in their own local plan. John Lewis should go back to the drawing board.
"And if Ealing’s pre-application advice didn’t match the draft local plan that shows the continued shocking failure of joined-up thinking by the Labour Council in Ealing. They have been leading Ealing for as long as the Conservatives have been in Downing Street.”
John Lewis argues that such a tall and dense development is required to help Ealing Borough meet its target of 2,157 new housing units a year under London Plan targets. It also contends that the height of its proposed scheme is not out of line with existing projects in the area including the nearby 55 West development and the blocks being developed at the Green Man Estate.
More details of the scheme and how to make comments to John Lewis can be found on the project web site.
Originally John Lewis had intended to submit a planning application at the end of last year with a view to starting construction this summer and completing in 2027. The project appears to now be at least six months behind this schedule.
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February 28, 2023
