Draft Ealing Local Plan Envisages Accelerated Growth

Over 100 sites identified for building projects across the borough

Density of population in the borough looks set to increase further

December 1, 2022

Ealing Council has begun a consultation on its new draft local plan which it says is a chance for residents to have their say on the way the borough and their town are shaped over the next 15 years.

It sets out the way the borough’s seven town centres may develop including housing, transport and climate impact.

The plan has an emphasis on continued growth in the borough with the aim of matching amenities to an increase in population and the amount of employment.

There are seven separate plans for each of the town centres and all envisage an increase in the amount of housing. In all 118 development sites or sites where there is potential for new development have been identified across the borough. There is little indication of the height of buildings that would be constructed at these sites although in some areas the draft plan does state that scale needs to be moderated.

The council is aiming to spread the benefits of growth more evenly across the borough and to promote 20-minute neighbourhoods across the borough, where most daily needs can be met within a short walk or cycle. This includes shopping facilities, leisure activities, access to schools, local health services such as GP practices and ideally places of work.

Ealing Town Centre has the highest concentration of knowledge intensive employment in the borough according to the report, with nearly 4,500 jobs in financial and professional services along the Uxbridge Road corridor and town centre.

It states that over recent years local population growth has stagnated and there has been a decline in higher paying jobs. Consequently, this new Local Plan aims to refresh the social and economic role of Ealing Metropolitan Centre by ‘encouraging significant levels of high density residential and employment growth.’

It continues, “Ealing Metropolitan Centre will be the location for significant residential and employment growth, including delivering offices, shops, housing and making improvements such as to healthcare facilities, green open spaces, and air quality.”

The intention is to leverage Ealing’s knowledge economy cluster and transport links along the Uxbridge Road and access to the Elizabeth Line.

The council claims growth will present opportunities for increasing urban greening along the A40, North Circular Road, Uxbridge Road, New Broadway/The Mall, and Argyle Road.

The plan document states, “Regeneration and new development will only be acceptable if health and wellbeing outcomes are prioritised.”

In Hanwell Town Centre, growth will be focused on improvements to public spaces, providing more retail and commercial offers in the town centre and reinvigorating the local high street through ‘mixed-use and heritage-led development, and heritage led regeneration along the
Grand Union Canal and around Wharncliffe Viaduct’.

The arrival of the Elizabeth Line is seen as an opportunity to deliver development and promote heritage assets whilst providing affordable workspace at Trumpers Way strategic industrial site.

Northolt could be modelled on the principles of a ‘garden city suburb’ so the town can become ‘a modern and sustainable neighbourhood with a new and dynamic economy supported by new homes’.

In Southall, local concerns about the scale and pace of recent development are acknowledged and the plan document states, “The local plan will play a key role in ensuring any future development is employment led and more moderate in scale.”

In Perivale, it is hoped that growth will enable more diversity in the town’s retail, residential, community, and leisure options and allow for improved access to green open spaces, enhanced streetscapes and opportunities to address poor air quality and the environmental impacts caused by industrial activity.

For Greenford, the emphasis is on developing employment opportunities through moderate mix-use development and addressing barriers to movement and safety through better public transport accessibility, and safer and more attractive active travel routes, Urban greening and road safety. The council plans to provide appropriate and affordable workspace and infrastructure for businesses to start, grow and thrive by protecting and developing more employment sites, exploring opportunities to provide additional and different types of employment land.

The plan, is divided into four main parts

— A spatial strategy that sets an overall vision for the towns and how this will be delivered.
— A collection of seven town plans which explains how these will be delivered in different neighbourhoods, including 118 development sites or places where there is potential for new development.
— A set of development management policies that will help guide the determination of planning applications either supplementing existing London Plan policies or setting a new local policy.
— A policies map that illustrates any site-specific policies in map form.

The local plan must operate within the overall context of the London Plan which sets out a framework for how London will develop in the future and is part of Ealing’s Development Plan.

The consultation runs from 30 November 2022 to 25 January 2023. Once the consultation has closed, the feedback will be used to inform a revised version of the plan.

The draft new Local Plan has been formed by the results of the Shaping Ealing survey, which the council claims is one of the borough’s biggest ever public listening consultations, which were published in September 2022. More than 10,600 people and businesses took part and gave their thoughts on local facilities and communities.

You can watch a video introducing the plan.

Read a summary of the draft new Local Plan

You can also make an appointment to view a paper copy of the consultation document at Perceval House, Ealing by emailing localplan@ealing.gov.uk.

There are a number of ways in which you can comment on the draft new Local Plan. If you wish to comment on the full document, read the online version of the draft new Local Plan. Within the document there are links highlighted in yellow question boxes. These links will take you to specific questions for you to answer in a series of online surveys. You can answer as many or as few questions as you wish.

Other ways to comment on the draft new Local Plan include emailing localplan@ealing.gov.uk or giving more detailed comments using this online form. You can also send a letter by post to Steve Barton, strategic planning team, Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, London, W5 2HL.

In addition, you can read the full draft Local Plan at your local library and fill in a comment form which can be placed in the secure box provided.

You can also complete a short survey asking for your feedback. To do so, the council says you will either need to have read a summary of the draft new Local Plan or the full draft new Local Plan.

This survey should only take around six or seven minutes to complete and gives you an opportunity to comment on things most important to you and your area. You do not need to complete all questions.

Throughout the eight-week consultation period, a series of consultation events will be held throughout the borough where you can find out more about the draft plan and share your views.