Mayor Has 'Overridden Concerns of Ealing'

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Protest grows over Southall redevelopment

Ealing's Conservative Council leader Jason Stacey says Mayor Boris Johnson has run rough-shod over popular opinion by giving the go ahead for the redevelopment of the Southall Gasworks site.

In a terse statement reported in Dave Hill's Blog in The Guardian Cllr Stacey says:

'' Ealing Council's Planning Committee turned down the application primarily on transport grounds. It is difficult to see how these concerns have been mitigated by simply reducing the number of homes being built by 1,000 until the bridge on South Road is widened. Why is it that the traffic from 2,500 homes is acceptable as opposed to 3,500?''

He concludes: ''The Mayor has effectively overridden the concerns of Ealing and Hillingdon councils and the views of many within Southall. This is not local democracy and we are considering what options are now open to us.''

Councillor Stacey joins an unusual alliance of parties opposing the scheme. Current Southall Labour MP Virendra Sharma has also slammed the decision.

Speaking outside the Gasworks site to local residents on Monday afternoon Mr Sharma said:

“ Tory Mayor Boris Johnson has ridden rough-shod over the views of Southall residents by giving the go-ahead to this huge development on the Southall Gas Works site. 

''The development is not acceptable to the people of Southall because with up to 3,750 residential units it is clearly too large and would result in massive congestion in Southall.

''The Tory Mayor’s decision to not allow more than 2,500 units unless the South Road bridge is widened makes absolutely no difference to the congestion Southall residents face because of this proposal. The whole scheme should have been scrapped and sent back to the drawing board.''

Meanwhile Nic Ferriday, spokesperson for West London Friends of the Earth, said :

“This scheme is a disaster for Southall and well beyond. Southall is already one of the most crowded places in West London,  its road are heavily congested and its air pollution breaches legal limits set to protect human health. The last thing local people need is even more people, congestion and pollution.''

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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March 30th, 2010