Forum Topic

Ealing Council planning site

The weekly planning page isnt working. Ealing Council have abolished informing the public of nearby planning applications by mail and letter so how are we to know when  an application has been submitted and how do I ojbect to one?Deliberate? One has to ask.

Tom Coyle ● 3814d19 Comments

Planning notices are now appearing in the ChiswickW4.com newsletter which is a positive move but unfortunately only for Hounslow not Ealing.

Andy Jones ● 3780d

Yes, Brian, maybe we should be grateful for small mercies!

Elizabeth Anna Thaddeus ● 3801d

Wot, not a 30 story Tower Block, LBE slipped up badly there!Took their eye off the ball.Or maybe the brown envelope didn't have enough girth?

Brian May ● 3801d

It's not that the system doesn't suit me more that its not fit for purpose. All newspapers are suffering a decline in readership. Local newspapers more so. If it was delivered through my door then yes I would read it. But we all know it's a collection of adverts from estate agents.Any applicant can remove a notice put on a lamp post bypassing someone's right to legitimately object.What if someone was housebound? The first thing they might know of any planning application is when the bulldozers move in. As it stands its not good enough.

Debbie Edwards ● 3801d

I don't think it is reasonable to complain about not being kept informed properly because you refuse to read the Gazette.The issue isn't whether many people read it or not, if you are interested in keeping an eye on planning issues in the borough it is free and generally easy to get a copy.The Council's legal obligation to keep you informed is fulfilled by placing a notice in it so isn't it better to work with the system rather than demand more money is spent to create one that suits you?

Andy Jones ● 3803d

Regarding LBE development plans, earlier this week we received a letter at home from a local councillor advising us of a proposal for the Barclays Bank sports ground etc to be redeveloped into a secondary school (academy)!

Elizabeth Anna Thaddeus ● 3804d

I found AhlawatR@ealing.gov.uk very helpful when I complained about the Notiz app.

Martin Cain ● 3804d

I had applied my opinion in answer to Tom Coyle confirming his observations on this Forum. My letter was not submitted. I saved it instead to see it meets the same fate later-on.

Os A Whittle ● 3805d

Spot on, I totally agree Ms Edwards.It's all very "Developer Friendly", Residents don't matter.

Brian May ● 3805d

Fair responses. But who reads the ealing Gazette? I don't and am not going to. Nor am I going to start reading notices on lamp posts just in case. Surely these notices can be removed by the applicant before anyone has had the chance to read them? As for installing a council app on MY phone. Forget that.  What I want is to be notified, in writing, of an application that will affect me.  That is what is required.

Debbie Edwards ● 3805d

I concede the point on mobile phone platforms. In the Council's defence this appears to be only a trial scheme and if it proves to be successful they would then need to ensure universal access.

Andy Jones ● 3806d

Nokia phones are now on Windows 8 and whilst no longer the market leader, still have 22% of the market and since merging with Microsoft is growing back very strongly.  Notiz only works on certain versions Mac IOS not all. Your figure leaves Nokia/Microsoft with just 4% which is way off.Not so long ago it was Mac users who got left out as companies like BA were mislead by market data.Then a universal platform came along.If it is not universal then it is not fit for the purpose.

Mark Kehoe ● 3806d

On Mark's point about the Notiz platform - the latest figures that I could find suggest that 96.3% of smartphones are on IOS or Android so there is probably a relative small number of borough residents who won't be able to access it on their phones.On Debbie's point about the Council keeping us informed - they do. Larger developments are advertised in the Ealing Gazette, smaller ones are notified by notices on lampposts. This fulfills their legal responsibilities - they don't have an obligation to publicise planning effectively.

Andy Jones ● 3806d

It all sounds a bit strange. The planning ombudsmen state that the council should notify us of applications. Can ealing council really decide that this no longer applies to them?

Debbie Edwards ● 3809d

" Safe' means your own secure internet connection from your own device. Not that of a third party. That's about as safe as one can get with online access.Currently, Ealing Council's suggestion for those without internet access is to use someone else's computer or connection. Which is the last thing anyone should do especially if it involves personal details.The latest missive from Ealing Councils Marketing and Communications dept is to download an app for Ealing Notiz.Great ...except it is for Mac and Android users only. So nothing for other major OSs' like Windows.It's not their fault that there are a myriad of phone and computer operating systems but until a universal app is available it seems like a complete waste of money.A closer look at the missive and it reveals no names and no means of contact to the brains behind such half baked schemes.Councillors really ought to be probing and asking questions but maybe they have little grasp of such things and just believe the 'advice' served up to them.

Mark Kehoe ● 3811d

It appears to boil down to a range of choices none of which will meet every need.Notices on lampposts may get removed but letters are not 100% reliable and who gets sent one can be quite arbitrary. Personally I think street notices work better.The Gazette still carries the notices for larger developments. Ultimately digital is the way it will go but probably not for a long time because the Government recognises the need to support papers by subsidy. This will be far cheaper and more effective but you are right to draw attention to people potentially excluded by the move. Not sure how you define 'safe internet access' but internet use by anyone who might be materially affected by a planning application or need a residents' permit is probably well over 90%

Andy Jones ● 3812d

The lamp post notices Which is the most effective option for smaller applications,  get regularly removed (often by the applicants or their representatives)They have not been placed as such for many applications for over two years.The Ealing Gazette only carries some notices.Parking permit reminders and applications are now online only with no alternatives.40% do not have safe internet access.The mobile phone system only works for Apple and Android systems so is limited.The option must be there.  We are a long way off from an all digital society which is easily forgotten by those who are tooled up digitally.

Mark Kehoe ● 3813d

The letters are being replaced with notices on lampposts, arguably a more effective and certainly a cheaper way of keeping people informed.Significant planning applications appear in the Ealing Gazette. I don't really see how this system can be said to be part of an 'underhand strategy' to exclude the elderly.Ealing are also trying to improve their digital offering with the Notiz system for mobile phones although some scepticism about effective this would be is perhaps warranted.

Andy Jones ● 3813d

Yes. it is quite deliberate and part of a underhand strategy to sideline older citizens who are most likely to object - usually in writing.It is hugely discriminatory against the 40% who have no secure online access and obviously, you won't find these people on this forum.That does not mean they are any less entitled to be heard.Complain to the Keep Me Posted campaign. Ealing is one of the worst offenders in ostracising those who are not online.http://www.keepmeposteduk.com/

Mark Kehoe ● 3814d