Forum Topic

Hanwell A2 Dominion Development

So - A2 Dominion are proposing a development of 284 studios and flats on the former Wickes site in Hanwell.Need I point out the conflict of interest here? - Bassam Mahfouz, Ealing Council Cabinet Member for the Environment and Transport is also Employment & Enterprise Manager at A2Dominion Group...

Alex Nieora ● 3193d13 Comments

I'm sure you are right but the Information Commissioner would take a dim view of a blanket refusal on correspondence on these grounds or if it is used to hide information which is embarrassing but has no commercial impact.

Andy Jones ● 3168d

I think you will find the correspondence will be withheld as " Commercially sensitive material' which A2D have managed with other requests involving among others Hounslow council .One of the reasons the then Housing Minister was considering changes to ensure Non Charity Housing Associations handling taxpayers money and land become fully transparent and subject to full FoI.Not one Labour MP or Council has pushed for this. And it fares no better on the Tory side although several Tory MPs had supported the first overtures on this 4 years ago.

Mark Kehoe ● 3171d

Correspondence between the Council and A2 Dominion would be covered by FoI so it should be possible to build up a partial picture of what is going on by asking some carefully phrased questions.

Andy Jones ● 3172d

It's well worth looking very closely at A2D and just who is involved with them and how they deregistered from being a charity enabling huge salary hikes and preferential land grabs and access to vast sums of taxpayers money.Yet this organisation is exempt from the Freedom of Information act. Something that most organisations receiving large sums of public funding have to be accountable to public scrutiny.Grant Shapps MP when Housing minister was concerned about this and was removed from office when he proposed and investigation into the activities of deregistered former Charity Housing Associations.  And other MPs have also hit a wall.Maybe our Local MPs would like to support such a motion ?  Please write to them.

Mark Kehoe ● 3186d

I see what you mean. The images released to the press presumably didn't include the taller buildings.A similar trick seems to have been pulled with the CGI for the Perceval House redevelopment. A 20 storey building will tower over Ealing and be the most prominent part of the scheme. The picture makes it look like something that slightly juts out at the back of other buildings. There was talk a while back of developers having to provide computer generated illustrations that were independently produced so they couldn't get misleading images like this published.

Helena Cavanagh ● 3186d

http://www.ealingtoday.co.uk/default.asp?section=info&page=conwickes001.htmIt is also interesting that interests don't seem to need to have to be declared publicly in the way that I thought they had to be.  Apparently there is a Monitoring Officer who can decide that interests don't have to be declared and published. Guide for Councillors:https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/highlighting-political-leadership/councillors-guide-2017

Philippa Bond ● 3188d

Pictured where?

Helena Cavanagh ● 3189d

There definitely don't seem to be as many storeys pictured here as mentioned in the text.

Philippa Bond ● 3189d

If this is deemed a conflict of interest then it would be almost impossible to find a full set of Councillors who had a job who in some way were not conflicted. It would just be impractical to insist on none of them working for an organisation with which the Council might be doing business.

Helena Cavanagh ● 3192d

No Alex, councillors are never involved with recruitment, other than chief executive/officer level and I can absolutely guarantee you that he, nor any other councillors have been involved in the recruitment of planning officers, and I know this having worked there for the past 10 years until recently, and very involved with recruitment, among other things.

Donna Fraser ● 3193d

To be fair the site has been 'of interest' since University Motors moved out in the 1980's and was almost sold when WLMG moved out three years ago.

Paul Gibbs ● 3193d

No, but he is still part of the cabinet and sits on the Council committee that appoints Council officers including planning officers.Aside from which it would be ridiculous to claim that he will have had no input in making A2 Dominion aware of the site before anyone else and giving them an unfair advantage in the tender process.

Alex Nieora ● 3193d

Why is it a conflict of interest? Is Cllr Mahfouz on the planning committee? If not then he had no say in the decision.

Helena Cavanagh ● 3193d