Forum Topic

Ealing Council Has Relaxed Planning Regulations

Ealing Council has relaxed the planning regulations to the point where virtually anything goes. Any objection is met by the same responce - Shortage of Housing. Ealing like the rest of the country is gradually being concreted over and the "Housing Shortage" will always be with us. Front gardens are disappearing to make way for parking and rear gardens for house extensions. Councils are even finding excuses to put new buildings in parks, as in Gunnersbury Park. Wildlife areas have virtually disappeared. The big mystery is why would the local councils, our elected politicians, do this? They get elected back in by 20% of the electorate so I suppose they are pleasing them - and the building industry.

Roy Baker ● 2145d23 Comments

I have also said on another thread:-Would some kind Lefty please come on here and defend and explain Comrade Bell's "socialist" (?!!!) antics?I thank you.

Rosco White ● 2133d

>>NVB muses>>  Shameless given the need for family homes in this borough.>>TH replies>> Yes, the grinning flag bearer of the 'I'm Alright Jack' division of Socialism. LOL.

Tony Heath ● 2133d

You summed him up in one word - shameless.

Simon Hayes ● 2133d

Even less reason then for him to occupy an A2Dominion home.Shameless given the need for family homes in this borough.

N V Brooks ● 2133d

He inherited a share of his parents home in Sheffield. I wonder if he registered to vote there as well.

Simon Hayes ● 2134d

>>Simon Hayes wrote>> It’s actually “three houses, three jobs” now.>>TH ponders>> Perma-grin Bell, three houses?  Do tell.

Tony Heath ● 2134d

The Politburo and those who support them rally dislike answering questions preferring to post link after link instead.Remind you of anyone?

N V Brooks ● 2134d

Again, I ask you, have you put it to The Dear leader why he keeps sanctioning ever more and ever higher Towers in LBE Ms Bond?That is the far bigger Question than what you go on about regarding Building Regulations. As you seem to agree, the building of Towers over Fire Brigade ladder height should be summarily stopped. Now.SO, have you asked The Dear Leader for his justifications? Or does that not sit well with your Left thinking politics?  :-)

Rosco White ● 2134d

by allowing our Building Regulations to fall behind and be more complicated to use and understand than the Scottish ones.It isn't just about the aluminium cladding type that was used - so just changing that doesn't make all taller buildings safe.  We should still be very worried about any taller buildings eg those taller than the fire service's ladders can reach. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2019/06/two-years-after-grenfell-dangerous-cladding-still-covers-hundreds-buildingsThe Premier Inn at the bottom of South Ealing Road is now having its cladding changed.  Which other buildings in Ealing still have that particular ACM cladding?  Or HPL cladding which experts are now worried about?  Or fire doors with insufficient fire resistance with closers removed or which are propped open etc...The developers refused to do anything about a lot of the private towers so guess what - the government two years on appear to have agreed to put £200M of tax payers money towards this work. Once again we are bailing out failed privatisation. What a disjointed mess our construction industry has become.  These buildings should have been safe to start off with and with good regulations, teamwork and supervision and management they might have been.  Some of them have no doubt had their safety compromised because of attempts to modernise and change design and materials.

Philippa Bond ● 2134d

Gross error indeed.It has been at least four paid roles for a good few years.Leader of the Ealing PolitburoPA to Virendra SharmaBoard Member Old Oak and Park Royal Development Assoc.London Councils Executive Committee and Chair of Transport and Environment.

N V Brooks ● 2134d

Apologies, my mistake, a gross error on my part. Hope the Lefty Lovers will forgive me.    :-))))

Rosco White ● 2134d

It’s actually “three houses, three jobs” now.

Simon Hayes ● 2134d

"I really don't know how anybody can think of building high rises until more work has been done to make sure that they are safe."I do, we all do, so please direct your question to ole "Two Houses, Two Jobs, Secret Council Loan, 'It's the Tory cuts!" and his Merry Southall Posse. Oh go on Ms Bond, you know you want to!  :-)))))))

Rosco White ● 2134d

I hear today that a start is being made on the long awaited updating of the Building Regulations and that there are likely to be problems with finding people with insurance to sign buildings off.  Scotland's Building Regulations were more up to date before Grenfell.  There are loads of buildings still awaiting work to remove and replace cladding especially those privately owned.  I really don't know how anybody can think of building high rises until more work has been done to make sure that they are safe.

Philippa Bond ● 2134d

Some flats have restrictions on letting so anyone who is working away and who might have chosen to let their flat is unable to.  It would be good to be able to make this situation more flexible.

Philippa Bond ● 2135d

We should concentrate on Building Regulations so that we can have safe buildings.  Not everyone thinks that privatising this was a good idea.  A lot of retired Fire Service people used to be involved in checking designs.  They don't seem to be any more.

Philippa Bond ● 2141d

Yes people need somewhere to live, but not 25 storey towers but homes at affordable rents and some outdoor space for children. The new build in Central Ealing has 60% offshore owners, many of the flats not occupied, it is about 20% elsewhere in the borough. In a twelve month period last year planning permission was given for some 3150 units of which 12% were for social housing. Philip Coe is correct in his assumption we have a housing crisis, but unless more social housing is built now, before we run out of land it will be far worse in twenty years time. We are living in a dystopia with a very stupid and cruel Tory Government and a local government which is a Labour council in name only.

Libby Kemp ● 2144d

More people paying rent to private landlords because they cannot get on the housing ladder.  But who pays the rent when they retire?Surely, this is going to be an increasingly huge burden on the welfare state in years to come?

Philip Coe ● 2144d

The owner-occupier rate in high-rise housing is about 10%. Even Trellick, which has now mutated from the Tower of Terror to a cool place for young professionals, has very few owner occupiers.Probably most will end up being owned by private rental companies. However, many HA's are morphing into private landlords themselves, with diminishing interest in social lets. I would suspect that is A2Dominions ambition here. There is a gigantic deregulation and privatisation happening, as social housing, much built with taxpayer support, is being sold off at discounted values. See https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/apr/24/housing-associations-crisis-commercialisation

Tony Sleep ● 2144d

There was a parliamentary select committee report done a few years back which concluded that the vacancy rates on foreign owned flats was no higher than that for domestically owned. People who do invest in flats do so for the yield which means you need to get a tenant i.e. someone to live in it. Besides, Asian buying interest has largely evaporated in the UK and they never really bought much in secondary locations. Most of the market component of these developments are likely to be bought by first time buyers using the Help To Buy scheme.

Andy Jones ● 2145d

When we look at all of these claims we must look into motivation as well. What surprises me is that on TV we see currently any mention of a Labour left mp drinking a mojito on the tube greeted with horror. or a like on a page. But no one is exactly showing the rap sheet of Boris for the numerous things he has done. Interesting reading his old boss Max Hastings comments about him. We should be very worried if he is in charge of the country.

Peter Chadburn ● 2145d

Well, that might be true if the people buying these new flats weren't already living in Singapore, Hong Kong and anywhere else but Ealing....

Simon Hayes ● 2145d

And people who need somewhere to live?

Andy Jones ● 2145d