Forum Topic

Failure to Display Public Notice on Planning Application

Ever since Ealing Planning Department stopped sending out Notification Letters giving 21 days in which to respond to planning applications nearby, the system of putting up the yellow Public Notices on lampposts has been less than perfect.Disregarding instances where developers have likely pulled them down, the Planning Department itself has not always acted sensibly to ensure that affected neighbours know what it being proposed at close proximity.In a case in Rotherwick Hill (part of the Haymills Estate in Ealing W5), an unneighbourly play tower & platform was erected without planning permission.  Eventually, planning applications were made but the Council did not put up any Notices in the road where the adjoining back garden of an Ashbourne Close neighbour would be badly affected and where the neighbour had previously complained about the unauthorised structure overlooking their garden.Because no yellow Public Notice was put up in Ashbourne Close, the most affected neighbour was unaware of the latest application and therefore did not write in within the usual 21 days - only finding out that an Appeal to The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) had been lodged months later.   Because the neighbour had not filed an objection at first instance, the rules did not allow her to respond to the Appeal!The writer contacted PINS to explain the situation which was made worse as the Appellant's Planning Consultants were stressing that the neighbour had not objected at first instance and therefore there was no problem!PINS however were not satisfied that natural justice was being observed and ruled that the affected neighbour should be allowed to make her objections.The Appeal was dismissed by PINS yesterday  - please see at:https://www.dropbox.com/preview/AppealDecisionDismissedByPINS.13thMay2021.pdf?role=personalThis result vindicates the objection of the neighbour in Ashbourne Close - the road in which the Planning Department failed to put up a Public Notice!V.Mishiku  - "The Covenant Movement" vmfree@madasafish.com

Victor Mishiku ● 1077d37 Comments

Dear Ms JacksonMy mother is a little perplexed as to why she was not notified of her neighbour’s (2 Denbigh Road) planning application.My mother’s home (at 100 Gordon Road) directly adjoins the property at 2 Denbigh Road. She did not receive any letter notifying of the planning application (which I understand is now the practice within the borough). Given that Ealing does not send such notification letters anymore it seems inexcusable that Notices were not placed on the lampposts in front of the properties  that adjoin 2 Denbigh Road on Gordon Road.As has been already commented, my mother is a septuagenerian with a disability who has lived on Gordon Road for nearly 40 years.I would be obliged if you could explain how the Council’s conduct in this matter complies with the Equality Act 2010.It seems that the way that this policy has been applied either deliberately or inadvertently discriminates against those with mobility issues.Please can you confirm the deadline that my mother now has to send her observations in on this planning application.Kind RegardsHogarth Andall

Victor Mishiku ● 942d

Council planning staff are probably used as World War One type cannon fodder by the top dog management at the Ealing Planning Department. There is reputedly a large turnover of junior staff, while the political Reichsfuhrers/Soviet Marshals of Ealing Council molly cuddle up to developers with the help of the allied executive Obergruppenfuhrers/Soviet General Armiyi in the Planning Department.Notifying the people seems to be the last thing these top dogs are concerned about, irrespective of what ideas, you Steven, and others put forward to them. Perhaps, for disingenuous political reasons the political Reichsfuhrers might adopt your ideas. But otherwise, what Rosco said in his posts holds true, about this Labour run council's feudal social engineering, targets culture, just to look virtuous in building death trap tower blocks and garden grabbing developments with little or no provision for family housing. What do you expect from disingenuous council tax farm parasites that are running Ealing Coucil at this moment in time?

Anthony Hawran ● 945d

It will never be "resolved".Labour controlled LBE are on a mission and it's ALL political manipulation and control.Who knows if things would be much different under the Conservatives and/or LibDems but, JC, we have had a gut full of the Labour Cretins ruining (not running) Ealing Borough.

Rosco White ● 945d

Yes I saw that - in the latest Ealing Matters Newsletter (September - Issue 11)On page 3: "THE GREAT ‘MUCH NEEDED HOUSING’ CON"Well well ....

Steven Pawlyk ● 945d

Yes, this failure to display Public Notices - which the Council is by law required to do - has happened, I read, in a number of other cases apart from my own in Rotherwick Hill.  One could call it maladministration or carelessness.  I do hope this very serious matter can be resolved so that residents can have the opportunity to object to any development which may well have a harmful effect on their living conditions for the rest of their lives. 

ANN ALLAN ● 945d

I have received no acknowledgement or response from the Chief Planning Officer to whom I wrote twice 7 days ago and also wrote to Ms Parvinder Derashri (Planning Administrator) who succeeded Mrs Chris Hall who would have actioned this matter immediately.Now it will be 17 days since the 21 days purported Notice commenced on 6th September 2021 but it has never been seen in any of the three roads affected by the proposed development at 2 Denbigh Road, Ealing W13.I have now written to the new Leader of the Council, Cllr. Peter Mason, who I believe holds a Master's Degree in Town Planning.Please see my e-mail to Cllr. Mason of 22nd September 2021 at this link.https://www.dropbox.com/s/pih1jwn1p2tv2jn/E-MailToCllrPeterMason22ndSept2021.pdf?dl=0I have not included the 3 attachments to the e-mail in this posting but I can make them available to anyone who wishes to see them. Two are published on the Council's Planning Website and the third one is my posting on this Forum made on 19th September 2021 at 13.49 in this topic.I was told that Cllr. Mason acted immediately on a similar matter nearby in Gordon Road replying in under half-an-hour to the local Residents Association (GRASS) who had expressed concerns about notification - whereas I have heard nothing whatsoever in response to my two e-mails to Ms Jackson of 16th September 2021 nor my e-mail to Ms Derashri of the following day, all sent and/or copied to Council Officers & many Members of the Council.Victor Mishiku  23/9/2021"The Covenant Movement"vmfree@madasafish.com

Victor Mishiku ● 946d

" ......the pressure to "create more housing" ......"I believe, AFAIK, that London Borough of Ealing is WAY ahead of it's "Housing Targets"?!If so, just WHY is LBE hell bent on building MORE flats by continuing to convert badly needed family homes, and building more Towers?

Rosco White ● 948d

Anthony, RaymondI *get* everything you say - both of you - and everyone else on this thread. Of course I do. Absolutely.People are very despondent. Truth be told - So am I.But - perhaps because I'm a touch new to all this - let me at least try to take a more positive view.On a positive note - to implement something like this would mean:I suspect a system like this would be a UK first - and, IF it all worked properly - a massive feather in the cap of Ealing Council. "Hey look at us, we're inclusive, we're democratic, we're leading the pack" - plus its a Labour council ie the voice of the people etc. Let them do good!Why they'd be on the news. Even the Council leaders - the ones who were responsible for SUCCESSFULLY implementing such a scheme - they'd get exposure, they would probably advance in their political careers. It could be a massive Win-Win - for everybody.And before you know it - IF it was implemented properly, carefully - that is to say it worked, was fit for purpose easy to run - why before long the whole country would get into it. No Question.I suspect the Council would need to do a small pilot scheme first - for say 3/6 months, for a small area - iron out any teething problems before going live.It does need a proper thinking through.Regarding the availability of email - I suspect even those who don't have broadband - they have mobiles? So this not likely to be a huge number.Regarding people who really do not have email - then they are registered as such on the Council database - and they get paper.I believe the reason they scrapped the old letter system a few years back - was to save money? (Incredible as it sounds .. ) Well I doubt that more than 20% of local residents really don't have email access so that would be a large saving to start with.I believe people would FEEL GOOD to be included in this small way - they would FEEL GOOD about the Council !! Imagine that!Let the yellow notice scheme continue as a backup - its not much good but its probably very very cheap to run anyways.Obviously the whole thing needs to be thought through carefully - system analyst gets involved, talks to all the people involved, makes sure all the bases are covered at the design stage.I worked in IT - this stuff is bread & butter - it ain't rocket science.Some of my old work colleagues - private sector types - highly competent, hard working, smart sharp motivated people - I reckon they could whip up something like this pretty quick.Or - as you say:> Sole traders have better more inclusive sites and they manage those on a shoestring.That's right - means there is a lot of expertise out there in the market on this kind of thing. Its already there. Just need to find the right outfit to implement it.Now - on a negative or shall we say "coercive" or "gently or not so gently leading the horse to water" note - If the Council doesn't improve their system in respect of planning (one specific area) & communicating with their residents - then somebody, somewhere needs to take them to court & force them to do it.The system is not fit for purpose - the system doesn't work properly - the System is broken. They're not fixing it - they're not going to fix it - they can't be asked to fix it.Again - returning to the example of buying a product on the market, even something trivial - well if that product was defective and this defect had consequences, you'd exchange communications with the company on a reasonable level - requesting them to do their duty & fulfil their obligations, you'd act nicely and within reason - most people (though not all) can be reasonable & decent if you give them a chance - but if after a while you saw that the supplier was not going to do anything to fix the problem - that he/she was ignoring your reasonable communications - well you'd threaten them with the solicitors. In my experience that is usually when they sit up & take notice - and get the problem resolved.My argument in this case would be as before - one's house/flat/property - is usually BY FAR the biggest most significant investment people make in their lives. People spend their whole lives paying off the mortgage.Unnecessary stress - unnecessarily caused - by unnecessary procedures - and especially when these can be improved or resolved so easily in this day & age - causes real grief to real people. They can get heart attacks from the stress & worry. Sometimes the people affected are already old & frail, or already under huge pressure due to real life situations be it family, work, dealing with illness or whatever.Given what's out there in terms of technology and given how archaic & ineffective the Council's NON-inclusive UNdemocratic system is currently - well surely there is a case for negligence - or some similar or appropriate legal term or proceeding that fits the scenario.It won't be me who does something like this - I couldn't manage something like that - I'm one of those stressed-out never-enough-time so-much-to-do people.But I think somebody could ...One last thing:Spare a thought for the Council Planning staff - this discussion is specifically about planning. At this time with all this pressure from endless new applications - there is literally a "feeding frenzy" going on out there regarding property & property development - the pressure to "create more housing" - to follow all the new legislation that's coming out all the time (NPPF, London Plan, Ealing docuemnts to name but a few) - to keep everyone happy - to handle all the budget cuts as well and the very real implications of those - I bet they are inundated, overworked. In truth I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to work there - the constant grinding stress, endless - never enough time to focus on one issue - which causes mistakes, then more stress - and the pay is probably not that good either - remember all the government cuts of the last decade as well.They are probably getting it from all sides.So spare a thought ....I think its always better to at least try to get people "on-side" - rather than attack attack criticize slag off => causes resistance.Wasn't it Churchill who said - Jaw-JAw is always better than War-War.Yes it was him - I just looked it up - this is 2021 we have the Internet it is AMAZINGSo come on Ealing Council !!! COME ON!!! :))That's my 50 cents for now ... :))

Steven Pawlyk ● 949d

well over a third of residents are not online or do not have safe internet access.Many email addresses are often unused or created by relatives on behalf of those who cannot for many differing reasons use email or a computer.This has left a huge part of our society ostracised from everything and thus taken advantage of.The worst offenders of this are local authorities who have made alternative means to keep people in the loop almost impossible. Try phoning them. All you get is endless messages to go online and they cut you off.It never occurs to them why someone is wasting time and money trying to contact by phone.To boot Council websites are terrible.  Sole traders have better more inclusive sites and they manage those on a shoestring.As for the yellow signs. They get removed, moved and often swapped.  It's happened locally and a lot down in Brentford where the signs are white.It's obvious who removes them probably indirectly. But who relocates them and mixes them with the same type of fastening?So it's not unique to just Ealing.A simple fix would be to fasten the signs with a more secure, distinctive and unique fastening and if cut or broken cannot be reusued.  Also it needs to be a penalty offence to tamper or remove the notices.It might be noted that this applies to Parking Tickets and that carries an offence for unauthorised removal.

Raymond Havelock ● 949d

Mr. Pawlyk, if the present Ealing Council administration had the interests of the people of Ealing and wider borough at heart, they would have done what you pointed out. It does seem like willful negligence on the part of this present council.The present Ealing Council seem more intent on endearing themselves to developers, like some disingenuous quisling collaborator. An example of this is their attempt to dispose of Victoria Hall, a community space in the Town Hall, paid by the people in the past, by subscription, to a developer for a hotel development. The council want to let a commercial hotel take over a public amenity space. Afterwards, they want to redevelop the Perceval House site, for their own vanity and glory, it seems, like dictators did in the past. Examples of this vanity exist within the former Soviet Empire of Hitler's one time ally in the Kremlin that ruled over central Europe after the 2nd World War till its fall and collapse in the late 1980s/early 1990s. That in itself tells you what disingenuous self serving virtuous signalers they are, who are not realy intersted in serving the people who elected them. This includes informing the people of proposed developments, including by letter.

Anthony Hawran ● 949d

I've got an important point to make - I think.Bear with me.Whenever you buy something on the Internet - even something insignificant like batteries or printer cartridges, or my missus gets her face cream from Boots - you get an email confirming your purchase, often you get an email informing you that the order is being handled in the warehouse, then you get an email telling you the order's been dispatched - THEN the delivery company sends you an email telling you the expected date/time which sometimes even contains a link whereby you can track the delivery van's progress on a map, with "You are Delivery No. 65, the van is on delivery No. 32, expect to be with you at X".I think we all recognize this no?But with these planning applications - which can have a massive affect on the biggest investment people ever make in their lives - their property (flat or house) - which they usually spend most of their adult lives paying off the mortgage - they get ... yellow notices? That might or might not be there?And anyhow - who has time to pound the streets looking at / for those? Its few.Everybody's working hard, looking after families, often very busy with life stress, maybe illness comes along etc etc. Its all head down rush rush rush. Modern living.It cuts no slack. You miss the deadlines? (the ones you didn't even know about) - you're stuffed.To my mind this is undemocratic, certainly not inclusive. Its practically willful negligence.So here's what I'm thinking:EMAIL!!They have all your names on the council database - mostly with Email addresses.Once a planning application is received, the system can automatically work out all the local neighbours & local residents, and send an email to them.Email can even be sent which automatically send a response to the sender when you open / read it - so they know you've received it. And that can be automatically registered at the Council. So they can send an email with the details of the planning application or links - including information about what you can do / what your rights are.If using the "Read Response" method - the Council could even send a further Reminder email, if you don't read it within say, 10 days or so.The address & brief description of the proposal must be in the Subject line.At every stage of the planning process - application made, decision reached, going to committee etc etc - they can automatically send an email.And for those few who don't have email - they send post. Especially if they're worried about the cost of paper & stamps. (!!)And for the planning officers it'd be easy - they just press a button - the system does it all for them.I mean come on. This is the 21st Century right?

Steven Pawlyk ● 949d

Philippa, what did you expect from the present disingenuous Labour run Ealing Council. They seem to be like quislings for the developer. Providing a service for the people, in this case, informing them with a Planning Notification letter, when a proposed development comes up nearby to them, is very much a last thing to being a quisling for the developer.

Anthony Hawran ● 949d

Anthony Hawran ● 949d

Philippa, what did you expect from the present disingenuous Labour run Ealing Council. They seem to be like quislings for the developer. Providing a service for the people, in this informing them with a Planning Notification letter, when a proposed development comes is very much a last thing to being a quisling for the developer.

Anthony Hawran ● 949d

You can sometimes find a Notice attached in another street but not the street that it refers to.

Philippa Bond ● 949d

As we know, Yellow Public Notices are sometimes quickly removed by persons unknown, I wonder who?  😄Also, note the requirement to display on "lamp posts". We have a very slippery Council and "lamp posts" means exactly that, and that alone. If an intended development doesn't have a lamp post anywhere near directly outside it's boundary, but many other types of post/signage, a Yellow Public Notice will NOT be attached to these!London Borough of Ealing, we're here to serve you!  🤣

Rosco White ● 949d

Another instance of the absence of the yellow Public Notice.For some 60 years, Ealing Council sent out individual Notice Letters giving a minimum of 21 days from the receipt of the Notice in which to make comments on a planning application.About 6 years ago or so, the Council stopped this practice and now rely upon the yellow Public Notices being tied to lampposts in several locations close to the application land. This apparently was to save some £35,000 per annum. Backland or Backgarden developments may affect residents of different adjacent roads i.e. properties opposite, either side and at the back such as in the backgarden (Greenfield) case at 1 Golden Manor W7 (refused at Planning Committee in July 2021 contrary to officers' recommendations to grant).  Likewise developments proposed near a corner may affect properties in two or more  roads. This is the case with the new planning application at 2 Denbigh Road which would impinge on 2A Denbigh Road (formerly part of the garden grounds of 98 Gordon Road and still owned by the family at No. 98), 4 Denbigh Road, 100 Gordon Road and 102 Gordon Road and also residents of the Albany Road cul-de-sac at the back where there are vehicular access points to parking or a garage.I was contacted on 16th September 2021 by the owner of 100 Gordon Road saying that she had just been informed by a tenant at 2A Denbigh Road (carved out of 98 Gordon Road) that a planning application had been made in August 2021 by the new owners of No.2 Denbigh Road.The owner of 100 Gordon Road said that she had not been aware of this application and I asked her to look outside in both Denbigh Road and Gordon Road to see if there was a yellow Public Notice on display but she said that no Public Notices were displayed relating to the case at No.2.I also visited the area twice that same day (16th) and took photos of numerous old Notices about Castle House, Perceval House, 28 Albany Road and 98 Gordon Road dating from September 2020, May & June 2021 and also August 2021 - however NONE of the Public Notices related to the proposed development at 2 Denbigh Road!The Council's Planning Website indicates that a Public Notice was put up in Albany Road and Denbigh Road.  Neither was on display when I visited the area twice.  No Notice in Gordon Road means that the owner of No.100 would not ever know about the planning application, as she does not walk up Denbigh Road or Albany Road (a turning off Denbigh Road) but if leaving her home, she would simply walk along Gordon Road up until Haven Green and then turn right to the shops.The new Chief Planning Officer, Ms Alex Jackson, has stated in the past that Ealing Council Planning is proud of the fact that Ealing carries out MORE than the statutory requirements to notify residents of planning applications in their neighbourhood.The sad fact is that in the above case and in others we know of not even the minimum statutory notification has been effected.The owner of 7 Ashbourne Close W5 has twice written to Mr David Scourfield when he was the Chief Planning Officer on 21st February and 22nd March 2021 about the absence of a Notice in her Close with detailed information of how this nearly debarred her from responding to a subsequent appeal to PINS and we can see that the problems have not entirely gone away. Mr Scourfield did not reply to No.7 and has since left his employ at Ealing Council's Planning Department - hence the recent promotion of Ms Alex Jackson as the current Chief Planning Officer.I have written to Ms Jackson about this new instance at No.2 in two e-mails dated 16th September 2021 followed up by an e-mail the next day to Ms Parvinder Derashri, Planning Administrator, whose duty it is, I believe, to organise the notification procedures when planning applicants are received by the Council' Planning Department.On the Council's Planning Website, a Public Notice is shown as having been put up on the 6th September 2021 and expiring on the 27th in two roads but as I write today, 13 days have now elapsed out of the usual 21 days and there are no Public Notices up at all in any of the three affected roads!All three roads were checked again today (19th September) by a neighbour and photos taken but there are still no Public Notices up relating to the No.2 planning application.My original and second e-mail to Ms Alex Jackson can be read in full at the following link:https://www.dropbox.com/s/2ms019gjqsix44f/Further%20E-Mail%20to%20Ms.%20Alex%20Jackson_16thSept2021.pdf?dl=0Hopefully, this link works but if not, please e-mail me at vmfree@madasafish.com and I can provide the messages sent to Ms Jackson.  I have copied this information to Ward Councillors and the new Leader of the Council, Cllr. Peter Mason, who I believe holds a Masters Degree in Town Planning, and others.I would add that since Ms Jackson has made a public statement (in my hearing) that Ealing Council carries out MORE than the statutory requirements to notify neighbours of planning applications, there is also a reasonable expectation that this will occur - but, as we can see, it doesn't seem to be!Victor Mishiku  19/9/2021"The Covenant Movement"(voluntarily assisting Ealing residents on planning & covenants for over 35 years)

Victor Mishiku ● 950d

& how the hell a neighbour was granted planning permission, it’s a wee wee take.A residential house now 2 x 3 bed flats, with who knows how many cars to swamp area.The single storey garage now 2 floor & about 4 feet from a bedroom window, great privacy & loss of light.Some huge outhouse at bottom of garden, all done by Chinese builders who lived on site for at least 9 months.(probably illegal immigrants)The council nowhere to be seen & uncontactable

Peter Yale ● 1011d

the display of yellow notices is a real problem as they are put often on the wrong side of the road , few people know what they refer to and landlords wont know about it unless they are informed by tenants who may not even care , why they select lam posts and not metal parking signs when they are more logical? we also need to have a legal right to peace and quiet , far too many buildiung applications are made that violate neighbours rights to quiet enjoyment and devalue their property via noise, shade, and gardens being turned into building sites ,its a balancing act I admit but at the moment far too much support is being given to ' permitted development'

Paul Taylor ● 1018d

Same in my road, no yellow notice.By all accounts development over size & work ploughed on waiting for retrospective planning permission.As for getting hold of anyone on the council, forget it

Peter Yale ● 1047d

Absolutely nailed it may I say. It's akin to the planning notice for the destruction of Earth in the seminal "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" where the planning notice was in a cellar in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

N V Brooks ● 1047d

There remains a statutory obligation to publish planning notifications in a local newspaper. I don't know what the situation is in the rest of the borough but the only way I could get a copy of the Ealing Gazette up until about two years ago was to visit Morrisons in the centre of Acton. Even before the pandemic the practice of dumping a few dozen copies of the paper at the entrance appears to have stopped. I understand the Ealing Gazette is no more and has been replaced by a west London wide publication called The Gazette which is where Ealing Council now places its official notices of planning applications and traffic orders. I have never seen a copy of this newspaper - it hasn't been available at Morrisons when I have been there.The article by the planning consultant which is often very pointedly linked to on planning related stories on this site makes it clear that during the pandemic local authorities should have taken account of any interruptions in distribution of printed newspapers in which they published notices and looked to make alternative provision including digital channels. Ealing Council however appear to be quite happy to choose a means to publicise planning applications which minimises the number of people who will be aware of them.

Andy Jones ● 1047d

It seems that Julian Bell, when he was Council Leader, soon after the 2015 General Election, deliberately discontinued the service of Planning Notification Letters. This, it seems, is because endearing himself to developers, except beyond "his back garden" where he lives, or the ward he represents, i.e. Greenford Broadway, was more important than serving the people. That includes keeping the people informed.

Anthony Hawran ● 1047d

As far as I know there is no longer an obligation, save for the nonsensical yellow lampost notices, for any notification of a development to be sent.

N V Brooks ● 1047d

It would not surprise me if this is an attempt to bypass planning law, where the Planning Officers are deliberately hiding details from the public and other interested parties.Despite the recent changes in the political personnel at the top, in the council politburo, i.e. Peter Mason replacing Julian Bell as Council Leader, the spirit is the same. That means be a quisling or a Vichy Collaborator on behalf of the developer, rather than serving the public, and keeping them informed. One part of keeping the public informed means sending out Planning Notification Letters to people that might be affected by proposed planning developments. The Council seem to have deliberately neglected to to this.

Anthony Hawran ● 1047d

I originally referred to the absence of Public Notices informing adjoining residents of planning applications very close by and gave an example of a case on the Haymills Estate in Ealing W5 where a development affecting neighbours in Ashbourne Close to the rear was not publicised and which nearly deprived them of their right to make representations to The Planning Inspectorate when the case went further.Now another disturbing issue has arisen.  This is the contentious matter of developers seeking "pre-application advice" before submitting their applications to the Council.I have been informed of several cases involving the same Planning Agent (of Chalkline) where the Planning Application Form has either not been completed properly or if it ever was, the details have been hidden by the Planning Department as relate to "pre-application advice".Under planning law, there is a requirement for the Council to maintain a Public Register of Planning Application documents.  The 2015 legislation provides full details - The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015.  Application Forms must be truthfully completed including details of Ownership of the land to which the application relates.In a very recent case at 98 Gordon Road, Ealing W13 (which has already lost part of its grounds to new development), the Planning Application Form enquires in section 36 of the form: "Pre-application Advice - Has assistance or prior advice been sought from the local authority about this application?"  The answer states "yes".  The next questions ask for the title & full name of the Officer giving such advice; the date, reference and details of the advice received.  In the Gordon Road case, the Application Form is missing all details bar the date and the word "Miss" (indicating a female officer).  The Form also states re. the details of the advice received "refer to design and access" (a 16-page document from the agents). However, I cannot see any details of the advice received in that document and I have been told that the same agent has done similar in another case in Ealing Common.It should be noted that applicants' information supplied to the Council in the Application Form that is inconsistent and/or incorrect is rendered voidable according to existing planning law.  In particular, Section 327A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) makes it clear that the local planning authority must not entertain such an application.The question is:  Are these developers' agents withholding information on the Application Forms or are Planning Officers deliberating hiding the details from the public and  other interested parties?  If so, is this by some kind of private arrangement thus attempting to bypass planning law? Victor Mishiku  13/6/2021

Victor Mishiku ● 1047d

Problem is a huge section of council tax paying residents do not have full and secure internet access.  A significant proportion and they are effectively frozen out of all that goes on in their names.The govt survey assumes that if someone has an email address they are thus online.My Mother has an email address but she has no computer or online access.She pays her council tax but gets no communication or contact whatsoever, we have to do it on her behalf.  But that's for vital things.  Being able to be counted and allowed to input on issues is not possible.Nor is it possible for those who are able to afford broadband but don't have up to date hardware or operating systems.Letters seldom get replied to ( nor do emails come to that) and telephone contact is impossible.There should be a box to tick when council tax is due to opt for Keep Me Posted to allow those who are not able for whatever reason to use online means to be able to contact direct by phone and be contacted by post.When Alzheimers sufferers are told to do it online, you know something is failing.

Raymond Havelock ● 1074d

Local Council Politics is just SO honourable isn't it.I mean, it positively reeks of integrity.            🤣

Rosco White ● 1074d

Yet Bell somehow managed to find £100k a year of public money to subsidise the dire Around Ealing magazine, which somehow avoids telling us anything we might reasonably need to know (such as the Perceval House development or Gurnell or even the Town Hall giveaway).It has been good for puff pieces, which is why Bell refused to reduce the budget for it.

Simon Hayes ● 1074d

In the summer of 2015, Julian Bell, when he was the Council Leader got rid of Planning Notification Letters. He told me, just after the 2015 General Election, he was getting rid of them because he did not have the money for this public service because of "Tory cuts". Yet he had, it seems all the time and money in the world to endear himself to developers. Examples of this include the proposed Percival House and Manor Road redevelopments that would not provide very much needed family housing, or publishing of the Ealing in London magazine. Being a virtual signalling officious feudal social engineer, it seems, is/was more important to him and his sycophants within the ruling cohort, than it is to serve the public that elected him. That means keeping the people and public informed, so there is less liklihood of cases such as 9 Rotherwick Hill or the Darwin Road/South Ealing Road corner occuring. Yellow Notices in themselves are not enough. Planning Notification Letters should be reintroduced/brought back.

Anthony Hawran ● 1074d

Now that more of Ealing is accessible to the council via e-mail and text messages as the data collection for the (outgoing) Council Leader Bell's diligent Covid-19 online bulletins produces redults, could we ot just have this information texted and e-mailed to us as per our postcode? We have the technology, now all we nned to do is to capture some more data to give comprhensive coverage across Ealing?

Victor Helm ● 1075d

Yes - not only did they fail to put up Notices regarding 9 Rotherwick Hill, the Council did the same thing in relation to the neighbouring house at 7 Rotherwick Hill i.e. no Public Notices in Ashbourne Close where, yet again, my house will be affected greatly by this new development.  Yet again, I had no opportunity to submit my objection.

ANN ALLAN ● 1075d

Just recently a business on the corner of Darwin Road and South Ealing Road changed from a swish limousine rental to a tyre and car wash emporium. Nobody knew it was going to happen, not even the businesses next door. The first clue was when large and gaudy hoardings advertising the business appeared the day it opened. Totally out of character with the area.The business owner insists the yellow notices were displayed on South Ealing Road, yet nobody seems to have seen them. Very odd. They might have mysteriously blown away in a sudden gust of wind. It meant no objections to the change of use were lodged.However, the large and gaudy hoardings were taken down within days, presumably because the relevant permissions hadn’t been granted. But the business continues to operate on its cramped site.

Simon Hayes ● 1075d

Before the Yellow Notices system, individual Notification Letters would be sent out by the Planning Department to neighbouring properties back and front or opposite where sensible giving 21 days in which to make comments to the Planning Department.Cases frequently take more than a month or more to be dealt with especially if there are defects in the Plans or the Ownership Certificates (rendering the application voidable) - the latter usually arising when an applicant (or by their agent) falsely claims to own all of the land to which the application relates.Residents can continue to submit comments by e-mail or letter after the 21 days has elapsed.  In one of our cases to save the "Haven Stables" (1877) from being demolished and  redeveloped as a huge 4-Storey Block of Flats, we were submitting objections and Petition sheets long after the 21-day period since the application took many months to be considered.  It was finally sent to Committee fully recommended for granting by the Planning Department - however it was refused by the Planning Committee and a subsequent Appeal to The Planning Inspectorate was also dismissed.I recall cases in Creswick Road/Pierrepoint Road, Gibbon Road all in Acton where next door neighbours did not know about applications as the Yellow Notice had either never been put up or otherwise taken down (in one case taken down twice!).  In Studland Road in Hanwell, when attending a Committee Site Visit, a resident from just down the road came up to me and told me that there was another development being proposed next to his house and he only found out about this by chance when a neighbour from another street informed him about it.In Mount Park Crescent (a Conservation Area), a resident told me that Public Notices were twice taken down within one day of their being put up.In the Rotherwick Hill case at No.9 where the most affected neighbour was in a house in Ashbourne Close that backs onto No.9, it was important that a Notice be put up in the latter road because by not responding to the usual 21-day Notice (if it had been put up), the neighbour was debarring herself from responding to the Householder Appeal process to PINS. Fortunately, as mentioned in my original posting, PINS departed from their very strict rules because of the circumstances in this instance and the neighbour was not only able to make her objection but also received a Site Visit from the Planning Inspector (as can be seen from the Decision Letter of 13th May 2021).Two very detailed letters to the Chief Planning Officer informing him about the failure to put up a Yellow Notice were sent to him in February and March this year - the neighbour concerned still awaits a reply.V. Mishiku  "The Covenant Movement"  16/5/2021

Victor Mishiku ● 1075d

These yellow notices are a lot better than when there were no notices at all.

Philippa Bond ● 1076d

These "Yellow Notices" often mysteriously disappear, with regularity, soon after they are put upThe system is a farce and a complete disservice to Council Taxpayers.Much like many other LBE "Services."                Remember.  DESTROY YOUR COMMUNITY, VOTE LOCAL LABOUR.

Rosco White ● 1076d

Interesting one - thank you Victor.

Philippa Bond ● 1077d