Forum Topic

David Millican Standing Down

Just been told that David Millican will not be standing as a councillor for Northfield in the May election. Not sure of his reasons but it would have been astonishing if he had managed to hang on given the state of his party's showing in the national polls. He's not my ward councillor but I know he is well liked by residents of that area across the political spectrum and was excellent at keeping his constituents informed. Some of my local Tory friends are predicting a total wipeout for the party in May which I think unlikely but would be astonishing given they were the largest group in the borough as recently as 2010.

Gordon Southwell ● 1275d27 Comments

Victoria Hall, one of BellEnd's more ingenious "I'm a Big Time Charlie Potatoes Developer now" financial moves .............Hope Ealing Council Labour are rightly proud of him, particularly with the picturesque Towers now everywhere in the Borough.Outstanding!

Rosco White ● 1272d

There’s no upside to the Town Hall plan. It will see the loss of the only sizeable public hall in central Ealing, the Victoria Hall, which isn’t even in the council’s gift to hand over as it’s held under a charitable trust fit the people of Ealing. There’s no provision for that benefit to continue under the original terms with this new deal. And all money that might have accrued to the borough under the deal has been swallowed up in legal challenges. And the excuse that the town hall was too expensive to maintain doesn’t wash. The council failed to provide any list of remedial works when asked years ago, nor any costing for those works. This was just a cost deal with a favoured contact.And management of Broadway Living? Considering they can’t get s106 monies out of private developers (Southern Grove, busy smashing up West Ealing station as we speak is a case in point), then how are these wizards going to provide the wherewithal for the basic services and infrastructure all these potential new residents will need and expect? There’s no plan here, just aspiration and vague promises.And social cleansing is exactly what our council is about. Waiting lists for council housing have increased in Ealing despite the much boasted about ‘genuinely affordable homes’. They don’t want people who drain the coffers.

Simon Hayes ● 1273d

Apologies, this time with the checked version saved!"Would that there were an upside to council's owning their own building development organisations. The list of failures grows ever longer. One would like to think that they are well-intentioned however there is the odeure of pocket lining among many of these operations notably in Croydon and Northampton where local taxpayers will be picking up the tab for failed ventures into these markets for decades to come. Croydon is dreadful, where the cost overruns on some projects are actually higher than the overall initial cost of the project.  The Fairfield Halls (overrun runs into tens of millions) may never reopen as the money has simply run out with a large scale fraud investigation into the council owned redevelopers underway.

N V Brooks ● 1273d

Would that there were an upside to council's owning their own building development organisations. The list of failures grows ever longer. One would like to think that they are well-intentioned however there is the odeure of pocket lining among many of these operations notably in Croydon and Northampton where local taxpayers will be picking up the tab four failed ventures into  these markets for q to come. Croydon is dreadful qwhere the cost overruns on some projects are actually higher than the overall initial cost of the project.

N V Brooks ● 1273d

What evidence do you have that South Acton is being 'socially cleansed'? All social rent tenants were offered units in the new developments. The one hold-out that was reported on on ActonW3.com recently had purchased his flat and had been offered what seemed to be better than market value for it plus moving expenses. I have some sympathy because it would have been difficult for him to keep his family in the area but that was because he got a bargain for his original flat and there simply wouldn't have been the equivalent available at the same price. Are you saying the Ealing taxpayer should have made up the difference?On Broadway Living I think you are right to be cautious as experience has shown that local authorities can get this sort of thing horribly wrong. However, as long as it is well managed it makes perfect sense for the council to use the low borrowing rates available to it to develop its landbank. It just needs good oversight to work.There is no doubt that the council's involvement in the town hall and Gurnell developments present a whole host of conflicts of interest but it is far from unusual for local authorities to be both planning authority and developer. However, it is not the case that there is no benefit to the borough and local taxpayers if these projects are a success.  They could potentially yield dividends that would bring substantial cost savings and financial benefits. I'm not saying that the council getting into the property business is a good idea but, at the same time, you can't ignore the potential upside.

Mark Evans ● 1273d

Excellent posting.

Rosco White ● 1273d

Hmmm, I think there is more to the housing policy than simply ‘shouldering the burden’. South Acton estate is being socially cleansed, with residents being moved out and unable to afford to move back in because the prices of the new flats are beyond their means. At present there is one resident holding out but he faces the prospect of a CPO. Not exactly community minded, that approach but when there’s money to be made....Of more concern should be the council’s enthusiastic approach to lumbering the borough with £400million of debt to finance it’s arms length developer Broadway Living. This entity has already gobbled up £13million if our cash in start up costs, and has not turned any profit. Its business model is risky in the extreme. Build flats on council land and sell most of them at market value. It’s why the Perceval House redevelopment was given the green light, despite that building being perfectly fit for purpose and, indeed, being only recently refurbished. The plans for the new blocks include zero open space and poor doors for the social housing tenants. Genuine equality there, which I understand is a Labour principle.And if you wonder why Gurnell hasn’t reopened it’s because the council needs to stick hundreds of homes on the site for Broadway Living to be viable. It’s Metropolitan Open Land and highly protected but don’t bet against a new planning application coming later this year.The irony is that the £400million loan - guaranteed by Ealing taxpayers - is over a 50 year period, longer than the expected lifespan of the new buildings the money will finance. If it all goes tits up, and Croydon Council came a cropper with a similar scheme, then Julian Bell’s enthusiasm to play properly developers will make the current financial issues here seem trivial. And these aren’t traditional council houses being built, and houses with gardens are what are really in short supply, but mainly investment flats.There’s plenty more dodgy stuff out Council has sanctioned in recent years, including the plan to turn Ealing Town Hall into a boutique hotel. Zero benefit or money coming to residents, and Bell agreed a £350,000 indemnity for the developers if the project doesn’t happen. I wonder where that money will come from. Oh, and the indemnity was agreed BEFORE the planning committee met to discuss the final plans. Why would that happen?

Simon Hayes ● 1273d

Wassup with "The Invisible Three"???aka South Acton Ward Councillors.          😁

Rosco White ● 1273d

Even the two Hounslow councillors I know were more than a little surprised to receive the accolade. Your post rings broadly true save that the efforts of many good people are tarnished by those Labour councillors who seek every opportunity to belittle or ridicule  their electorate.  Fortunately a number of these are standing down. They will not be missed

N V Brooks ● 1273d

I'm an unapologetic Labour voter but will always criticise the party when I think they are doing something wrong, particularly in the current situation in Ealing when there is no really effective opposition.For instance I think that the borough's increasing reliance of fees, fines and charges is against Labour values because many of these tend to act as a regressive tax and with people really struggling financially at the moment this is something they should not be doing.Additionally there is no dispute that the library closures are a major negative for the party locally and I agree spending priorities should have been changed.The closure of Stirling Road dump also doesn't sit well with an authority that likes to present itself as environmentally aware.However, to compare them with Labour controlled Hounslow (which was named the top council in the country last year) seems a very high bar. Hillingdon may not have closed libraries but it has built up such a huge deficit in its schools budget that its financial viability has been brought into question.  There is a slightly pious and smug tone to the current administration with many largely meaningless policy statements and pointless changes of job titles but everything I hear about the individuals running the council from people whose opinion I respect is that they are decent well-meaning people not without some level of ability who are doing the best they can.

Mark Evans ● 1273d

Neither neighbouring Hounslow nor neighbouring Hillingdon have closed in the library provision.While they are far from perfect, one only needs to look at hillingdon to see what can be done with the similar central government grant llevel.

N V Brooks ● 1273d

If the Labour Party are paying Mark they might need to rethink their media policy.  He is actually spot on. This is an imperfect but not particularly terrible council. The tall towers cropping up are an obvious blemish on its record but that may be a legacy of the previous leader's 'developers welcome' policy. Also it should be remembered we have a housing shortage and London is being asked to shoulder a disproportionate part of making it up by central government. There is nowhere to build these new homes other than up. As for closing libraries and unswept streets these are clearly major negatives but nearly every other borough is facing the same complaints.

Gordon Southwell ● 1273d

And that has been a "Paid Political Broadcast From The Labour Party."  😂Unwanted Towers everywhere.Dirty, unswept streets.Libraries closed.etcetcetc  😂

Rosco White ● 1273d

Who's ranting now?I despair when I look at the well publicised failures of the current administration most notably on planning. If you are happy that abject failure is the best we should expect then that speaks volumes about the local party and those who support it.

N V Brooks ● 1273d

You keep on ranting in this generalised way about the council with no specifics.Although Ealing Council isn't perfect by any reasonable benchmark it doesn't stand out as being particularly bad when compared to other London councils. There are serious problems in Ealing but they usually the same problems shared by every local authority at this difficult time. That you can't name any particular issues that are worse here than other parts of London points to the fact that you just like the opportunity to complain regardless of circumstances.A bid was made to launch an independent party but this seems to be collapsing due to the failure to recruit any credible candidates. Meanwhile the people of Ealing look set to endorse the current administration possibly with an increased majority which is remarkable given how few seats remained for them to win after the next election. We'd have to accept the extraordinary conclusion that you were more intelligent and better informed that the people of Ealing if we were to believe your claims of a 'council cesspit' were true.

Mark Evans ● 1273d

We have very, very serious problems in Ealing Borough.Labour are a complete and utter crock, Conservatives don't deserve to replace Labour, and the Lib-Dems are just "Labour Light".As I say repeatedly, we need a ruthlessly independent Residents Party or somesuch if we're ever going to escape this Labour Council Cesspit.

Rosco White ● 1274d

There are doubtless some dedicated councillors across the political divide. Sadly, locally they are noticeable only by their absence where they have been supplanted by self-serving egoists who are more than happy to insult rather than support the residents whom they were elected to represent.

N V Brooks ● 1274d

No, that is my recollection. Just as there was little change again when the Tories were ousted. If you can point to specific changes that I might have missed, it would be interesting to hear.I should say that I'm not necessarily saying that who is elected is unimportant. Lots of councillors do critical work particularly for people having housing issues. Some do nothing so it is obviously better to elect the ones who are committed regardless of which party they represent. It is an unfortunate consequence of people voting on national issues that good councillors can lose their seats. I don't know much about David Millican but if he was providing important support to his constituents most in need I would have voted for him regardless of his political affiliations. I know the Labour councillors in my ward work hard because I have heard it from people their efforts have benefitted.

Mark Evans ● 1274d

"....looking back I can't say I noticed any significant change when the Tories took control of Ealing in 2006"Is that posting for real?You're 'avin a larf.Aren't you?

Rosco White ● 1274d

Pulling this back to the OP main topic - good luck and thanks to David Millican.I only met him once and he seemed generally interested in local concerns no matter if you were blue, red or any other leaning.(I'll forgive him for not responding to my emails about 6 months ago though!!)I've been done with politics for ages now, it's a cesspit.Good luck DM

Colin Goodman ● 1274d

That’s as maybe but there are other things the council is required to do by law that it hasn’t done. Chief among these are the Authority Monitoring Reports, which cover housing targets and building. No reason given for this failure over several years, even though it will be somebody’s job to produce them.The upshot is that developers are successfully appealing planning decisions, notably the Manor Road tower by West Ealing station. Nice for the developers, not so nice for residents.A consequence of this emerged today, with trains not stopping at that station because of demolition work. Never discussed before, but nice for the developers, not so nice for residents.Of course, nobody takes responsibility for these failures.

Simon Hayes ● 1274d

Not in this context. The borough has produced and delivered a balanced budget as has nearly every other local authority in the country. They are required to do so by law.

Mark Evans ● 1274d

Producing it and delivering it, as you know, are two different things

N V Brooks ● 1274d

It's a legal requirement for all councils to produce a balance budget and that is exactly what has happened in Ealing ever year under the current administration.

Mark Evans ● 1274d

How short some people's memories are. No doubt you recall the double-digit council tax rises that were stopped when the Conservatives took the reins at Ealing council. The fact that they produced a balanced budget for every year they were in power. Vote however you want, a vote for labour's and vote for another four years of abject failure to deliver.

N V Brooks ● 1274d

Local government may have a bigger impact on daily living but not necessarily local politics. Most policies these days are set by central government and, this Conservative administration in particular, is prone to micro-manage what local authorities do by control of the purse strings. I'm a Labour voter but looking back I can't say I noticed any significant change when the Tories took control of Ealing in 2006 or significant improvement when Labour regained the borough in 2010. In part this was probably due to the national government going in the opposite direction.It is wrong to say that people can't differentiate between local and national issues and it is perfectly rational for people to use their council vote to send a message to the national government. Ultimately a vote for the Conservatives in May is an endorsement of the way that Boris Johnson has been running the country.

Mark Evans ● 1274d

They say that a year is a long time in politics 12 years is a lifetime. People vote on national issues 8n local elections. The total inability to differentiate between local and national is bewildering given that local politics has a far greater impact on daily living.

N V Brooks ● 1275d