Forum Topic

Access & Procedure re. Statutory Planning Documents not observed by Ealing Council

Ealing Council planners are not observing planning law re. availability of and access to information relating to planning applications.Not long ago, Cllr. Peter Mason the Leader of the Council and holder of a Masters Degree in Planning, I believe, pledged that he would demonstrate to the residents of our borough that Labour is on our side and that his administration would engage with us and be open, inclusive and transparent. Cllr. John Cudmore, Labour Leader in May 1994 and resident of Acton, made similar admirable promises which were observed for many years. Before that, the former Mayor of Ealing, Cllr. Norman Pointing, when Chairman of the Town Planning Committee in 1990 pledged that the administration would pay particular attention to consultation with residents, amenity groups and bodies such as the Ealing Civic Society on planning matters and that there would be open access for planning papers (as per the statement and report of the Town Planning Committee on 23rd May 1990).Over the passage of time and with remote computer planning procedures and with Perceval House Planning Reception shut for several years, some of these admirable pledges seem to have been forgotten in a number of issues. I have written to the Council on 7th August 2023 following the Council refusing to make a few planning papers available in accordance with either established practice or by law.In my letter which can be seen via this link below:https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ctytvphsc0iazof9cu8gp/Access-to-Information_Letter-to-Ealing-Council.pdf?rlkey=h6ilw7v2tysvxtlld6lj1celd&dl=0I have referred to Statutory Public Register planning law in particular: Extracts: section 69 TCPA 1990, article 40 SI 2015/595DPA 2018 (Sch.11) also referred toFor the full details of the extracts quoted, I can send these to anyone interested by e-mail.  My e-mail is vmfree@madasafish.comVictor Mishiku  9/8/2023

Victor Mishiku ● 263d10 Comments

You are a bloody Rottweiler, Victor, and the good denizens of Ealing Borough thank you daily and profusely.  👍    😁 Just as LBE under Liebour no doubt curses you .......😆

Rosco White ● 214d

Following on from my letter of 7th August 2023 to Ealing Council Information Governance and Planning, having received no response for 46 days nor sight of the Statutory document (Application Form unredacted) first requested 88 days beforehand, I submitted a further request for a response on 22nd September 2023 and also the result of the internal review that I requested in relation to a couple of planning papers on 7th August 2023.Please see my e-mail of the 22nd at the following link:https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/u7vcxt2s5j8lf7b7wwwyr/E-Mail-Information-requests_22ndSept2023.pdf?rlkey=wqrojdorsib40uo9k0xt31s70&dl=0Comment added on 27/9/2023

Victor Mishiku ● 214d

We are indeed very lucky to have such an open and transparent Council under Liebour, their probity is beyond reproach!  🤣

Rosco White ● 214d

I heard today from a resident in W3 that a recent request to see the pre-application advice given by a planning officer to developers' agent, Mr Luke Pulham, has been REFUSED.In January and April 2021, Ealing Council policy approved the making public of pre-application advice in planning applications submitted to the Council. This enables local people and amenity groups to better participate in the decision-making process.Apparently in this latest incident of the Council withholding access to information, the Council staff privately contacted the agent to ask his permission to release the document.If this is so, then I am sure that Cllr. Peter Mason, Leader of the Council (and UCL Masters Degree in Planning holder) did not intend that Council Policy should operate only when Mr Pulham says so!Comment added on Wednesday 27th September 2023.

Victor Mishiku ● 214d

You are a true Diamond, Victor.    👍

Rosco White ● 259d

My original posting relates to 1A Haven Green but I would like to set out for the benefit of all residents and neighbours who wish to better participate in the planning process and obtain more of the information that they seek when responding to sometimes unwelcome planning proposals in their neighbourhood.Pre-Application Advice to Developers:  The Council has agreed in January 2021 at Cabinet and in April 2021 at full Council to the recommendation proposed by "Transparency International" (who are concerned with corruption in planning) that the planning pre-application process should be changed to allow public access to documents associated with pre-application proposals but only once formal planning applications have been submitted. It has been agreed that "In the interests of transparency, the Council will make available the material received from the application/developer and the advice given to the applicant/developer by officers, upon request, front the time a formal, valid planning application is received by the Council."(page 268 of the LBE Cabinet Report Tuesday, 19th January 2021 relates)...................Planning Obligations - Legal Agreement    Proposed or completed Legal Agreements must be made public. Article 40(3)(b) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 (Statutory Instrument 2015/595) stipulates: “(2) Each local planning register authority must keep, in two parts, a register (‘the register’) of every application for planning permission relating to their area. (3) Part 1 of the register must contain in respect of each such application and any application for approval of reserved matters made in respect of an outline planning permission granted on such an application, made or sent to the local planning register authority and not finally disposed of - ....… (b) a copy (which may be photographic or in electronic form) of any planning obligation or section 278 agreement proposed or entered into in connection with the application;” Documents in the Public Register (Part 1 or Part 2) are statutory documents and must be available for public viewing by law and also there is a Data Protection exemption (i.e. no redaction is required) for any document required by statute to be available for public inspection (such as the Planning Application Form and its accompanying Plans, etc)...................The Public Register (in 2 parts) Section 69(5)(a) of the TCPA 1990, article 40(3)(a) and later (4)(a) - the law requires a copy (photographic or electronic) of the planning application – which in recent years would be in a form nationally prescribed to be kept on a Statutory Register available for public inspection. There is no provision in article 40 for redacting what is in the completed form nor justification for redaction in view of the Data Protection Act  2018 Schedule 11 paragraph 3(1), relating to section 69(8) of the TCPA 1990 and article 40(12), (14) and, if still applicable, (16). The Data Protection Act 2018 Schedule 11 paragraph 3(1) reads: “The listed provisions do not apply to personal data consisting of information that the controller is obliged by enactment to make available to the public, to the extent that the application of the listed provision would prevent the controller from complying with that obligation.”PART 1 documents should include:*copy of the application*plans and drawings *design and access statement, where relevant*details of a planning obligation/legal agreement proposed*modifications*any directions decision of the local authority with details of any conditionsWhen the application is finally disposed of, PART 2 of the Public Register must include:*All of the PART 1 documents and in addition further documents (as below) *any completed legal agreement*reference number and effect of any planning appeal (including any conditions attached to the appeal)*dates of subsequent approval following reserved matters*particulars of any modifications...................In addition to the above, there are:Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 Sections 100D and 100HDated 16th July 1985andStatutory Instrument 2014 No. 2095 - Local Government, England. "The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014"Dated 5th August 2014and on 23rd May 1990, Ealing Council stated that there would be open access to all planning files.NB. Public Registers are to be maintained and kept open for access forever.If anyone would like more details, please e-mail me at vmfree@madasafish.comVictor Mishiku  12/8/2023"The Covenant Movement"

Victor Mishiku ● 259d

"Democratic" Services are anything but, anyone who has dealt with them knows this, they are in thrall to their Masters and  anything bordering on "Democratic" went out the window at The Ealing Kremlin long ago.

Rosco White ● 262d

Labour run Ealing Council only seem to be good at virtue-signalling, and the pusuit and retention of power for their own sake. They are not really "open, honest and transparent". In general, since I have been going to Planning Committee meetings from 2013/14, I have noticed that Ealing's democratic services have been evolving into a more authoritarian body, that reminds me of East Germany which I visited in the late 1980s when it was part of the one-time Soviet Empire of Hitler's one-time ally in the Kremlin, re. Warsaw Pact and Ribbentrop/Molotov Pact (23/08/1939). In the "early days", before the actual council meetings, one could go in and take the relevant papers on the table to the left of the entrance to the chamber, before the "doors were shut tight". Now, in the 2020s, access to the Council Chamber is more regimented and restricted, it seems, just to protect the egos of some top dog nomenklatura and their security service border guards. In general, with Perceval House access also restricted, I feel that access to information that Ealing Council at democratic services administer is being restricted. Is Ealing Council going towards some kind of a restricted police state, under this Labour run virtue signalling administration? It seems to be that giving paternity leave to the Commander-in-Chief of Democratic Services in L. B. of Ealing is more important than being open, honest and transparent to the people of the borough. At the Council Meeting on 13th June 2023, he seemed quite laden. At present, he is on paternity leave until 4 September. Perhaps he will be giving birth or has given birth to a carbon neutral, environmentally friendly 20g little baby out of the urethra hole, at the end of his penis.This is in order to create a more equal gender society, as well as to fight climate change, for the sake of all humanity and the environment. It will also help confirm Britain's global leadership in combating global warming and climate change. That seems more important to the present seemingly neo-feudal, virtue  signalling rulers of L.B. of Ealing than being honest, open and transparent to the people of the borough.

Anthony Hawran ● 263d