Forum Topic

65% of Ealing planners live OUTSIDE borough

As I continue my crusade against the terrible state of planning I have discovered through more FOI requests that 65% of Ealing planners live outside the borough. Of the 37 only 13 live here. The Exec Board is littel ebetter with 2 of the 5 highly paid Execuiotves living in the borough.Hardly surprising so many bad decisions are made!

Benjamin Dennehy ● 4662d11 Comments

It is to do with experiencing/living with the decisions made.

Philippa Bond ● 4657d

Where Council staff live (the original purpose of this thread) ISN'T important at all.The vast majority of council employees simply cannot afford to buy a home in the borough.I know a senior teacher who has worked in the borough for the last nine years and she and her fiancé cannot even begin to think about raising a mortgage on an 'Ealing' property.

Nigel Brooks ● 4658d

What about their Recycling Officers - or are there any?  You would think that they would organise the waste and recycling at the Summer Festivals to reflect the system in place in Ealing.  Though I suppose it may be Leisure Services who are organising this. (I think I remember the previous Council Leader telling me this.) In which case why do they appear yet again to not be liaising within the Council?

Philippa Bond ● 4658d

I remember years ago in Malaysia I was rather shocked to see a large sign outside a new housing estate (with absolutely beautiful homes)- the sign stated that these homes were to be sold to 'Bumi Putras ONLY' - translated: Only malays can purchase these homes!Can you imagine that sort of thing happening in this country? On the other hand, I believe a lot of the flats in new developments and Million Plus homes are now being bought by inmvestors from overseas.It must be extremely hard for people to get on the bottom of the housing ladder now and I feel the situation can only become worse.Some investors in this country are able to buy up multiple properties to rent out. I wonder whether there should be a limit in order to try and help the low paid to buy some of these homes and get help on the way to do them up, not for profit but to live in.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4661d

Oliver, I wonder if there is a planning rule which stops rich people from buying into this market.

George Knox ● 4662d

With a 1 bed and very small apartment in an industrial estate Brentford costing £285,000, I would be more worried if all the planners did live in Ealing.I would hope that would be enough to get planners and policy makers to sort out this disgrace of overpriced homes and put a stop to the antics of developers and estate agents.It's causing a form of ethnic cleansing of indigenous Londoners for rich overseas investors and the wealthy all over West and South West London.It's the policies that planners are working to and the methods of working that is wrong with planning.That''s what needs sorting if it's not too late already.

Oliver Gregan ● 4662d

Pity Mr Prudence Gordon Brown did not tighten lending controls and initiate a house building programme when he took over from Ken Clarke in 1997. Cupboard was not bare then.Oh I forgot. House building was not even in Tony Blair's manifesto.Can't think the house prices would be as bad as now. At least the Coalition are trying. Wrong approach though.Consequence of Labour policy is that every nook and cranny will be housing and the sky will shrink.

George Knox ● 4662d

An unfortunate side effect of sky high house prices. I'd much prefer it if those who worked on local services lived locally. Of course they can't be forced but as things stand they have little option but not to.

Sam Salisbury ● 4662d

Well I feel Bud has identified a very good reason for getting all london estate agents to move to outer Mongolia via Yorkshire:-)Also if it is OK for planners and the directorate to live in Outer Mongolia then perhaps all of them in the country should move there. Then different ones on shifts could visit sites subject to planning permission without there being any risk of being accused of improper behaviour. That would be the price you would pay for lousy decision making.Their assets and income shoold be audited once every five years. Happens to bank staff on a rolling basis.Of course the OP is right.

George Knox ● 4662d

Quite so - and how many of the less senior staff could afford to live here anyway?

Chris Veasey ● 4662d

I fail to see why this is important - the issue is not with where they live. They could live in Outer Mongolia for all I care - the issue is that they're not serving their customers as they should and this is what is needs addressing.

Bud Richards ● 4662d