Ealing Lib Dems Seek Coalition Against Draft Local Plan

Want to link up with groups who have not been engaged in the process

Gary Malcolm is unhappy with proposal to redesignate Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land

April 13, 2023

The leader of the opposition on Ealing Council, Cllr Gary Malcolm, says he wants to make contact with local groups in the borough who have not yet become involved in the process of drafting the local plan.

The Liberal Democrat believes that many organisations have not yet properly engaged with the exercise to develop the Local Draft Development Plan and are unaware of its implications.

He criticised the council for the lack of transparency and what he describes as “a theoretical approach not grounded in evidence or engagement with businesses and residents”.

The plan allows for the redesignation of Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) in the borough which he fears may lead to more building on open spaces.

A petition against the move has been launched by the Lib Dems and opponents of the draft plan have been boosted by a letter written to Ealing Council by the Mayor’s office urging them not to incorporate the redesignation of land in the plan.

The letter from Lucinda Turner, Assistant Director of Planning & Regeneration at the Mayor’s office begins, “The draft Plan aligns itself with the Council’s key priorities to tackle the climate crisis, to fight inequality and to create good jobs and growth. These objectives link well with the Mayor’s
Good Growth Objectives, especially GG6 increasing efficiency and resilience, GG5 growing a good economy and GG1 building strong and inclusive communities. The draft Plan is well structured and reasonably well aligned with the LP2021 in many areas.”

However, she goes onto say that the council proposal to redesignate Green Belt (GB) and MOL raises ‘significant concerns’ and that this could only be done in exceptional circumstances and it ‘strongly advises’ Ealing not to proceed with the redesignation.

It states, “There are no clear benefits discernible as a result of redesignation and in doing so, it would result in a significant loss to London’s GB. It should be noted that where a site performs weakly against some GB criteria, it still performs key GB functions in holding back urban sprawl, assisting in urban regeneration by encouraging the redevelopment of brownfield sites, and stopping towns from merging.”

The letter describes the council’s overview on tall buildings is “overly complex” and criticises the plan for its lack of definitions on what constitutes a tall building. This is something that the Liberal Democrats say that they have challenged the council on. The height recommended by the Mayor’s office for a tall building is 21 metres or above.

The council is urged to take greater regard to the fact that Kew Gardens, 3km south of the centre of Ealing is of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) which is strategically important and that further testing should be undertaken to ensure there is no impact from any planned building.

Ms Turner points out that greater clarity is needed on housing targets and references to ‘affordable rent’ should be clarified as either ‘social rent’ or ‘London Affordable Rent’. More specifics were requested as to the amount of space that would be needed to support industrial uses in the local economy.

MOL has the same status and protections as Green Belt which is that it should not be built on. Liberal Democrats say this is further evidence that Labour wants to concrete over green spaces across the borough as outlined in the draft Local Development Plan (LDP).

Councillor Gary Malcolm said: “The Labour administration in Ealing is continuing with their ill thought-out plans to build on Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) through designating housing blocks at a range of protected land areas across a range of sites. Liberal Democrats believe in the importance of green infrastructure to sustain us over the medium term alongside a framework of buildings for the future and connected communities. We believe that this local plan is damaging to the sustainability of a future Ealing.

“Liberal Democrats are keen to ensure that people across the borough are actively engaged in responding to the Local Development Plan including Gurnell and Warren Farm to conserve green belt and open spaces as well as ensuring that our built environment is appropriate and fit for purpose in the twenty first century. Do email me at gary.malcolm@ealing.gov.uk if you would like us to assist you in this topic.”