Jon Ball slams 40-storey Ealing block plan

7.15.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 24th Sep 2007

Do we want central Ealing to be overshadowed by this building?

Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner for Ealing Central and Acton, Cllr Jon Ball, has condemned a proposal for a 40-storey block opposite Ealing Broadway station as, "completely inappropriate for Ealing."

Developer Glenkerrin has submitted a planning application to demolish the Arcadia shopping centre and some neighbouring properties and bridge across the railway line to build a mixture of shops, leisure, offices and over 700 flats including a 40-storey (143 metre) building overlooking Haven Green right in the centre of Ealing.

Jon commented, "Ealing has rightly been praised as the Queen of the suburbs. If this city-centre style scheme goes ahead, it will fundamentally change the nature of Ealing forever from a suburban to an urban area. The 40-storey building would tower above every other local building and completely dominate Ealing. We need more affordable housing locally, but this is not the way to achieve it - especially if as little as 15% of the flats may be affordable."

Cllr Jon Ball is a member of Ealing's planning committee, but under Government rules is not allowed to comment on any development if he is going to sit on the planning committee that decides it. Jon commented, "This scheme is such a threat to Ealing that I cannot be gagged from commenting on it any longer and so I have decided to pass my role in the decision-making process for this application to my Lib Dem colleague on the planning committee, Cllr Rose. I encourage all concerned local people to look at the plans for themselves and then to make objections to the planning committee if they agree with me that it would be a disaster for Ealing."