Acton campaign group, Cap the Towers, continue to raise questions over Ealing Council's assessment of the 'not viable' Friary Park housing project.   

Cap the Towers is actively investigating the council's approval of two planning applications at Friary Park in Acton.   

This approval occurred despite governmental and professional experts declaring the applications financially 'unviable'.   

The Government, on its website, declares that 'assessing the financial viability is crucial in deciding whether a project should proceed'.   

All the viability studies presented to the councillors in 2019 and in 2022 came to the same conclusion: 'the Friary Park scheme is not viable.'   

Despite this, Ealing Council has proceeded to approve these two unviable applications from the developer, Mount Anvil.   

An artist impression of what the Acton skyline could look like once the Friary Park Development is completed (credit: Cap the Towers).

Last week, a council spokesperson told Nub News: "A financial viability assessment is used to demonstrate that a proposed development includes the maximum amount of affordable housing, which is not only a planning policy requirement, but also a key objective for the council.  

"In the case of the 2019 application, the development included proposals for a high number affordable housing which resulted in it being considered unviable, however, the applicant advised that through further grant funding and other measures the viability position would improve. 

"As advised and anticipated by the applicant, financial viability concerns were addressed through further funding, leading to commencement of the scheme."  

In response to the council, Cap the Towers comments: "Well, the viability didn't improve by much, did it?   

"Three years on, and the development was still declared unviable by all the experts."  

The campaign group says it has analysed viability documents from the council's planning officers and Government officials regarding the initial 2019 application.   

It found that both the assessors agreed that 'the scheme is not viable.'

The Friary Park Development underway in Acton (credit: Cap the Towers).

Case Officer from the Planning Department, Chris Maltby, reported to the planning Committee that the project was 'not financially viable' back in November 2019.   

Maltby's report stated: "The FVA (Financial Viability Assessment) has been rigorously tested by the council's own viability specialists and whilst some clarifications and negotiations have taken place in respect of agreeing some of the inputs there was broad agreement from the outset that the proposals were not financially viable in the current climate."   

Despite this, in a later Planning Committee meeting on 19 October 2022, Maltby responded to Councillor Sanjai Kholi's question on financial viability by saying the scheme was profitable.   

Cllr Kholi asked Maltby: "My question was basically targeted towards...was the original planning, which was consented, was it viable in terms of profitability."  

Maltby replied: "Yes councillor, it was."   

This was a false statement by the planning officer, according to Cap the Towers who have submitted video and documentary evidence to the council in support of their claim that this falsehood meant that the planning committee was seriously misled as to the financial viability of the original planning application.    

In reaction to the original scheme being approved, Cap the Towers said: "It makes no sense. Did the councillors on the planning committee not even read the viability assessments?   

"They voted to approve this development in violation of both these negative assessments on viability.   

"They ignored the Government declaration that 'assessing the financial viability is crucial in deciding whether a project should proceed'."   

Cap the Towers added: "The most likely explanation for their voting to approve an unviable planning application is because they were instructed to do so by more senior councillors in Ealing Council who are slavishly committed to 'keeping the developers happy'." 

An artist impression of what Friary Park from developers Mount Anvil could look like (credit: Mount Anvil).

In 2022, a second application from the developers proposed a 17-storey tower addition to existing towers ranging from 14 to 24 storeys, increasing flats from 990 to 1228.  

Despite two viability studies from Government assessors and viability experts DS2, both stated 'the scheme is still not viable'.  

Ealing's planning committee voted 11 to one to approve the Mount Anvil application.   

Cap the Towers says: "All the same points apply that we made about the 2019 decision to allow this massive overdevelopment to begin at all, though the fact that the Planning Committee made this same mindless mistake of approving an unviable planning application for a second time within three years is utterly reprehensible.   

"But in addition, by 2022 the myth that this Friary Park Development was all about 'homes for Londoners' and 'to help solve the housing crisis' had been well and truly busted.   

"Cap the Towers had uncovered video and documentary evidence of hundreds of luxury flats at Friary Park being sold off-plan in the Far East and Middle East."   

On estate agents Savills' website, it markets the Acton development to potential buyers in Singapore, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the world.   

The campaign group adds: "The ugly tower of 24 floors that now looms over the Victorian houses of Acton has been bought up by the global rich as 'investment properties'.   

"The next tower to be built (22 floors) has been offered initially to property investors in Singapore.   

"'Homes for Londoners'? All this was known by the councillors on the Planning Committee when they voted to approve this second application in 2022 but a review of the video recording of their meeting shows that they took no account of the dominance of foreign investment at Friary Park and the fact that it will inevitably lead to higher rents being charged to British renters.   

"Nor did they discuss the fact that much of the so-called 'affordable' housing is not affordable to people in Ealing who really need homes.   

"Nor did they discuss the fact that, in this application which they were considering, not a single extra apartment for social housing was added to the mix.  

"The plain fact is that before Mount Anvil came on the scene, the Friary Park estate was 98% social/council housing; it is now 19%.  

"Why is Ealing Council giving this kind of developer such an easy ride, even being prepared to turn a blind eye to the fact that Mount Anvil's planning application in 2022, like its original application in 2019, was not even viable?"   

Ealing Council has been approached for comment.   

Cap the Towers is a resident campaigning group in Acton with concerns about financial viability of the Friary Park housing development which is underway near Acton Main Line station. 

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